1. Now at first glance, this piece of work made me uncomfortable because of the title and how i presumed that this piece of work would be about incest. I found out later that this was not true, and that the entire piece of work was a satire in which continued to make fun of the fact that we almost never compliment our mothers. This piece of work can be interpreted differently, and it may be at first hard to analysis due to the amount of hyperboles used to show an opinion in this piece of work. It is funny at certain points in the passage. The author was definitely intent on showcasing a piece of work that was to not be taken seriously as given in the following passage, "Ideally, i would like a mom about nineteen feet or twenty feet tall...". From where this passage was taken out of, the author was trying to show his viewpoint as a little child or a baby even.
2. Yes, it is in fact a satirical piece of work because of the tone of the author in the story and also the exaggeration given by the hyperboles. The description in the last paragraph, the afterword, does not seem to be realistic. This piece of work is making fun of how teenagers almost now never compliment their mothers. Due to society and how we view certain things, most people (including myself) assumed that this title was of a sexual meaning. But that is not entirely true because nothing in the passage actually said anything sexual. I do not know understand the paragraph where the author said that we should abandon our fathers and tell them to get their own mothers, but i believe the author may have used this paragraph to show a more comedic tone of voice in the passage. How to Write about Africa-Binyavanga Wainaina
1. This piece of work is a satire because of its sarcastic tone and its mocking of the way other people and societies see Africa. The author in who created this satire intended to make fun of those who portray Africa as such in the story, 'pretending' to give advice on how to write about Africa. Its actually quite obvious, and in many times in the passage, the author uses humor to lighten up the passage such as "Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. Or corrupt politicians, inept polygamous travel-guides, and prostitutes you have slept with. The Loyal Servant always behaves like a seven-year-old and needs a firm hand; he is scared of snakes, good with children, and always involving you in his complex domestic dramas." The passage itself makes fun of the typical African stereotype that Africa is a poor continent that will always need help from western countries. Alongside that, Wainaina uses these funny scenes from her satire to make fun of the images that people typically have of Africa.
High School Students Demand Wars in Easier-To-Find Countries-
This piece of work is also a satire and what qualifies it as a satire is the fact that it took a serious topic, such as education, and made it funny and offensive. The author of this satire really wanted to tackle the fact that American students are falling behind and not very good in subjects such as geography. Not only is it world geography but also worldly affairs. The author makes it very clear that young people nowadays are unaware of whats actually going on outside of the country. The author used hyperboles and an understatement. "Since the anti-terror war began, most of my students can now point to Afghanistan on a map, which is fine, but those same kids still don't know the capitals of Nevada and Ohio," said Richard Gerber, who teaches at Rhymony High School in Atlanta. "I think we need to cut back on our activities overseas and take care of business at home, and if that means invading Tallahassee (Fla.) or Trenton (N.J.) so that students learn where they are, so be it."
Miss Kindergarten America- Carol Schacter
This piece of work by Carol Schacter is a satire because of how it is making fun of how certain girls are being forced into these beauty pagents and being made aware of their looks and of fashion in general rather than playing and doing normal activities that other children do. The main idea that i think Schacter was trying to portray was that the little girls should be able to enjoy a normal life and not a dolled up life or to have to think about their make-up or beauty all the time. "She undressed and stood at the mirror, looking at her figure. When she had reached the semifinals, she had stopped eating cookies and ice cream and started smoking." Not only that, but Schacter also portrays the little girl to be able to do adult-like activities so i believe that parody and hyperbole is being used to exaggerate certain details in this satire.