This course attempts to answer a complex question: "What does it mean to be human?" We read books, short stories, articles, and essays and analyze them. For example, we read the book Walden and the satire "An Honest Proposal." A lot of the time, we analyze these pieces by writing essays. However, there are many creative assignments, like writing an original satire.
EDUCATION ESSAY
For Humanities class, we wrote an essay on education, about a topic of our choice. I decided to write about how private schools are a disease that is ruining education in America.
My main arguments were that private schools are elitist, that they can lead to discrimination, and that they offer an inferior education to public schools.
Satirical Analysis
In class, we studied satire and the numerous narrative techniques that authors use to advance their arguments. We wrote an essay analyzing a satire of our choice.
My essay compared a satire – "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut – to an ordinary argumentative peace, an essay called "The Menace of Political Correctness" by Joseph Epstein from the Claremont Review of Books. Both of these pieces complain about society's tendency to go overboard in its aim to create equality for all. "Harrison Bergeron" examines a future society where everyone is equal, and this equality is enforced through government devices that stifle extraordinary abilities.
Utimately, I believe that Vonnegut's satire is more effective than the essay, and I argue this point in my Satirical Analysis.