ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY – LEBANON
E303 PROJECT TITLE
SARCASM IN CARTOONS: LEXICOGRAMMATICALANALYSIS
OF THE SIMPSONS
RESEARCH SUBMITTED TO
DR HAYAT AL-KHATIB
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE PROGRAMME
COORDINATOR
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
UNITED KINGDOM OPEN UNIVERSITY/ARAB OPEN
UNIVERSITY
BACHELOR DEGREE
IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SORAYA AMIN YEHYA
2010
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Table of contents:
Acknowledgment …………………………….3
Abstract ………………………………………4
Introduction…………………………………...5
Literature Review…………………………….6
Methodology…………………………………8
Data Analysis………………………………..10
Findings and Interpretations………………....17
References……………………………………23
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Acknowledgment
This research wouldn’t have been possible without the provision and
facilitation of my university, professor and family.
I want to thank Dr. Hayat Alkhatib, who has shown great support and
knowledge, inspiring me all the way, not only in this project but also in
all the courses I have taken with her and in the development of my
character.
My warmest thanks to my family, my brothers and my friends from E303
course, who showed tolerance and understanding on my tasks as I took on
the research project.
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Abstract
In recent years the increasingly large body of research has examined the common situation in
which one thing is said in order to express another. Although research has examined the
understanding of figurative language such as metaphor in some depth, yet the power of
sarcasm in reflecting language aspects has been less studied. The aim of my project is to find
the importance of understanding sarcasm which requires considering the elements it signals
as lexis and grammar. The language user utilizes and is limited by what the language has to
offer him. The functional perspective of Halliday views language as a tool to convey one's
intended meaning , to convince ,verify or challenge his interlocutors in a specific given
context.
In this research the concept of sarcasm will interpret its important role acknowledged in
social factors. I have studied the T.V series The Simpsons which is a popular series because
it makes fun of everyday life through the use of different sarcastic words. My data collection
is taken from 13 different episodes that I have been watching and transcribing at the same
time. My participants are a family consisting of five members. The case study took me
almost three we
٤
Sarcasm in cartoons: Lexicogrammar analysis of the Simpsons
The aims of the investigation:
Most of the time, when we say something sarcastic, the person that we are speaking to
understands our intention. But how is it acquired through sarcasm? Sarcasm would never be
described as gentle or charming, but rather as caustic and bitter, describing situations,
persons, or things in a critical way in order to be funny. There seems to be a rising trend that
sarcasm seems to be the new form of a speech act. It is easy to find the use of sarcasm in
speeches nowadays. We find it on comedy shows and different T.V series.
The comedy language of The Simpsons which is the main focus on this research exists on
many different levels ranging from the obvious to the subtle and beyond. But most
importantly we must consider the show's ability to make significant social comment, on
general issues of culture and society through the use of sarcasm.
There are different questions that should be asked while doing the project as:
•
To what extent does context affect language through sarcasm?
•
Is there any educational value for sarcasm?
•
How does sarcasm affect the audience?
•
What are the findings of the research on languages studies in relation to sarcasm?
The rationale and main conceptual themes for the investigation:
In recent years the increasingly large body of research has examined the common situation in
which one thing is said in order to express another. Although research has examined the
understanding of figurative language such as metaphor in some depth, yet the power of
sarcasm in reflecting language aspects has been less studied. The main theme of my project is
to find the importance of understanding sarcasm which requires considering the elements it
signals as lexis and grammar. The language user utilizes and is limited by what the language
has to offer him. The functional perspective of Halliday views language as a tool to convey
٥
one's intended meaning , to convince ,verify or challenge his interlocutors in a specific given
context.
Sarcasm in The Simpsons is understood best by studying the language of Homer Simpsons.
Homer is the rude father of the Simpson family. With his wife, Marge, he has three children:
Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power
Plant. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight,
incompetent, clumsy, lazy and ignorant; however, he is also fiercely devoted to his family.
Literature Review:
In the past few decades, historians have focused on social groups societies to better
understand what their language reflects in general. The main questions in modern
studies involves finding the true meaning behind sarcasm ,finding out what in human
language is natural and what aspects does language reflects. Understanding sarcasm
requires considering social and cultural factors, which are often ignored in models of
language. Sarcastic interpretation occurs early in dealing with, gender, social-cultural
factors, syntactic aspects associated with class playing an important role. These data
support interactive models of nonliteral language processing, in which social and
cultural factors serve as early-acting constraints on interpretation. (Saying What You
Don't Mean, Social Influences on Sarcastic Language Processing, Katz, Blasko and
Kazmerski, 2004).
Fairclough's (1999) CDA is analysis of the dialectical relationships between discourse
(including language but also other forms of semiotic, e.g. body language or visual
images) and other elements of social practices. Its particular concern is with the radical
changes that are taking place in contemporary social life, with how discourse figures
within processes of change, and with shifts in the relationship between semiotics and
other social elements within networks of practices. We cannot take the role of discourse
in social practices for granted; it has to be established through analysis. And discourse
may be more or less important and salient in one practice or set of practices than in
another, and may change in importance over time.
Halliday (1994) in his Functional grammar explains how the orientation to the study of
linguistics is, and which element of language is explained by reference to its function in the
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total linguistic system. This orientation arises from and is centered on the need to approach
grammar from its natural contexts of use. Functional grammar examines language function
in view of the communicative context. It focuses attention on the grammatical data from
social interaction. Functional grammar views language as an elaborate system of meanings
with other grammatical categories functioning as realizations of semantic constituents.
Meaning is defined not just as a cultural aspect not even as what the speaker knows but as
what he can do linguistically, expressing ideas and thoughts through language.
Carey (2003) found that cartoon displays enable communion by invoking references to the
conventions of the academic trade, mocking the stereotypes of professionals and students
engaged in the occupation, and reflecting on the social distinction created by education. By
using specialized vocabulary within the context of a shared meaning system,
communication devices such as texts celebrate the social system they are situated in,
thereby providing a sense of ritual communion.
Capelli (2002) studies on sarcasm, says adults may rely on either of 2 cues: the context in
which the utterance is made, or the speaker's intonation .Children are able to recognize
sarcasm when the speakers used sarcastic intonation but failed to do so without the
intonation cue, even if the context strongly indicated a non literal interpretation. Subjects
delivered dialogue with intonation they deemed appropriate- and justified their choicesbased on contexts that either suggested sarcasm or not. Young children again appeared
largely oblivious to contextually implied sarcasm. These results suggest that children
initially depend more heavily on intonation than on context in recognizing sarcasm.
Tsakona (1999) studied how in cartoons, meaning and humor are produced either via two
semiotic modes, the verbal and the visual, or solely via the visual mode. Due to their
condensed form and to the interaction between language and image, cartoons are often
considered to be direct and easy to process means of communicating a message.
The present study aims at showing that cartoon humor is not always easy to grasp fully,
therefore the reader should pay attention to all the verbal and visual details of each cartoon.
For this purpose, a General Theory of Verbal Humor framework of analysis is adopted,
where cognitive and semiotic approaches are complementary and relevant in this respect.
Special attention is paid to exaggeration, contradiction, and metaphor as humorous
mechanisms and to the hyperdetermination of humor, which seems to result from the
interaction of verbal and visual elements and from the use of visual metaphor. By bringing
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to the surface some of the common humorous mechanisms in both the verbal and the visual
mode, the present analysis aims at taking the General theory a step further towards the
unification of linguistic and semiotic approaches to humor.
Data Collection:
In this research the concept of sarcasm will be interpreted through examining its important
role acknowledged in social factors. I have studied the T.V series The Simpsons which is a
popular series because it makes fun of everyday life through the use of different sarcastic
words. My data collection is taken from 13 different episodes that I have been watching and
transcribing at the same time. My participants are a family consisting of five members. The
date in the case study took me almost three weeks to transcribe.
Data presentation:
My Quantitative representation of numbers is in terms of numerical comparison for the
different cases where sarcasm is used. I will discuss on the other hand the qualitative
presentation which is the analysis of the different episodes.
Series17
Series16
Series15
18
16
Series14
14
12
10
Series13
8
6
4
Series10
2
0
Series7
Series12
Series11
Series9
Series8
1
Series6
Series5
Seventeen different episodes prove that the analysis of sarcasm is almost the same. They are
all related to the verbal responses, direct sarcasm responses, social knowledge in relation to
Homer's mental background within the high effective use of sarcasm
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Methodology:
The study of sarcasm is important because it is a part of human behavior. Its importance is
focused in the fact that is it also a description of social semiotics which provides the springs
for verbal humor to take effect. But since in this project it will be a little hard to prove how
facial expressions serve to show sarcasm, I will focus on language as an instrument for
cultural and social transmittion. I will be using the systematic analytical framework of
Functional Hallidayan Grammar in my research in only one area (Interpersonal relation) and
the critical discourse analysis framework to describe the grammatical and lexical features of
the social and cultural contexts which the texts reflect.
Analyzing the tools of sarcasm require a list of different categories as:
Syntax
Phonology
2.Modals defining unweave certainty
1.Use of intonation to show power
2. Inverse pitch obtrusion: "dipping" instead of
"rising" intonation (pitch) on the stressed
syllable.
3.Lower modal forms are more
appropriate
3.Heavy sarcasm: Exaggerated, regular stress,
monotonous intonation
1. Negative references to Homer
4.Extreme cases of projecting inner
feelings
5. Neologism.
6. Use of repetition.
7. Use of rhetoric.
8. Use of different figures of speech.
9. Using words to break social bonds.
10. Words describing ignorance in
knowing native words.
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11.Laughter behind sarcasm
Data Analysis
There are different linguistic mechanisms by which the word view ideological
perspectives reflected in a text. The choices people make decide the linguistic indicators
as most applicable to the issues of sarcasm in this research project. The list below
underlines the analyses of the indicators of sarcasm.
A. First part: Critical Discourse Analysis
Episode one:
While watching the episode, one can notice how words reflect a message behind Homer's
sarcasm .Homer is being ironic by refusing to attend church and dreaming that God is
speaking to him. Homer feels that God is caring and understanding to most of the people,
yet he doesn’t see the reason of attending church to be clean of sins. Sarcasm in these few
lines is identified through the language used as a representation of a religious context.
Words indicate that being a good person is enough in the eyes of God, while Homer sees
the restriction of the church as wrong. He talks with God as if he is a normal guy who
loves football. It is absurd that God would ask about a football team because he is the
creator of this world who knows everything but that helps portray him as an average guy.
Episode two:
Homer's words in contrast with Marge's words show the contradicting funny and at the
same time pushing father. He exaggerates it by using his harsh words and using his
sarcastic words that shows him as a bad parent. While Marge is the good parent, showing
always support and love because they are a family. There is a lot of absurdity in Homer's
actions because of his middle aged class acing so childish. Both the lexis and the
grammatical structures of the sentences prove that the use of mental skills and intonation
makes a clear access to sarcasm.
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Episode three:
Homer is the symbol of sarcasm by manipulating his daughter. This is a very sarcastic
episode, that remarks a very cruel and insensitive critical remark .The main concern is the
robbery and how people deal with it, while Lisa understands the rules of being a trustful
and legal citizen, Homer shows the opposite First of all, the use of Oh great, is a word
that focus on the use of sarcasm indirectly, with respect to the context in which it is
established. It relates to changes in pitch. Heavy sarcasm in this case is related to the
exaggerated, regular stress, monotonous intonation. He is portrayed as unintelligent but
shows the emphasis of police officers, mocking their effect on the cultural atmosphere.
The job of the FBI has been a popular satire in the past (Groening, 1990). It is sarcastic in
one way and funny in the other because they are real life problems and claims that
citizens face.
Episode four:
In this episode we are faced with Homer as the listener that hears the literal meaning of
the statement, realizes that the meaning contrasted with known facts, and replaces the
literal meaning with a nonliteral one. Homer's words could be ridiculing Lisa and Bart, to
show social distance which proves that his use of sarcasm is mostly related to break the
familiar bonds. He thinks that he has contributed in helping his culture but still he is
worried. This episode has a very sarcastic way of portraying American homes and
families because it appears to be closer to what is known as a social reality than just
happy deeds of heroism.
Episode five:
Sarcasm in this episode is more of a negative attitude because there is disapproval for
owning something that is not safe. Although Homer knows that having a weapon is not
suitable for a family, but still he gives the answer that most of the time he tries to use to
show his knowledge, but in fact his state of mind is not accurate. His words are not
applicable since at the end of the show the weapon is not kept at home. Sarcastically, he
is a man that says but never applies.
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Episode six:
It is interesting to note that every male, except one, viewed sarcasm as cheerful humor,
whereas the females are divided on the issue. Males expressed more tolerance of this
type of verbal aggression. It is also interesting to note that sarcasm is as a form of
aggression. The approval of Homer is apparent in his responses. Although he knows that
people call him stupid, he still insists that everyone listens to him as believing that he is of
great importance.
Episode seven:
Homer positions himself in a religion sarcastic discourse. To act and think talk and see
himself, in terms of giving gratitude to God but at the same time showing how cruel he is
belonging to the Simpsons family. Homer may learn new discourses and use them for
certain purposes while at the same time self-consciously keeping a distance from them.
According to CDA, the mysteries of the dialectics of discourse is the process in which
what begins as a self conscious rhetorical exploitation becomes ownership how people
become unconsciously positioned within a discourse. In this episode there is a view of
inculcation represented within material aspects like discourses are dialectically inculcated
not only in styles, ways of using language; they are also materialized in bodies, postures,
gestures, ways of moving, and so forth.
Episode eight:
Sarcasm in this episode is directed at outsiders of a particular group, affirming that
Homer is not good enough to be part of the group. Mentality sarcasm as a social part
takes place when Homer does not fit a group’s expectations of what is acceptable.
Another facet of Homer's persona is his love of food and beer. At work, Homer consumes
unending amounts of donuts, whilst at home his passion is pork, whether it is pork-rinds,
pork-steaks or pork-chops. Homer also has a famous passion for Duff beer, which at one
point became so extreme that Marge challenged him to give up alcohol for a month.
Instead of helping Lisa, he makes of himself a fool eating the clay, concluding his limited
mind to take things seriously.
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Episode nine:
Homer Simpson is an artful and deliberate rhetorician. For one thing, he's a selfproclaimed master of sarcasm. Homeric logic often depends on a rhetorical question for
its expression. According to Gibbs & O’Brien, (1991), the emergence of sarcasm use
tasks involving second order belief judgments and the skill to distinguish sarcasm from
deception and ignorance.
Episode ten:
Homer's eccentric use of raising questions and answering them is gradually when he stars
pronouncing a native word in the wrong way. According to CDA, the educational
background of the speaker influences his life. There is also a reflection that the use of
sarcasm tends to be a more efficient way of conveying emotion or thought. Some people
also view sarcasm as a less aggressive form of stating what truly on one’s mind .Sarcasm
is also gives the speaker an opportunity to be dramatic and use wordplay that is more
interesting than straightforward remarks.
Episode eleven:
Next door to the Simpsons is the Flanders family. In stark contrast to
the chaotic lives of the Simpsons, they represent the communal, God fearing and caring
social values of stereotypical white, middle-class America. Ned Flanders is foremost a
religious man. He is one of the few people who are able to make Homer angry whenever
they meet.
Episode twelve:
Addition, sarcastic remarks also require additional cognitive processing. The brain has to
do more work in figuring out the messages. If a speaker wants to get a certain message
across but uses sarcasm as the means to do it, there is always a possibility that the listener
will not interpret the comment as the speaker intends. Yes, sarcasm may be a more
interesting means of making a statement. It may be more dramatic and less boring, but it
will be inefficient if the speaker’s desired reaction does not occur. Sarcasm will be
inefficient if the listener acquires feelings of ill will even though the speaker’s intention is
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to be sarcastic and funny. Homer's sarcasm is inefficient when the audience takes the
remark humorously although the speaker intends it to be serious and derisive. If there is a
great likelihood of misunderstanding and hurt feelings, making conversation exciting and
interesting does not seem to be a good enough reason to make sarcastic comments. Direct
comments in this are straight forwarded to God and will hardly cause people to guess the
speaker’s intentions for making the comment.
Episode thirteen:
The sarcastic part of this episode reveals the real class rank of Homer Simpson mocking
books and what they teach, showing how uneducated he is, and by his sarcastic
justification he shows his ignorance to books. Unlike what a real parent is, Homer is the
opposite of Lisa every practice he makes is an expression of the diverse social elements
within a society, always including discourse. Applying the CDA analysis of the
dialectical relationships between discourse including the language, body language and
visual images of the episode shows the social practices, particularly the new concern that
are taking place in contemporary social life, with how discourse figures within processes
of change, and with shifts in the relationship between parents, children and other social
elements within networks of practices.
Episode fourteen:
Negative sarcasm, where positively worded utterances convey negative attitudes, is used
frequently in everyday language. The person who utters an indirect, sarcastic statement is
perceived as intending to be more offensive, verbally aggressive, anger provoking, and
mocking. The sarcastic message is also perceived as more insincere, humorous, impolite,
non-instructional, and conveying a somewhat unclear message. Homer is also seen as
being superior. Basically, sarcasm is perceived negatively, as a means of verbal
aggression. It is no surprise that the Homer would view his comments as less cutting. He
may believe that what he is saying is not as bad as others make it out to be.
Episode fifteen:
In the application of CDA, Social life in this episode is reflexive in the dialectical process
that does not end with performance and inculcation. Homer not only act and interact within
networks of social practices, he also interprets and represents to the audience they do.
١٤
Moreover, if we are thinking specifically of economic practices in contemporary societies,
people’s activities are constantly being interpreted and represented by others, including
various categories of experts and academic social scientists .What this amounts to is that
ways of interacting and ways of being including the discourse aspects, genres and styles are
represented in discourses, which may contribute the production of new imaginaries, which
may in turn be enacted. His used of fillers like Woohoo, shows that all he cares about is
what doesn’t suit society as the episode shows. At the end he is less of taking the work
because of Marge's disapproval which proves him as the best uncertain character.
Episode sixteen:
Homer demonstrates a sense of humor by his frequent use of sarcasm as a means of
breaking the ice during initial encounters with others. He also uses sarcasm as a means of
being comedic with his family. He says something contrary to what he feels for the
purpose of being funny, asking questions that doesn’t fit the proper social conventions.
The assumptions which tend to be of particular interest to critical linguistics is what can
be applied in this episode, asserting that Homer's words represent a specific view of the
world.
Episode seventeen:
Hullabalooza is based on the series of alternative-rock tours, Lollapalooza. Inspired by a
similar festival in Reading, England (called, `The Reading Festival'), Farrell created a touring
concert that combined cutting-edge music with sixties-throwback politics. The basic idea is to
position together a group of bands new enough to be cool, but not so new as to be completely
obscure. Homer is released from the festival and goes back to not being respected by his
children. The plot focuses around Homer's depression about aging and no longer being cool,
and his quest to become cool again by joining the Hullabalooza music festival as a carnival
freak.
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Hallidayan Interpersonal Functional grammar
Inclusive
pronoun
Exclusive
pronoun
Direct
address
Stance
and
deontic
modality
Stance and
epistemic
modality
Stance and
attitude
Type of sentence
Hearing
Statement and
question.
Fighting
Imperative.
Stealing
Statement.
Text one
I
Text two
We
I
Text three
Should
You
Your
Have to
Will
You
Text four
I
Can't
Text five
I
Will
Text six
I
Showing up
Justify
Getting a gun
Claims
Insisting
Will keep it
Question and
statement
Command.
Love
Don’t
deserve
Did spite
Statement.
I
Sorry
Statement.
I
Being
sarcastic
Statement
Text ten
I
Feeling
Statement and
question
Text eleven
I
Text seven
We
Text eight
Text nine
They
You
Statement and
question
Would love
Text twelve
Statement
exclamative
You
Text thirteen
I
Text fourteen
I
Text fifteen
I
١٦
Statement and
question
Questions
Don’t call
You
Couldn’t
Statement and
question
Statement
Text sixteen
I
Couldn’t
Statement and
exclamative
Text seventeen
I
Don’t
Statement
The importance of analyzing the interpersonal area in Hallidayan systematic Grammar is
to prove that the value of the deontic, epistemic as well as the position of the reader is the
contrary in the T.V series The Simpsons. Homer at the end is not a person who does
apply all what he wants. The power of his language is considered as a null power. Most of
the type of sentences are statements and sometimes questions, which means that the use
of sarcasm is naturally dependent on the choices made consisting of individual acts and
the use of modals.
Interpretation and findings:
The analysis of data reveals the comparison and contrast of the language associated with
sarcasm with relation to human activities. The interpersonal meanings offer an insight of
the viewing and understanding of the world. The word sarcasm is connected to ideas and
position where the speaker or the sarcastic character positions himself. Homer is described
as sarcastic positing himself to non serious situations. The persona genre makes reference
to the social role of Homer as a stupid parent who is not suitable for the familiar position
but is suitable for the reflection of real facts shown through the messages behind the words.
Finding of the research on language studies in relation to sarcasm are drawn to support its
use through based lessons, utilizing the quantitative option of Simpson's sarcasm. Sarcasm
is portrayed in most dictionary references as negative behavior; it is designed to wound,
insult, or taunt. However, some researchers say that much sarcasm involves teasing and
joking. Sarcasm is relatively common, although most instances of sarcasm tend to be
isolated. Most sarcasm is linguistic, philosophical, or literary in nature.
A. Syntax:
1.
Negative references to Homer:
١٧
Homer has appeared more and more throughout the episodes as the central character of sarcasm
due to different factors. The cause and solutions of all life's problems are shown through the
episodes as problems represented through indirect sarcastic references to Homer. Even if he is
ignorant, he is on the other side sincere. Describe as stupid, moron, alcoholic, careless and
buffoonish, Homer doesn’t change into being someone who understands why people give him
bad references; on the contrary he thinks that they are praising him in an indirect way. The
writers often debate how far to go in portraying Homer's stupidity; one suggested rule is that "he
can never forget his own name.
2. Modals defining unweave certainty and Lower modal forms are more
appropriate:
Through the analysis of Interpersonal function of the text, the information presented are
mostly reporting that the use of the inclusive and exclusive pronouns, show their opposite
action in the episodes. That is to say while Homer uses " I will" , " I have " , " We are " , we
conclude that at the end of the episodes nothing is done , but everything ends by being
uncertain , showing how Homer linguistic choices of nouns and verbs are of unequal
status. Most of the modals are used to prove uncertainty of Homer; he talks but never acts,
which positions him as a speaker who doesn’t have a degree of strong stance.
3. Extreme cases of projecting inner feelings:
The use of indirect sarcasm with in the episodes is a literal mark of contrast. The sarcastic
factors of projecting inner feelings are through the use of specific lexical items marking the
context of situation of interaction, showing Homer's contribution to appear as a tough,
smart person. Moreover, even in sentimental episodes, Homer still uses at the end of the
each, a sarcastic word to describe his limited understanding of his likeness and feelings.
The interpretation of what Homer says and does is affected by the social context in which
incidents take place. The indirect requests, humor, love and deception may pose to the
ability to process semantic aspects of language.
4. Neologism:
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Both SACRILEGIOUS (grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred) and at the
same time DELICIOUS (Extremely pleasing to the sense of taste) are a combination of two
words that have been proven as new entries in the dictionary.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sacriligious
The word Duh is one of the most important forms of sarcasm said by Homer Simpson. This
word is essentially sarcastic, expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned
out badly not as planned. Homer's use of Duh implies that he has said or done something
foolish. It refers to his stupidity and shows his real position in society. Etymologically,
duh has become a symbol of a cultural sphere. The American Heritage Dictionary describes
the etymology of Duh as a word used to fill a pause while investigating for more
appropriate words. The creator of Homer Simpson, Matt Groening says that duh was
written into script as a reflection of Homer's exaggerated and sarcastic expressions. It is
also tested that due to Homer's brain matters, are rather emotional kinds of utterances.
When his tone gives rise to duh, Homer makes more use of sarcasm purposely to satire and
reduces the sarcasm of duh.
5. The Use of rhetoric, the use of repetition and the use of different figures of
speech:
Homer's language is mostly understood by his high use of rhetoric, one particular type of
rhetorical question favored by Homer is eroticism which is a question implying strong
affirmation or denial: "Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?" Though sometimes
misjudged as a complete moron, Homer is actually a skillful manipulator of the moron for
example when he tells Bart not to worry because people die all the time and that in fact,
he could wake up dead tomorrow, Homer is a figure of ridicule quite handy with figures of
speech. To explain human behavior, for instance, he relies on personification.
Most of the episodes in The Simpsons demonstrate their intensive use of repetition as a tool
that focus of sarcastic aspects relying on different effective words to arouse emotions,
whether those images are visual and direct as sensations, or cognitive and indirect as
memory or imagination. The aim is to permit the audience take into consideration that real
life issues should be taken seriously.
6. Using words to break social bonds:
١٩
Homer has complex relationships with all three of his children. He often criticizes Bart, but
the two commonly share adventures and are sometimes allies. Homer and Lisa have
opposite personalities and he usually overlooks Lisa's talents, but when made aware of his
neglect does everything he can to help her. He sometimes forgets that Maggie even exists,
although Homer has often tried to bond with her daddy was her first word. While Homer's
thoughtless actions often upset his family, he has also revealed himself to be a caring father
and husband. The negative comments are indicatives of close relationships Homer
would feel more comfortable making all kinds of remarks, negative and positive, to people
they had close ties with. Maybe people in close relationships reach a level where criticism
is okay and sometimes expected.
7. Words describing ignorance in knowing native words:
The writers have made Homer's intelligence appear to decline over the years; they explain
this was not done intentionally, but it was necessary to top previous jokes. Sarcasm in this
case, projects a funny aspect to express wit by saying the opposite of an ideological aspect.
The purpose could be to keep boundaries of what is not accepted in a social and cultural
context. Mental skills are thought to develop further with increasing age, involving the
ability to infer more complex mental states, such as double trick and doubt. This concludes
that sarcasm is a tool of language but it is also related to brain matters since it is a part of
our language processes .According to Calvin "Sign language in the brain " (2001), the part
of the left brain is where we find the tissues involved with short term verbal memory and
crucial areas that affect grammar, reading and naming.
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8. Laughter behind sarcasm:
Laughter treats the Simpson family as actors on a sitcom playing the parts of the
Simpson characters. These actors live outside the universe that is Springfield. The
question of "Where is Springfield?" controversy and really shouldn't be taken
seriously, especially when one considers that the location is changed in reruns. The
reason is that the characters could exist in their own world without people having the
images spoiled by voices coming out of real people. Ha ha which is Homer's most
sarcastic laugh which has an absence of an exclamation mark is a hint of sarcasm that
indicates a polite, but indifferent laugh.
B. Phonology:
1. The use of intonation to show power, rising intonation on the stressed
syllable and the use exaggerated sarcasm:
The comprehension of sarcasm is best understood by the speaker's use on intonation.
Different studies describe that the sarcastic intonation is usually a nasal, stressed word
conveying a negative affect. Intonation used as a cue for meaning construction is the
kind of intonation to conventionalized cue used for the detection of non-literal
meaning or used to get directly to the attitude that the speaker wants to convey.
Intonation is manipulated along two affective poles: positive vs. negative affect, thus
sidestepping the rather unclear construct, the sarcastic tone of voice. Homer's sarcastic
insults as well as compliments are all represented by stressing some of his linguistic
choices , For example Duh may sometimes be stressed to show frustration and anger ,
while other times it is used to show irony . Because of the different attitudes that he
states, the audience notice that most of the Homer exaggerated sarcasm is done with
the society that he belongs to. His state of mind is limited to his own beliefs, where he
shows the power relation between his collogues or at his work. The intonation
therefore is linked to the context of situation, which in more of the episodes are
connected to the social, cultural as well as educational aspects. As well as Homeric
sarcastic intonation, there is also the children’s performance on the sarcastic
statements which could be characterized in two very different ways. The effect of
context indicates that the children especially Lisa, use heave intonation to interpret
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harsh statements. As a conclusion, it can be proven that items are stressed to orient
different meanings, so that the listener could be attentive to what the speaker's
intention is trying to emphasize.
Conclusion:
The Simpsons has made mark on has made mark on television and social history not
only for making the viewer laugh but also makes them think what is behind the words
said in each episode . The main focus on sarcasm reflects its availability for
metalinguistic analysis which is culturally salient (as a genre of speech and type of
personhood), easily labeled, and offers a clear cut case of a divergence between the
context and literal .It also appears to be more frequent than many other forms of
irony. The few sarcastic compliments used are typically more restrained and
sophisticated, and are targeted at adults. Findings demonstrate that both CDA and the
interpersonal area of Hallidayan systemic grammar prove what the integration of
language represents, the different reflections of what a cultural and social context are
interrelated to and the power of sarcasm that is studied as one of the most important
tools of language. The text looks for indicators of how it views the audience,
expectation of real life problems, and knowledge held by the text producer.
Evaluation:
The topic of sarcasm is an interesting filed of study since it shows how people of
different communities experience the way The Simpsons bring about their cultural
and familiar traditions used to plan different strategies of language. The Simpsons has
a based comedy and a successful formula, which we must really appreciate for the
message it tells us. The Simpsons clearly contains a strong message to the media but
an even stronger one to the viewers. It is telling the viewers that just as the writers of
the show can manipulate fact so can the other forms of media. It takes a cartoon to be
able to tell us this because we are willing to accept that a cartoon can manipulate
reality. This project has helped me understand more not only to watch cartoons and
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laugh but also to dig deep into the meanings of verbal , facial as well as mental
analysis into what words can contrast.
References:
Books:
1. Marvin Minsky(1990 ) Society of Mind ,New York
2. Ulla Connor, Thomas Albin Upton (2001), The study of Sarcasm
3. Patricia Rockwell(2006), The ambiguous ways people use language.
Web sites
http://www.snpp.com
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/05/white_house_cheney_sa
rcasm_in.html
Data collection
Episodes:
There are different linguistic mechanisms by which the word view ideological
perspectives are reflected in a text. The choices people make decide the linguistic
indicators as most applicable to the issues of sarcasm in this research project. The list
below underlines the analyses of the indicators of sarcasm.
1. Homer starts his own religion:
Homer is saying that he is not a bad guy , he works hard and loves his kids ,then he
goes on asking why he should spend half of his Sunday hearing about how he is going to
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hell if he don’t behave good . By a sudden , God answers him that he is got a point there
.Then God says that sometimes even He would rather be watching football .Sarcastically
God asks Homer if St. Louis still have a team and Home answers : No. they moved to
Phoenix.
2. Lisa versus Bart:
In this episode Lisa and Bart belong to two different hockey teams. Bart is that star player
on the youth hockey team and Lisa is that star on the opposing team .Marge tries to soften
the competitive edge by saying "We love you both "! You are not in competition with
each other! Repeat: You are not in competition with each other". While Homer comes
running into the room shouting "Heyyy" you are in direct competition .And don’t go easy
on each other just because you are brother and sister! Got me! I want to see you both
fighting for your parents' love. At the end we see that Lisa and Bart start to hug one
another, forgetting about the game . Homer on the other side says: I told you, brothers and
sisters should always love one another.
3. When Homer gets free cable T.V:
Lisa asks her dad, why the world is full of corruption .Homer's answer is mocking Lisa by
saying: Oh great, here comes the intellectual girl! What makes you think that?
Then Lisa attempts to tell that In Sunday school, they learn that stealing is a sin.
Homer says Well, Duh!! Lisa says that everybody does it, telling that they are stealing
cable. While Homer gives Lisa an explanation as when they had breakfast this morning,
did Lisa pay for it? Lisa says no she didn’t. Homer tells her to run for the hills before he
calls the FBI.
4. The Homer of Seville:
Bart tells his Dad, that he is a great father Lisa continues on adding that Homer has
contributed to the culture! Homer: [worried] says Well, I didn't mean to.
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Lisa explains to him that it's a good thing. Homer says Oh, good. This makes up for me
showing up drunk to the father-daughter dance.
Lisa explains that the dance isn't 'til next week. Homer says Sorry, Lisa. Can't change the
future.
5 Homer's weapon:
Homer tries to justify his reasons for getting a gun. Marge on the other side claims that
having a weapon at home is not a safe thing. Homer tells her that a gun is not a weapon;
it's a tool like a butcher's knife. Marge looks at him with anger insisting and explaining
that a gun is a weapon, is dangerous and is not allowed at home. Homer uses his great
sarcastic sentence: I felt an incredible rush of power, holding this gun as if God from
above is giving me an inspiration. I will keep it at home! At the end of the chapter the
weapon is not kept home and so is Homer's wish vanished.
6. Lisa's complaints
Grandpa and Lisa are complaining .Grandpa says that he is an old man; no one listens to
him, while Lisa says that she is a young girl and no one listens and understands her.
Homer on the contrary says that he is a white male aged 18 to 49; everyone listens to him,
no matter how dumb his suggestions are. Everyone calls him stupid Homer but still they
all love him.
7. Homer prays:
Dear Lord, thank you for this microwave bounty, even though we don't deserve it. I mean
. . . our kids are uncontrollable hellions! Pardon my French, but they act like savages! Did
you see them at the picnic? Oh, of course you did. You're everywhere, you're
omnivorous. Oh Lord! Why did you spite me with this family?
8. Hit and run:
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Lisa is having a science project presentation at school. Homer delivers her project to
school, while Lisa wonders where the gall bladder is. Homer tells her that he felt hungry
and he had to eat it. , thinking it was a fig. Lisa gets so mad and says that this was her
modeling clay and not a fig! Homer didn’t know what to answer, but at the end he says
"I'm sorry Lisa but when tummy sings you can't leave it empty and all he saw was that
fig. It’s clayy!!!
9. Homer the Hero:
Lisa and Bart tell Homer how proud they are for being such a heroic dad. , stopping the
alien invasion .He continues to think is that really happens or if it was a bad dream from
eating too many hot dogs. Marge assures him that it was a real incident .Homer says:
"And people say I'm slow, wait a minute that was an insult
Owww, look at me, Marge, I'm making people happy! I'm the magical man, from Happy
Land, who lives in a gumdrop house on lollypop lane! By the way I was being sarcastic.
10. What's a Gym.?
Homer is having a walk at midnight, when suddenly sees a sign written on it : All Night
Gym. He asks himself what's a gym ( but pronounces it gaim ) .he enters the gym saying
ohh a gym ( gaim ) Oh I’m feeling this. My head is going to be painful in the morning.
then sees the gymnastic machines ,takes on one and uses it in the wrong way . The coach
comes around telling him that he is using the machine wrongly, helping him to use
machines properly. After two months of hard working in the gym, Homer says now he
knows what a gym (still pronouncing the word in a wrong way.)
11. Sacrilicious:
Homer asks for God's will to give him free tickets to watch the game. His neighbor
Flanders rings the bell, asking Homer if he would love to join him to the game. Homer
shuts the door, looks up at the waffle that Bart has tossed and then asks why you mock
me, Oh Lord. Marge tells him that's not God but a waffle .He takes the waffle and says
Mmmm, Sacrilicious (new word inserted in the American dictionary.)
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12.Homer's arguments:
Marge is singing how many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?
Homer answers seven Lisa: explains to Homer that it's a rhetorical question.
Then Homer says ok, eight .Lisa say: Dad, do you even know what "rhetorical" means?
Homer: Do I know what "rhetorical" means?
13. Why do I need books?
Lisa tells her dad how important books are, then he answers that "Books are useless! I
only ever read one book, To Kill a Mockingbird, and it gave me absolutely no insight on
how to kill mockingbirds! Sure it taught me not to judge a man by the color of his skin,
but what good does that do me?
Homer isn't always familiar with the names of some classical Latin figures, so Lisa
explains that Latin is the language Plutarch. Homer: Mickey Mouse's dog?
14. Homer, Homer and more Homer:
Homer and Lenny are talking about battle wars. Home says: They don't call me Colonel
Homer because I'm some dumb an army guy. "When I was seventeen I drank some very
good beer I purchased with a fake ID." Lenny's inner brain says: stupid Homer, he thinks
himself some brave hero! What a fool
15. I need that Job!
Homer asks: How much does this job pay and how can I get it? Lenny: Nothing, the owner
is really a hard man. Homer: D'oh! Lenny says unless you're dishonest you can get it easily.
Homer says: Woohoo, it's meant to be for me!
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Homer says: Well, I really should discuss this with my wife. But why should I, I'm the man
for this dishonest job! Later on all we see is that he gets home, tells Marge who gets angry.
Homer couldn’t get anything but a good FORGET ABOUT IT!
16. Bart's trip to Australia:
Marge, is telling Homer to try to understand that there are two kinds of college students jocks and nerds. As a jock, it is my duty to give nerds a hard time!
Homer says Oh; I'm going to lose my job just because I'm dangerously unqualified!
He then gives an advice to Bart: Show them what Americans are made of!
Homer says: Oooh, Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions! I'm great at these! Ask me if
something smells funny in here, Boy. Bart asks: Does something smell funny in here?
Homer: I don't think so ... STUPID! Ah, ha ha ha ha ha!
17: Homerpalooza:
Homer: Wow. You know, most of my life I've.. I've had to live with the shame of being a
screw-up. But now, as I stand here with the award for the greatest cannonball guy... well,
it... it's like a dream come true. The leader of the bands tells Homer: Are you being
sarcastic, dude?" "I don't even know you." You are a true weird and foolish man. The name
of our band is Hullabalooza and not Homerpalooza. Although he is left behind but still he
does admires the band of old generations.
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