02/12/13 Writing Project #1 Writing summary and synthesis essay Humor as a social act Humor as social act: ethical issues is an article written by J. Harvey, which mainly points on the examination of the value and the uses of humor while centering less powerful members of the society. The author sees humor as one of the kind of attack to the less privileged people. However, the manner in which it works among the people of uneven supremacy is not perceptible (Harvey 23). Harvey objects to the individual based approach by pointing out to John’s defense of the value of humor. John sees a serious person as anxious and solemn while humorous person as relaxed, cheerful and dissatisfied.
Peter quince is one of the illustrious Mechanicals who puts on the play, Pyramus and Thisbe. In the mockery of a "play within the play,” Shakespeare punctuated Quince's Prologue, incorrectly in order to make it comical. Therefore the meaning of what Quince says is different from what he intends. "If we offend, it is with our good will. That..." The sentence here should read "if we offend, it is our good will that...” Therefore Shakespeare uses the mechanicals to create comedy.
Her use of pathos in the beginning of the article creates a sarcastic tone for the rest of the article. “In recent pictures it's clear Angelina Jolie hasn't taken the time to learn or understand the long and painful history of African-American women and hair.” Right off the back Samuels directly insults Jolie. To go with the insult she discusses the history that African American women have with their hair. The author wants to make sure if the audience is ignorant about the subject as she believes Jolie is, then she is going to explain it to them. Her harsh diction is grabbing the audience’s attention and is also trying to get the audience to feel a particular way.
For example, there are many cases in the first several stories of Arabian Nights when women are disloyal and evil, but there are also stories about the wrong of men. This is because Shahrazad wanted to balance human wrong and she attempts to expose the wrongs of both sexes equally. According to feminism, the women's and men's rights are equal. So, she tried to explain that women can also make mistakes as men and it is not right that they take into account only women's mistakes (Smith, 1).
She calls the women “foul contending rebel[s]” and “graceless traitors” to their husbands. The fact that Katherine insulted the wives is another way she shows her dominance among the women and the unkind, look downed upon, nature that is put upon the wives. Ironically, Katherine also states that a women who do not obey her husbands are “muddy,” “ill-seeming,” and “bereft of beauty” implying that these wives are these characteristics because of their disobedience to their husbands. Using these words, Katherine patronizes and reprimands these wives publicly almost as if she was teaching them a lesson on how to be true wives. The condescending tone that Kate uses on these wives is a basically a scolding for their disobedience and also a lesson on why wives should submit to their husbands so humbly.
Fey makes choses to talk about the way women are treated in the entertainment industry with a joke on Betty White, which targets both sexism and ageism, which Fey repeatedly addresses, but with a softer approach through the use of humor. When Fey states “Science shows that fertility and movie offers drop off steeply for women after forty” she addresses both her ageing in the entertainment business and the concern that society places on women having a certain number of children by her age, but all centered around a funny tone in order to make her remark sound witty yet strong. The use of comedy made Fey’s argument regarding the negative portrayals of working women in the entertainment
Pink has become the symbol of the 1950’s. Price uses sarcastic diction to show her irritation of the way people of America are acting towards these pink flamingos. The first is shown in her thought of why calling it a “pink flamingo” as if they can turn out a different color like blue or green. It is obvious that a flamingo is the color pink. The second to notice in the essay is Price’s aggravation of how some have used the words “plastic pink flamingo” and “natural” and how now the flamingos are perceived as a proper part of the countries culture.
While the media sets the character’s description in stone, after critical analysis, the movie itself exemplifies the gender ramifications present in our society. Furthremore, issues of class can be cited and seen through various sections of the Devil Wears Prada. On the surface, this romantic funny piece of media can generally be seen as lighthearted but it’s ability to continually disregard these issues of gender and class comedically show that there is much to be explored underneath. It then can be asserted that underneath its superficial exterior,The Devil Wears Prada is actually the exemplification of what is wrong with our society through gender and class. Issues of gender are seen throughout the movie with the characters Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs.
The Fool is one of the most alluring characters in Shakespeare’s King Lear. He is a choric commentator whose lines reveal thematic motifs within the play, as well as a character that strategically uses humorous language as comic relief to Lear, but does not diminish the intensity of Lear’s misery. As he alleviates the intensity through humor, he equivocates because he says metaphors that speak the truth like the three witches in Macbeth, but the opposite. The Fool’s role is essential because he is aligned with Cordelia. Like Cordelia, the Fool is honest, but his comical language masks his honesty.
Although, it has been disputed that Duffy's poetry is misandrist due to her dismissive persona towards men. This dismissive persona that Duffy adopts may be used as a vehicle to place significance on the autonomy of women as Deryn Rees-Jones argues that she moves beyond 'a straightforwardly feminist poetry' and show the difficulties that patriarchy presents to both men and women.' Therefore, Duffy can be said to explore the gender restrictions for men as well as women through her depiction of male power. Duffy's reversal of gender roles in Little Red Cap challenges the view of the woman as 'cute but essentially helpless' through repositioning the reader’s understanding of feminine qualities, separating females from their male counterparts. Initially, Little Red Cap takes a domineering role throughout the poem, adopting the cultural stereotype of an 'immoral and dangerous seductress' which successfully reverses the socially constructed gender roles of woman as being 'naturally timid' and subverts the reader's expectations of the typical damsel in distress, 'a pursued maiden'.