Dating your mom by ian frazier
I found this writing by Ian Frazier to be very funny. Frazier uses the relationship between mother and son and twists it by describing it as romantic. Frazier tells hows the son tries to attract his mother but feels guilty for his father, providing a great comical scene for the readers. Also, Frazier describes the loving son complimenting his mother on her appearance, alarming the reader as something absurd. While reading, I slowly began to realize the message Frazier was trying to convey. The irony is that people tend to think that emotions or love towards one's parents is disgusting, which is unusual because parents are so loving for their children. Of course Frazier exaggerates this by changing the interpretation from family love to romance to gain the attention of the reader for a more dramatic and comical effect. From this, I believe this writing to be a satire. The message Frazier is presenting is that there is nothing wrong showing appreciation and love for one's parents, exploiting how silly people are for believing otherwise.
High school students demand wars in easier-to-find countries
This was definitely one of the most funny writing of the four I've read. The author did an excellent job showing how teenagers actually talk in this satire; yes, I do believe this is a satire because it expresses how uneducated young people are about worldly affairs. Most of the education in the United States is centered on America and not much else. Students don't really learn in detail about the world until they take world history in sophomore year. I really laughed at the part where they compared the situation to a video game; that sounds like someone would do something like that. In terms of literary devices, I would say he/she presented an instance of an understatement in the part where the article stated "people claim we don't know as much geography as our parents and grandparents..."
How to write about africa by binyavanga wainaina
Binyavanga Wainaina's cleverness in this excerpt from Granta 92: The View from Africa is very astounding to me, making it one of the best satirical pieces I've ever read. Wainaina's makes fun of the typical stereotype that Africa is a poor country that is in desperate need from Western assistance. This work is complete genius as Wainaina describes the scenes of Africa that usually come to one's mind, making the readers chuckle about how silly all of it really is. An example of this is when she describes the people with "naked breasts (young, old, conservative, recently raped, big, small) or mutilated genitals, or enhanced genitals. Or any kind of genitals. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked dead bodies. And especially rotting naked dead bodies." This writing is filled with tons of hyperboles of the thoughts of Africa by the western nations.
Miss kindergarten america by carol Schacter
This writing by Carol Schacter I found to be quite interesting. I believe this also was a satire because it describes how a little girl, who participates in beauty pageants, is forced into growing up and is focused on beauty way too early than she should, presented when it says "she had stopped eating cookies and ice cream and started smoking. Then she had really lost a lot of weight. Daddy called it 'baby fat' and said leave it alone, but Mommy said after all, the child is five and it's about time she thought about her shape." I think the idea Carol is trying to show is that little girls should enjoy being young instead of rushing to become adults, mostly resulted by the parents in this case who pressure the young girl in beauty pageants. I believe parody is being used because the author is making of fun of the life of pageant girls.