Vices of Human Nature Essay Example

getting swept away in the societal tide of timetables, appointments, programs, cut-off dates, and happenings. A significant life transformation could be triggered if only they adopted the habit of making their beds. "I discovered that this customary act provides an opportunity to gather myself in the morning, arranging my array of flaws and pending tasks into clear segments," (Keim 199). On comprehending this, readers start pondering their own "flaws and the haphazard heap of unfilled duties." Alas, they struggle to think of an answer for these deficiencies.

The audience starts questioning the extent of their actual control over life. It dawns on them that they are trapped in the system and breaking free is challenging. They come to understand that to break free, they need to start with small actions, like making their beds. This thought process is part of Keim's objective to eliminate laziness from people's lives. Keim further uses satire by comparing her "tutorial" to an important one. She cautions her audience, indicating: "anticipate a corner you've already completed to protrude," (200).

Keim's piece humorously imitates an authentic tutorial with genuine challenges and cautions, creating initial misunderstandings of her essay as something it isn't. The readers then understand that its content transcends mere bed-making. It actually focuses on gaining mastery over one's life. Keim, through her implicit "constructive satire", assists her audience in cultivating a superior lifestyle by implicitly delivering her message within a satirical process essay (Virtualsalt). This comedic approach could effectively address even grave subjects like death, yielding the intended outcome: transformation.

In her critique, Mitford aims to mock and bring to light the absurdity and redundancy of the entire embalming process,

with the hope of discouraging her audience from using it. She employs a satirical tone in her "medical jargon" associated with the various steps in the embalming process, a strategy that helps underscore its preposterousness and prompts readers to reject this practice. Furthermore, she details several challenges that embalmers encounter, adding humorously that things like "lip drift" can occasionally be fixed (Mitford 260).

The terminology used in context with this so-called "profession" undermines its seriousness and seems laughable, thereby persuading the reader to concur that the embalming industry is a sector better off avoided. The industry, as revealed by her, is prone to manipulate or misdirect its patrons into accumulating larger expenses (Honaker). Once Mitford gets the audience to recognize this reality, their repulsion intensifies. She amplifies her satirical approach by juxtaposing the objectives of embalmers with those of a football player. According to Mitford, the embalmer "and his team have given it their all to score and upset victory over death", implying to the readers the indifference of the embalmers towards the deceased bodies (Mitford 264).

The text encourages the reader to rethink their support for the embalming industry. Satirists have frequently used the peculiarities of The American Way of Death as a source of humor [Jessica Mitford]. When these peculiarities are revealed by this satirist, she persuades her audience to agree with her that embalming is a ridiculous practice to avoid. Mitford also calls attention to the impersonal nature of funerals by highlighting the various tools and devices used. Tools like the "Gordon LeakProof Earth Dispenser" and "Mechanical lowering devices" detract from the personal aspect of funerals (263). The key point of funerals is to

honor the memory of a loved one, and if they lose their personal touch, then what's the point?

Knowing about this impersonality, the reader will come to see embalming as a pointless expenditure of time and money, prompting them to reconsider their pursuit of such activities. Mitford's primary aim is to persuade her audience to abandon the senseless practice of embalming, a goal she accomplishes through satire. Other absurd human behaviors are also criticized by astute observers in hopes of cultivating a more advanced society. Carlin's satirical take on the process of commercialism shocks the reader into realizing just how widespread materialism is, prompting a shift in their materialistic behaviors.

He skillfully links all his arguments to "you", the reader, highlighting the materialistic tendencies, even when he tries to adjust the focus: "Enough about your possessions, let's discuss other people's belongings. Haven't you noticed that you never feel entirely comfortable in someone else's house? The reason? There's no space for your belongings!" (Carlin in "Stuff"). He shifts from “your possessions,” yet shortly after returns to the topic. This mirrors the self-centred nature of the materialism-heavy lifestyle of the audience. After this self-centredness is revealed, the readers are compelled to acknowledge it and transform their corrupted, material-centric lives.

Moreover, Carlin mocks the concept of essential items, asserting that all he genuinely requires are his "money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hankie, pen, cigarettes, contraceptives, Vaseline, whips, chains, whistles, and a book." Clearly, much of these articles are superfluous and that is precisely Carlin's point: individuals tend to be overly preoccupied with unnecessary materialism. If he is successful in enlightening his audience about this preoccupation with material possessions, he can

potentially encourage transformation towards a superior society. This aspiration for societal betterment is more effectively achieved through emotions where the audience is most susceptible to persuasion for change.

The three authors evoke a sense of pathos to stir an emotional response from their audiences, railing against the illogical processes that bind their existence. Keim employs pathos to inspire her audience to liberate itself from established norms and foster its own conception of order. She utilizes potent words to underscore the importance of seemingly mundane tasks such as making the bed, provided it is done correctly. By referring to the process as "the ritual" (Keim 201), she conditions her audience to perceive it as such, with the implication that they can remodel other aspects of their lives through the completion of this "ritual". This prompts readers to contemplate the latent grandeur of the process.

Furthermore, Keim utilizes pathos by portraying a "good girl" persona and expressing that she used to make her bed due to being a "good girl" (199). This instigates a guilt-laden emotion in readers, prompting them to understand that there should be a more substantial reason for making the bed than merely being a "good girl." They should rather grasp that this routine can catalyze society's maturity. People need to move away from the autopilot lives they lead and embrace a life they dominate.

The induced guilt of laziness prompts a change within the audience to reclaim what society has damaged: life. Mitford stirs up emotions of empathy within her audience, in a bid to make them resist the practice of embalming, increasing their opposition towards it. She employs cheerful yet macabre descriptions that intensify the

surprise element for her audience. She details the deceased bodies with, "eyes... closed with skin-coloured eye caps and eye cement," as a means to arouse emotional response (259). The more Mitford can appall her audience through the embalming process, the higher her chances of swaying their opinion and eliminating it from their lives.

Mitford dedicated herself to revealing organizations that took advantage of the public, with the embalming industry being one of them (Honaker). She laid bare the unscrupulous tactics of embalmers, who victimize the unsuspecting public by concealing their true practice. Through the strategic use of pathos, Mitford stirs feelings of revulsion and resentment towards the embalming profession. She derides embalmers through satirical humor to evoke further pathos, irritation, and distaste amongst her readers. Mitford highlights the audacity of embalmers who "will entertain guests between 10 A.M. and 9 P.M." immediately after completing an embalming procedure (Mitford 261).

Mitford's use of satire effectively stirs feelings of sympathy from the audience towards the embalmers, once again highlighting their lack of consideration. She consistently expressed the notion, “you might not be equipped to alter the world, but at least you could shame those at fault [the embalmers],” (Honaker). And indeed, she succeeds in shaming the guilty party, her use of pathos leading the audience to discern the broader perspective and consequently shift their attitudes towards the embalmers. Similarly, she provokes these feelings of sympathy over other subjects related to human misjudgement in routine life occurrences. In a like manner, Carlin invokes feelings of pathos in his audience to induce guilt over their materialistic tendencies and inspire a change in behavior.

Through his narrative, he throws light on how the

audience's lives are primarily focused on things or possessions. This perspective is emphasized as he portrays various facets of life that revolve solely around the accumulation of material things. His statement, "all your house is… is a pile of stuff with a cover over it," brings a new understanding of materialism (Carlin in "Stuff"). If one realizes that their thoughts are solely occupied by material possessions, it may motivate them to reevaluate their level of materialism. Carlin believed that it was the comedian's responsibility to identify and challenge societal norms, which he achieves by labeling everyone as materialistic (Carlin in Current).

He emphasizes this weakness and employs emotional appeal to make his audience feel culpable, compelling them to agree with his perspective that society exhibits a materialistic flaw. He links every phase of a vacation to this matter. He demonstrates how society is excessively obsessed with the urge to "[need] to buy more stuff" such that it obstructs the enjoyment of a vacation (Carlin in "Stuff"). Given that what could have been a potential family-enhancing vacation has morphed into an opportunity to acquire more possessions, it leads the audience to feel regretful about their prior needs to purchase an extra memento, visit a famous clothing outlet in Honolulu, or purchase everything possible rather than cherishing the vacation experiences with loved ones.

The guilt aimed at the audiences suggests that there is a need for societal transformation. These three writers humorously critique everyday human weaknesses while evoking empathy in their audiences, inspiring individuals to eliminate these flaws from their existence. Each author uses satire as their tool to reveal these flaws present in mundane processes, which

when brought to light, arouse empathetic responses. Keim demonstrates that accomplishing something as simple as making the bed can lead to a total restructure of one's life and consequently, the society as a whole. Mitford unveils the realities of the funeral industry in the hope of provoking her audiences to reconsider the American-centric funeral and embalming procedures.

Carlin urges a reflection on the rising trend of materialism in today's society, in a bid to elicit societal progression. They share a mutual objective of inducing guilt within their spectators for their actions and igniting a motivation for transformation within them. A widely shared belief says that acknowledging the problem is the first step towards resolving it. Imagine if humanity admitted its shortcomings and desired to transform - the monumental advancement that could be achieved if society could successfully undergo this transformation, and eradicate its vices and faults. Surely, Keim, Mitford, and Carlin would be interested in seeing such societal evolution.