The primary purpose of satire is to criticise the flaws of society by representing human nature’s questionable attitudes in humorous and ironic ways, in order to challenge the audience’s own perspective on themes of racism and religious hypocrisy. Exploring disturbing social causes malicious conditions in a society is an essential characteristic in most satirical texts. Writers exaggerate certain negative aspects of society to employ realism.
Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and the political satire show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Immigration and Refugees” criticise society by exposing the idiocy of racism and religious hypocrisy. Oliver and Twain uncover the disguised racism rampant in their respective eras. They employ social criticism as an important element to unmask the cloaked flaws of society. Twain explores the hidden issue of racism in the pre-civil war era through the scathing of ‘Huckleberry Finn’.
He exposes the dehumanising social belief that only certain races are endowed with certain human dignity while others are treated as mere property. He exposes the dehumanising social belief that only certain races are endowed with certain human dignity while others are treated as mere property Correspondingly, in many ways Jim is a caricature, “she pecks on me all de time, en treats me pooty rough”. In the novel dignity, respect and honour was solely based on race, to the point that they weren’t even viewed as human as Huck compares the “theft” of Jim with that of property like a “Sunday-school book”.
Throughout the novel Huck breaks free from the absurd rules of society, yet his conscience was still strongly influenced “I do believe he(Jim) cared just as for his people as white folks do for their’n. It don’t seem natural”. Twain employs reversal and irony, as Pap being the “superior white man”, could not care less about his son, while Jim the black man was ever so saddened. Black people were defined as inferior barbarians, and were stereotyped as immature, irresponsible and unintelligent. However, it was ironic that a “white” father, Pap would always “raised Cain” against the innocent Huck.
In Huck Finn, Pap possessed the contrast to “siviliation”, immatureness and irresponsibility. Through Twain’s use of irony, reversal and caricature he exposes the extreme racial prejudice and allows the audience to realise the critiques of society, that no human should be denied their dignity as race does not dictate morality or justice. Social criticism in Huckleberry Finn benefits readers to unmask the hidden flaws of the pre-civil war society. Similarly, Oliver discovers and uncovers the senseless racist views of the European immigration system.
He scoffs at countries disguised prejudice reasoning in not accepting and above suspicion refugees. Oliver draws attention to the issue of the immigration crisis through a respectable manner. Throughout the show, Oliver constantly mocks, ridicules and discovers irony in the prejudiced views society has on Muslim refugees “you do not get claim you’re not calling those people terrorists, when your lower third says terrorists inbound question mark”, society is offensively reducing the immigration crisis to one stereotype; all terrorists are Muslim.
Furthermore, another aspect is the underlying understatements in describing the refugees in prejudiced manner. David Cameron hyperbolically states “a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean…”, he represents innocent and poor refugees as a large or dense group of flying insects. Viewers deduce the prejudiced and senseless reasoning governments have upheld to reduce the immigration “Slovakia doesn’t allow Muslims because it doesn’t have any mosques”. Oliver uncovers the racist, senseless and idiotic reasoning European leaders partake on the immigration issue.
Oliver applies humorous and essential social criticism to assist his viewers to understand the defects of society. Huckleberry Finn, exposes the follies of society’s preaching of hypocritical and absurd religious values whilst condoning immoral practices such as slavery. Twain mocks a society by juxtaposing the society’s religious “morality” with the very same society’s dehumanising treatment of African Americans, as he critiques society’s immoral prejudice. In the novel, society has formed a foolish concept of hell and heaven the complete opposite of the one described in the Bible “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”.
Twain is employing irony, as Huck believes that he will end up in hell for assisting a poor man(Jim) to achieve his human rights. Furthermore, Christian sisters, Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas constantly encourage Huck to “help other people”, and always assist “for other people” in the form of religious belief, but this is ironic as she never mentions anything about owning people. Evidentially, pre-civil war Christians had a different set of commandments for the black community. Miss Watson’s religion is further satirised when she “fetched the niggers in” for an evening prayer.
Society learns the “Sunday school book”, but refuse to undertake it. This is further exemplified by the feud between the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. Both families respectively attend Church “the men took their guns along” on Sunday to be taught on “brotherly love”. The two families embrace the sermon, but correspondingly embrace the full-blooded rivalry ignoring the sixth commandment “You shall not murder”. As the novel progresses further readers understand and acknowledge the religious hypocrisy presented to the black community.
Twain uncovers the follies of the pre-civil war Christian society which allowed feuds, fights and human ownership. Similarly, Oliver reveals the unknown religious hypocrisy against migrants and refugees. He pokes fun at society’s incongruity in religious beliefs and treatment of refugees and migrants He exposes the follies exactly how society judges’ refugees differently regardless of their religious teachings. Social criticism in Las week tonight benefits readers to reveal the buried failings of the immigration system.
Throughout the show, it is displayed how refugees “are being fed like a heard of caged of animals” in the country Hungary where the dominated religion is Christianity. Furthermore, in the show, viewers witness “a camerawoman appears to trip a man running with his child”. It is ironic how the Bible teaches “Do to others what you want them to do to you”. Society prove their hypocrisy with their understanding of religion and the treatment of innocent refugees. Viewers understand the disgusting treatment of refugees and its conflict, it has with religion. The views of any religion will juxtapose the nature refugees are mannered.
Oliver draws attention to the treatment of innocent treatments in a more mannered fashion. Oliver uncovers the disgusting treatment of refugees, which thoroughly juxtapose the treatment taught in religious scriptures. Oliver socially criticises society with the purpose to the discourse of society. Oliver and Twain both criticise the misconceptions and fallings of society through humour, exaggeration and irony. They discovered and satirised the defected features of society in their respective texts, with the goal of drawing attention to the deplorable aspects of humanity.
In Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the satire show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Immigration and Refugees they expose the hidden follies of issues racism and religious hypocrisy in their respective contexts through their humorous critiques of racial prejudice and religious hypocrisy. Both satirical texts draw attention to the flaws of society with social criticism as its primary element. Social criticism is a necessary element in satire to identify and correct the discourse in the civilised society.