satire
Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer in a satire uses fictional characters, which stand for real people, to expose and condemn their corruption.
Pygmalion example: The play Pygmalion itself is a satire of the English class system. Shaw satirizes the cruelty and ridiculousness of the upper classes through Eliza’s transformation from poor to rich. The characters and their actions she encounters along the way all stand for various corruptions that Shaw disagrees with. Shaw’s purpose in doing this is to expose how inhumane the well-off can be so the audience can recognize cruelty and ridiculousness and avoid it. |