Sample answers from the mid-term test

Question 1, option 1

This episode examines civic pride and myth-making, first building them up through rhetoric (Marge’s speech), history (Grandpa’s account of the town origins) and action (the boys’ heroic quest to retrieve the tree). However, the episode ultimately undermines civic pride and myth-making; the elements of Marge’s speech are shown in negative ways (Nelson catches fish to throw them at cars and Lisa only supports the lemonade stand out of pity); Grandpa’s stories are juxtaposed (and equated?) with the false stories of his Shelbyville double; and the quest’s grandeur is lessened by comparison to the Greek’s more influential invasion of Troy and by the damage they inflict on the tree. The implication is that society (and particularly American society) places inordinate importance and credibility on its civic (and perhaps national) myths.

Unsurprisingly, since these myths are of patriarchal origin, gender is also a factor in “Lemon of Troy.” The line that will supposedly make the boys men is revealed to be a construction when the girls run across it in the background. This could be a suggestion that the myth-making urge is specifically male, that it is born of their desire to “become men.” If this is the case, then such stories must themselves be constructions.

Question 2

The scene in the South Park episode “Over Logging” in which Randy gives a speech about the need to stop taking the Internet for granted is an example of Horatian satire because over use of the Internet is not a societal evil, but an ill or undesirable quality. The satire in this scene comes from a number of different characteristics, all of which are related to the comparison made throughout the episode between the Internet and necessary resources. In this particular scene the Internet is related to all natural resources, though the play on words in the title “Over Logging” suggests a specific relation to logging and forestry. The satire is created largely due to the seriousness with which Randy delivers his speech. He stresses that people must use the Internet moderately and at the most once a day for the purpose of masturbation. Randy says that if we abuse the Internet it may go away forever. The seriousness of this address and the satire in it is strengthened by the fact that Randy is dressed like a Native American. This comparison and the parody of a Native chief pleading for respect for the natural environment satirize the dependency that individuals have on the Internet. Wasting and depleting natural resources is a serious problem because they can not easily be replenished. However, the connection drawn between the Internet and these resources satirizes the idea that humans in our society would be just as lost without the Internet as without wood or water. Thus, this scene employs parody and play on words, as well as an emphasis on the seriousness of Randy’s address to satirize the extent to which individuals depend on the Internet as though it were essential to life and a non-renewable resource. This scene can be characterized as Horatian satire because individuals are being mocked softly for their somewhat undesirable dependency on the Internet.

Question 3, option 2

Auden says that the figure of satire should be presented as being “mad” or “demonic.” This concept is seen most clearly in the South Park episode “Over-Logging” where citizens of the United States are nearly driven to madness because they lose their internet connection. The figure who is most satirized is Randy Marsh who becomes crazed when lack of internet porn means he cannot masturbate for days. What then is satirized is the dependency of U. S. citizens on the internet for their day to day lives. News, shopping and bank account information are just some the things lost along with the internet. The citizens all head to the one area where some internet still remains. Humorously, looking much like a refuge camp, a massive line up is made for people to take turns using the one computer that has internet. The people who are shown using it do not use it for anything important, rather they are shown looking up funny videos on youtube, and all Randy wants is to see some porn. The madness demonstrated in the episode then satirizes the dependency we all have on technology such as the internet, and how it even takes the place of real relationships. It is said that the madness in satire assists in distancing the reader from the object of satire. Thus, by making Randy Marsh so hyper-dependent on the internet and willing to break into army-controlled buildings to get to it, he is distanced from the viewer who likely thinks “that is funny because I would never go that far,” yet the viewer is also likely very dependent on the internet too. Therefore the madness presented distracts the viewer from identifying with the character of Randy, yet ultimately it is the viewer (along with society) who is being satirized by the show.