Satire and satirical novel

WHAT

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, satire is "an artistic form, chiefly literary and dramatic, in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, parody, caricature, or other methods, sometimes with an intent to inspire social reform" (1). Therefore, a satirical novel is a novel that uses satire to point out the political situation or any other issues amongst the social circle and to make the reader aware of it, possibly changing their opinion about it. It can be found not only in literature but in film, music, and visual arts as well. 

WHEN

The origin of satire is considered Old Comedy by the Greek writer Aristophanes. However, the first to use the word "satura", which eventually became "satire", would be the Roman rhetorician Quintilian. (2) 

BEST-KNOWN EXAMPLES

One of the most famous classical satirical pieces is definitely Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945), though he uses allegory as well. The novella talks about animals on a farm rebelling against the farmer, hoping to create a free, happy society. In reality, Orwell is talking about the Bolshevik Revolution that started in 1917.
Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) is another example of satiric prose. The main plot is about traveling and ending up somewhere strange, and unknown. It mocks travel tales and human nature itself. 

There are a lot of good examples in today's media, too; for instance my favorite - Fight Club, a novel that was written by Chuck Palahniuk in 1996, that mocks capitalism and toxic masculinity. The movie released in 1999, starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter, was considered one of the most controversial movies of the 1990s. 

Works cited:

(1) Elliott, Robert C.. "satire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/satire. Accessed 24 September 2023.

(2) Elliott, Robert C.. "satire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/satire. Accessed 24 September 2023.

Author of the page: Nela Porubová