Part A: Twain and McCullough
Provide supporting evidence from the texts to support your responses to these questions. All answers should be in the form of complete sentences.
1. What is the issue Twain is satirizing?
Mark Twain was satirizing parents in the sense of what advice they give their kids. In the speech, he wants to make known that the advice given to kids by parents is just a tool to make them follow the same ideals that their parents have.
2. What techniques does Twain use to create his satire?
To create his satire, Twain uses parody, hyperbole, wit, and irony throughout his speech.
3. What is the issue McCullough is satirizing?
McCullough is using satire to teach kids to go on in life and achieve more, strive for greatness,
…show more content…
What techniques does McCullough use to create his satire?
McCullough uses hyperbole and irony in his speech.
5. How effectively do the techniques used communicate Twain’s position?
Twain exaggerates and uses irony throughout his speech to target questions about the advice adults have given them. He wants us to ask if the advice is actually good, or we just listened to it because our parents told us it is right or good. This way, his speech and wording encourages us to think for ourselves about what is really right, and what is really good advice to take on in life.
6. How effectively do the techniques used communicate McCullough’s position?
McCullough exaggerates and uses irony throughout his speech to convey the message that if everyone is special, then no one is really special at all. If everyone gets the same award, then it becomes meaningless and has no value, and is therefore not special. Rather than reaching the top and claiming an award or setting down a flag to represent accomplishment, he wants us to keep climbing and reach higher than where we are at now. He wants us to see the importance of work and doing good rather than seeing it as a competition for some sort of award.
7. How are the messages communicated by Twain and McCullough
…show more content…
In his conclusion, what stood out to me the most is when he said, “Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air, and behold the view.” To me, this means that once a set goal is achieved, set the bar even higher and continue to build your way up the metaphorical mountain, and then look back and reflect on where you started, and what you achieved along the way. While he wants the kids to think for themselves and listen to their own ideals rather than what someone teaches them to do, I think that this is very sound advice, and that is why it stood out to me the
These paragraphs mention a couple of immoral aspects of Twain’s life. When he buries his grandmother under the grapevine, he justifies his reasoning through common sense. “The vine needed fertilizing, my aunt had to be buried, and I dedicated her to this high purpose.” This justification is ironic because his deceased grandmother is providing life for the vines. He also refers to the Constitution in support of his actions. “Does that unfit me for the President? The Constitution of our country does not say so.” Irony also occurs when Twain admits that he dislikes the poor. “I regard the poor man, in his present condition, as so much wasted raw material.” This statement is ironic because the office of the presidency swears on oath to support and serve the entire population of the United States. Because of this, the ironies placed in these two paragraphs further bring out the humor of this
Reading Assignment #1: Chapters 1 - 7 Study Guide Chapter 1 What can the reader expect in a story told from first-person point of view? A first person point of view reveals all of the character’s emotions and thoughts. Nothing will be hidden from us. Describe the setting as it is established in the first chapter.
Twain mentions on how we as teenagers and smaller kids should consider on hearing and thinking more when adults try to give us advice, because most of them have already been through what we are living now. On the lesson he gives us an advice on how becoming a better liar can make you a much smarter person in a very humorous and entertaining way.
In Mark Twain`s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn chapter 5, Twain demonstrates satire through Pap`s return. For instance, when Pap sees Huck he says “Starchy clothes- very. You think you’re a good deal of a big bug don’t you?’ which demonstrates Pap`s hypocrisy through ironic language. This is exemplified by Pap judgment on Huck`s “new” way of dressing which leads him to believe that Huck is becoming better than him. Even though, that most parents would want the best for their kids, pap finds this as a bad thing, almost as a disgrace. Another example is when pap also says “you think you`re better than your father, now don’t you, because he can`t [read]?’ which demonstrates Pap`s disbelief in needing an education if it means that Huck will become better than his father (14). Whereas, parents now stress about needing an education in order to be successful.
Today however readers can see the message behind Mark Twain’s satire much more clearly, as it does not mock us
This quote makes fun of the south, and how much society influences how a person thinks.Mark Twain tries to tell them they aren't brave. The passage shows how much society relied on communication but also the influences people have on each other. I also think that in this part of the book Twain really shows the first person narration.
First off, one of the devices Twain utilizes in order to introduce the reader to the absurdity of the story is irony. Throughout of the story, irony is conveyed through the procedure where the men within Twain’s short story decide upon who will be eaten, which turns
We have now identified Twain’s main idea and the manner which he has written his work in, but in order to achieve a complete analysis of his work, we must understand how he uses persuasive techniques to sway his audience. When identifying if an argument is persuasive we first must identify the audience is intended for. If we look skin deep and only read the title then we would be led to believe that this speech is made for and only for the youth of Mark Twain’s time. However, Mark Twain has a habit to make his works immortal in a sense that they can be applied in a variety of situations and in almost any time period. Therefore, we must identify Twain’s audience as any youth, from any time period, who is educated enough to read his work and Twain does a brilliant job in using persuasive technique to persuade his selected audience. Twain
Mark Twain was an American Humorous writer during the realism and naturalism period. He was known for the use of satire in his works. In his essay, “The Lowest Animal” Twain uses the elements of satire to entertain the readers. Three of the elements of satire that twains use is humor, exaggeration and irony in his works. Twain uses humor, exaggeration and irony in his works to make them satirical.
McCullough uses exaggeration and hyperbole to convince the reader to impress themselves. He wants the reader not to impress others, but to impress themselves and accomplish their own goals. Twain and McCullough are using similar messages by both aiming them towards teens and kids. Both of their messages are to aim to help young kids and teens improve themselves and accomplish greater things. They both want kids and teens to be the best they can be and achieve goals for themselves and not others.
Imagine a child in the south, during the late 1800’s. There was certain manners and values that a child would have been raised with. One of the most important of these values was to respect one's elders. A child raised in these values would listen to an adult and think that they're right no matter the circumstance because they are older. Also, a child would have been raised to accept certain social injustices like slavery. This was mainly because the adults said it was alright. Mark Twain wanted people to realize the immorality of society during the 1800s.
Be sure to include evidence from the text to support your answer (Answer, Prove, Explain).
Using these examples, Twain opens the eyes of society toward the importance of a good
Twain’s writings did more than touch the hearts and minds of the reader. They influenced American culture and literature. His contributions stemmed from nostalgic boyhood stories of life along the river with a touch of humor. His humor went to the roots of human nature and he was willing to take a gamble about any topic. He wrote over thirty books, numerous short stories, letters, and sketches, which raised him to fame (Greenblatt, 2010). His writings are known for their loose rhythms, which gave the reader a sense of the American way of speaking. They expressed his hatred of hypocrisy and oppression. Then in his later years, his writings turned darker. He focused on human greed, cruelty, and humanity. His novel The Gilded Age attacked
Mark Twain’s writing gives the impression that he follows an unexplored and uncharted path. While writing for newspapers, he exposed himself as an inventor and he actually patented three inventions. While he visited places to deliver his lectures he was celebrated for his fine and exceptional sense of humour. At times his speeches and writings bear the mark of satire about the mentality and behaviour of people in the United States of America. Satire is a tool for making remarks about absurdities of the society is a casual and mocking way.