Satire Exam

The exam over satire tomorrow will cover:

• Dr. Strangelove
• The Damned Human Race
• Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain
• Shooting an Elephant
• A Modest Proposal
• My Satirical Self
• Notes on Satire and Parody

Rumor has it that two of the questions on the paragraph portion will be:

Wyatt Mason quotes the Roman Juevnal: “It is harder not to write satire. For who could endure this monstrous city, however callous at heart, and swallow his wrath. . . Today, every vice has reached its ruinous zenith. So, satirist, hoist your sails.” Explain Mason’s argument. Is satire a necessity in a world that seems to be reaching a ruinous end?

In ‘Shooting an Elephant’ George Orwell offers a narrator who seems consumed with his own grandiosity and doubts. Explain how the depiction of this character serves Orwell’s satirical look at the British Empire.