Satyricon Thesis Essay

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Trimalchio in the mean time hearing himself commended, drank all the merrier, and being within an ace of quite out, "Will none of you," said he, "invite my Fortunata to dance? Believe me, there's no one leads a country dance better:" And with that, tossing his hands round his head, fell to act a jack-pudding; the family all the while singing, 'youth it self, most exactly youth it self ;' and he had gotten into the middle of the room, but that Fortunata whispered him, and I believe told him, such gambols did not become his gravity. Nor was there any thing more uneven to it self; for one while he turned to his Fortunata, and another while to his natural inclination: But what disturbed the pleasure of her dancing, was his notaries coming in; who, as they had been the acts of a common council, read aloud: If nothing else, Petronius’ The Satyricon is an interesting piece of social commentary about Roman society during the time of the reign of Nero. The work depicts a rather bizarre dinner party hosted by a freed slave, Trimalchio, which is attended by the narrator Encolpius and his companions, which includes the Trojan War hero Agamemnon. This piece of literature is significant in that it offers a glimpse of the vulgarity that came to typify Roman society at the time of the writing. Written as a satire, this work of literature demonstrates the foolish behavior of a society in which wealth and all of its material trappings are desired, yet none of the grace inherent with such social standing is prevalent. Trimalchio himself demonstrates this facet of Roman society most particularly. A close look at a single passage in this work reveals that although Trimalchio has immense wealth, he is the character who is least deserving of the respect and treatment reserved for those of a distinguished social class. The crux of Petronius’ manuscript is that despite
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