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Personification
Definition of Satire
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition
Section 4
Explanation and Analysis—Miss Emily's Taxes:
Satire and irony are shown through the situation of Miss Emily's taxes. Her refusing to pay taxes becomes a problem with the new generation, but because of Colonel Sartoris's inventive tale of the remittance being a repayment to her father for having loaned the town money, Miss Emily believes that she was given the right to not pay taxes and therefore is justified in her refusal. In reality, the irony is that Miss Emily's wealth is depleted, and exempting her from taxes is a form of charity. Being poor, the only influence that Miss Emily has is in the weight of her family name. The story can be read as a satire of this scenario, a not uncommon one in the turn-of-the-century South. The paragraph below is one example that highlights the satire and irony of Miss Emily's tax situation:
From that time on her front door remained closed, save for a period of six or seven years, when she was about forty, during which she gave lessons in china-painting. She fitted up a studio in one of the downstairs rooms, where the daughters and granddaughters of Colonel Sartoris' contemporaries were sent to her with the same regularity and in the same spirit that they were sent to church on Sundays with a twenty-five-cent piece for the collection plate. Meanwhile her taxes had been remitted.
While Miss Emily may be able to afford to pay taxes now, thanks to her self-employment, her income seems to also be a form of charity, as it is compared to the money put into the collection plate at church. Further, the fact that her income is provided for by the daughters and granddaughters of Colonel Sartoris's contemporaries shows that it is the same people all along that are supporting her, making the reader wonder if her students are really interested in china-painting. Thus, while Miss Emily will not accept charity directly, the irony is that she does accept it when it is disguised in the form of income.
Related Themes:
