To Kill a Mockingbird Irony and Sarcasm - 1440 Words

Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird is a highly regarded work of American fiction. The story of the novel teaches us many lessons that should last any reader for a lifetime. The messages that Harper Lee relays to the reader are exemplified throughout the book using various methods. One of the most important and significant methods was the use of symbols such as the mockingbird image. Another important method was showing the view through a growing childs (Scout Finch) mind, eyes, ears, and mouth. There is another very significant method that was used. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee utilizes the effects of irony, sarcasm, and hypocrisy to criticize a variety of elements in Southern life. br brHarper Lee employs the†¦show more content†¦Roosevelts lost her mind-just plain lost her mind coming down to Birmingham and tryin to sit with em. (pg. 237) The outright hypocrisy that Mrs. Merriweather states when referring to the North is one of the main elements that Harper Lee employs in criticizing the Souths political attitudes. There seems to be nothing that satisfies Mrs. Merriweather, who reflects the stereotypical southern woman-she despises the North no matter what they do up there. As is clearly evident, the use of irony, sarcasm, and hypocrisy proved to be a highly effective tool in criticizing American political attitudes in the South. Through the uses of irony, sarcasm, and hypocrisy, Harper Lee implies that a majority of the people in the South are close-minded upon their political views, never-changing and strictly one-sided. The use of irony and hypocrisy is most importantly used, however, upon the criticism of unjustified discrimination. br brUnjustified discrimination, undoubtedly on of the main, key concepts of To Kill a Mockingbird, is a large element in which Harper Lee employs the effects of irony, sarcasm, and hypocrisy in criticizing it. He aint company, Cal, hes just a Cunningham- (pg. 29) This is one of the first times in which Scout Finch encounters unjustified discrimination, and sadly, she fails to recognize it. When everybody invited to ones house should be considered company, Scout redefinesShow MoreRelatedDissecting the Ideology of Satire Essay1294 Words   |  6 Pagesacknowledge its truth†. The point he brings up is the ideology of satire. Satire, by definition, is a technique utilized by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society. This can be done by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule (Satire - Definition and Examples, para.1). Often times, the humor used opens the audiences’ minds to the underlying problem that the writer is trying to reveal. By examining the purpose and methods of satire, dissectingRead MoreAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 Pagesof identity is shaped by cultural and gender attitudes emergence of ethnic writers and women writers Style: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · narratives: both fiction and nonfiction anti-heroes concern with connections between people emotion-provoking humorous irony storytelling emphasized autobiographical essays Effect: ï‚ · too soon to tell Historical Context: ï‚ · ï‚ · people beginning a new century and a new millennium media culture interprets values Analyzing Poetry: Poetry Tips Analyzing Poetry Read MoreFigurative Language and the Canterbury Tales13472 Words   |  54 PagesMy left leg weighs three tons 41. iamb: a metrical foot consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable (example: re - HEARSE) 42. internal rhyme: a rhyme in which one or both of the rhyme words occurs WITHIN THE LINE. 43. irony: a contrast between what is stated and what is really meant Eg. By Spring, if God was good, all of the proud privileges of trench lice, mustard gas, spattered brains, punctured lungs, ripped guts, mud, and gangrene, might be his. - Thomas Wolfe 44