Buy essay on Satire as a Form Of Social Criticism in Works by Ralph Ellison and Henry Thoreau

Satire is a popular form of literary criticism. Many authors use this genre in order to express their dissatisfaction with different things which surround them. Henry Thoreau and Ralph Ellison also use satire in their works in order to pass their messages to their readers. Despite they use same genre the forms and satire and the forms of their literary works are different.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is often considered as one of the most controversial novels on the topic of African-American relations. Critics opinions are divided on this topic: one group praises his novel for accuracy of narrations, specific structure and style of narration. On the other hand, another group criticizes his approach to characters presentation and the usage of sharp satire. However, different techniques of satire used in the novel make unique, unpredictable and sophisticated. Most critics and writers insist that the usage of satire orients this novel only on a narrow circle of readers, but others state that it, on the contrary, attracts a wide range of readers.
In 1953 the novel got the National Book Award for fiction and it has become the topic of great debates. Nevertheless, the book has proven its power through years and presents us a portrayal of the Afro-American hero. Ellison’s style of narration may seem a bit ironical and even brutal, however, it depicts the reality of those times.
Ellison’s early life, his studies at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, life in New York and experience of jazz performance influenced his literal style in Invisible Man. The variety of styles and devices in the novel may be explained by the author’s various and bright life. He was able to combine realism and surrealism, to develop serious controversial topics of African-American relations using satirical techniques and depict general black American experience in the States and individual fight for freedom.
The novel is written in the first person and from the first pages readers acknowledge his inner state: he calls himself “invisible”. This state is not connected with physical abilities to see, in reality the character lives alone not noticed by other people. First-person narration plays a very important role in the story, because it allows to portray all main character’s feelings and emotions.
The author chooses satire to reveal the main subjects of the novel: blindness, racial stereotypes, racism as an obstacle to individual development, fight between stereotypes and narrow thinking. Satire in the novel is not a device to make it funny and relaxing. It serves as a strong weapon to develop these topics, to attract readers’ attention and make them realize the reality of the novel. Satire helps the main character to describe the most tragic and controversial events with sense of humour.
The satire of the novel is the fact that the main character can stay neither among white people who have been humiliating him all his life nor among his social group. He is not able to accept the social role that is dictated by the Brotherhood. As a result, he stays alone: strange in both communities. What is more important, he does not accept this role because it does not coincide with his inner identity. He does not want to be a puppet in any hands. This device is called sharp irony: the situation may seem funny on the first sight, however, in fact it appears to be difficult and even tragic.
He sees terrible racial discrimination and cannot witness it. Clifton, the former influential person on the Brotherhood, is killed by the white police officers. The invisible man decides to organize Clifton’s funeral, however, he is sharply judged and criticized by the representatives of the Brotherhood. It was an act of freedom and independence on his side, and it is not popular in the Brotherhood.
We can find a lot of examples of satire in the book, however, there are some bright example which make the novel unique and contribute greatly to the plot development. In Chapter 10 Lucius Brockway, working at the Liberty Paints plant, propagates the properties of the “Optic White” paint: “Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through” (Ellison, 145). Describing these characteristics, Brockway presents principles of the American society considering racial politics: American culture tries to assimilate the African-American identity, to wash its borders. It makes black men and women accept American rules, hide their true feelings and mask their emotions. This politics should have fruitful results: in some time African-American identity will not exist, it will be assimilated to the American culture. The satire of the situation is the fact that American culture is compared with the properties of the white paint. Its effect is so strong that it can whiten anything, even charcoal, which is used to produce black marks. Its main ability is to destroy and cover up black gaps. American cultures are supposed to do the same with the black identity.
Another example of metaphoric satire is the description of the coin bank. The narrator find’s it at Mary’s house and describes in such a way: “… the cast-iron figure of a very black, red-lipped and wide-mouthed Negro stared up at me from the floor, his face an enormous grin, his single large black hand held palm up before his chest. It was a bank, a piece of early Americana, the kind of bank which, if a coin is placed in the hand and a lever pressed upon the back, will raise its arm and flip the coin into the grinning mouth” (Ellison, 231). The coin bank is associated with the image of African-American in the author’s consciousness.
This figure is the symbol of American slaves who are used to the stereotypes created in the society and serve only one purpose – to entertain the white crowd and be just a decoration on the white scene. In such a way, this person is even not a person, but rather an object – a puppet or a toy in other people’s hands. It is an example of an old racial stereotype and when the narrator faces it at Mary’s house, he tires to escape it, however, the stereotype takes an important place in his head and he cannot get rid of it. It appears to be another example of irony – this stereotype follows him throughout all his life. It often happens that people are surrounded by things and situations that they want to escape most.
The author uses the surrealistic style of narration order to depict the controversy of both, white and black societies. Irony serves as a strong tool to reveal this controversy and to show that there is no perfect society, especially if it is sank in the variety of stereotypes. On the one hand White American society oppresses the African-American society, as it is shown in the book. It was the reality of the 50s years. However, the African-American society presented by the Brotherhood in the book is also far away from perfect. The Brotherhood, in its true, also uses ordinary people to fulfil its ideas and beliefs. There are a lot of critics who compare this brotherhood with the Communist Party: everything is created for people and all people are equal, but if anybody wants to be too independent or unique, there is no place for him in the Brotherhood. One of the critics, Foley, in her article writes: “Invisible Man accuses the Brotherhood of “selling out” or “sacrificing” African-Americans, who are manipulated for its own ends. However, equally important is its criticism of Brotherhood “discipline” or of democratic centralism, the insistence that members follow the Party line after a decision had been reached” (Folley, 32). Ellison shows that any society preoccupied by the stereotypes does not serve for people’s good.