Huckleberry Finn and the N-word debate

          I recently read an article about the N-word in the book Huckleberry Finn talking about how the new, censored version-which is rapidly taking over on school reading lists. This new version replaces the the word "nigger" with the word "slave". It is hotly debated whether or not the original version should be read to kids or not. Some say kids should not be exposed to the word; others say the word is more hurtful if you don't use it.I am inclined to believe the latter group; I believe that profanity is more meaningful the less you use it. 

          Another issue with censoring the word is that it takes away from the meaning of the book. During the  time period that the book was set in , it was the word everybody used. And it's not like it goes unsaid today, either- most black people call themselves and each other that. It also changes the meaning of the word itself- "slave" is a condition while "nigger" refers to the entire race.

          

Drive-Thru workers

There are many things that can annoy me, it's true,
but my biggest pet peeve is the workers at the drive-thru.
I might order a chicken sandwich and fries
but over the years I have come to realize  
if I say "no mayonnaise" they'll give me plenty
and if it's three dollars they'll charge me a twenty.
They get everyone else's orders right with consistency
but mine they mess up with incredible frequency.
What is it about me that makes them mess up?
Makes them forgest the pickles and the ketchup?
It's not only the drive-thru but restaurants too;
I'll get pork instead of the cow that says moo.
If I ask for a lemon they'll give me a lime
ninety-nine point nine percent of the time.
My fries are all curly instead of straight
And the rest of the food sitting on my plate
is probably something that I don't really like
like saurkraut, brussel sprouts and English tripe.
But at the end of the day it doesn't bother me
'cause they make up for it by letting me eat free.

Satire in Shrek

          For my first post of the new year, I'm going to talk about examples of satire in the movie Shrek. There are four types of satire: exaggeration, reversal, parody, and incongruity. There are many exaggerations in the movie, such as Lord Faarquad's height, Shrek's hygiene  and  Fiona's fighting abilities. The main character, Shrek, is an example of reversal satire, since he is an ogre, but he is the hero of the story instead of the villain. The fairy tale creatures are an incongruity since they are so out of place with the otherwise realistic world. However, the type of satire that was used the most was parody.

          The entire movie was essentially a parody of fairy tales in general, particularly princess rescue stories like Sleeping Beauty. Numerous other individual stories were parodied as well, such as Snow White (Faarquad's mirror). Fairy tales aren't the only things parodied in the movie: many other things are poked fun at as well. The movie parodies pro wrestling in the tournement scene, king fu movies in the forest scene and celebrity marriages in the wedding scene. Throughout the entire movie, the goal of the satire was to make a movie that could appeal to a younger audience with exaggeration and slapstick as well as an older one with the movie's various parodies.