Week 6 Writing Entry: Satire

Why did you choose the character(s) you did for this assignment?

Throughout my two years in college, I have always been upset and angry with some of the things that go on in the Greek system. That is why I chose to satirize a sorority girl (and the Greek system at large). My character, or narrator, is fairly stereotypical, and I am mostly satirizing her shallowness and naïveté. I am also satirizing the nature of Greek parties, which are, in my opinion, overly crowded, disgusting, and unpleasant events to attend, with beer spilled all over the floor and some of the drunkest people you will ever encounter. As many of us know, date rape is a fairly rare, but unfortunate occurrence that can happen at Greek parties, another fact that angers me greatly. I chose to incorporate this into the story so that the satire would have a clear message or moral, and so that, in the end, you do sympathize for the narrator, even though she has been satirized for the majority of the story.

What was the most challenging part of writing a satirical piece?

The most challenging part of writing this piece was to make a transition from a satire into the serious ending. I wanted to make it clear that I was not satirizing rape, but that I was angered by the way that some men in the Greek system (and other places as well) will take advantage of naïve sorority girls who don’t know any better. I was making fun of her shallowness and naïveté, but also showing how it ultimately gets her into trouble.

Is your character “round” or “flat”?

My character is fairly flat throughout the entire story, but you know that she will no longer be a flat character after that night. She is rather one-sided throughout the entire story, but the reader is forced to sympathize with her at the end, even if they felt nothing for her until that point.

Did you return to Twain’s excerpt while developing your own satirical piece?

I did not turn to Twain’s excerpt very much while I was developing my piece. The only thing I really took inspiration from was his satirizing of the narrator himself. I decided to incorporate this into my own story, as I liked the way that the reader sees the story through the narrator’s eyes even though the narrator is ultimately being satirized.