How is Satire Used in ' Why I want a Wife'?

1. What is Satire?
Satire is the use of ridicule or sarcasm to expose vice and folly through mocking and/or irony.


2. How is Satire used in the text?
It is used in the text through lists, short sentences, repitition and hyperbole. These literary features create a satirical effect to 'Why I want a Wife' to ensure that the reader makes sense of the purpose that Judy Syfers wrote the text.
A phase where satire is presented is,' I want a wife who will work and send me to school'. In real life such a statement would not be made because it is sterotypical that a man can work and send himself to school. For Syfers to use this shows how she is mocking what a man thinks a woman should do for them. The verb, send, connotes force or unwillingness to go somewhere. The use of this verb shows the reader that Syfers is implying that if it was not for the Wife the man would not go to school on his own accord.


3. Why is it used and to what effect ?
The reader thinks that Satire is used to question the role of a Wife in the home. It may also be there to show how men think a marriage should be like in a sarcastic way. An example of that is " A wife who will pick up after me". The use of the pronoun,me, connotes selfishness from the man and a somewhat spoilt nature from him also. The modal verb, will, shows that that is whats expected from a Wife. A woman's role as a Wife is not to have to pick up after her husband it should be a joint and willing thing to do. This is also another reason why Syfers uses Satire.