The title of Frederick Douglass’s autobiography clearly indicates that the work is a personal narrative, and it does, in fact, open with Douglass’s recounting of his birth and childhood, as well as the composition of his family. His own experiences orient the reader as to the psychological brutality of slavery and the hypocrisy of slave owners, but Douglass goes on in the narrative to make it clear that this is not only his story, but the story of all slaves. The particulars of his own story are not his alone; they could belong to any number of slaves and this fact is driven home by the way Douglass comments not only on his own experiences, but those of his fellow slaves in general. In one instance the author states, “the larger part of [whom] know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs….” (942). Each bit of detail that is offered as the background of his own life is contextualized within a larger community and its experiences. For instance, Douglass reveals that his father was a white man and that “[t]he opinion was…whispered that my master was my father,” and he also explains how “My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother”; however, he is quick to point out that such circumstances of birth were “common custom,” not deviations from the norm that he alone experienced (942). The fact that these types of experiences were not limited to Douglass alone is crucial. While other former slaves may have been unable to write their own stories or to gain an audience who would listen to them, Douglass speaks not only for himself, but for them, and in detailing the kinds of cruel practices typical of slavery, he exposes just how perverse and hypocritical this system of human bondage was.

Douglass writes movingly about the pervasiveness of racial hypocrisy at this point in American history, and none of his life experiences is more moving than that of meeting his new mistress, whom he initially perceived as a “woman of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (945). Douglass was first puzzled and then admiring of the woman, who “had never had a slave under her control,” who had “been dependent upon her own industry for a living,” and who generally seemed an altogether progressive individual. Douglass was, in fact, “utterly astonished at her goodness,” which was expressed in her refusal to expect or demand the “crouching servility” that typically characterized the posture of the slave when facing his or her master or mistress (945). The mistress was, in fact, so beatific that everyone was “put fully at ease in her presence,” everyone felt “better for having seen her,” and her “face was made of heavenly smiles, and her voice of tranquil music” (945). The blow is all the more cruel then when the woman’s “cheerful eye [and demeanor]…soon became red with rage” “under the influence of slavery” (945). The ability of slavery to corrupt even the most liberally-minded person is revealed by Douglass in this passage, and the mistress’s cruelty is considered, both by Douglass and the reader, to be among the worst types of hypocrisy possible, for the mistress clearly knew the difference between morality and immorality, but she chose to capitulate to the pressure exerted upon her by her race and class. The betrayal is profound. Slavery, Douglass writes, “divest[ed] her of these heavenly qualities,” and ultimately “proved as injurious to her” as it did to Douglass himself (947).

There are two main categories of satire that can be identified in each of these novels. The first category of satire is cultural, while the second category addresses class issues. By poking fun at all sorts of cultural and class signifiers of this literary and historical period that Mark Twain in “Huck Finn” and Henry James in “The American” seem to view as both artificial and superficial, the authors tell stories that are not only entertaining, but which are also socially significant and relevant.

The geographical and psychological settings of the two novels are completely distinct; one occurs in a pastoral section of the American south, in which the landscape is as important and defining as the characters themselves, while the other is set in Europe. In the latter, the markers of luxury and taste are evident from the novel’s opening, setting the stage for the satiric criticism that is to come. While “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”  explores the relationships among people from different racial groups, “The American” is focused on the transfer of national identity to another continent, one that is perceived to be more cultured than the United States. These dualistic dynamics at play in each of the novels establish the tension that the authors manipulate in order to use satire as a means of criticizing social and cultural constructions.

In “Huck Finn” one of the most important criticisms that Twain lodged against North American culture was its enslavement of blacks. A serious subject to be sure, Twain made the subject interesting and provocative because of the way that he used humor and biting criticism and satire to attack what was called a peculiar social institution. There are many moments in “Huck Finn” where Twain exposes the ridiculousness and hypocrisy of slavery through satiric means; one of these episodes is when Jim is being held in a shed owned by the otherwise good, Christian family, the Phelpses. The family needed Jim’s help to complete a task that they could not do on their own, so they went to the shed, unshackled him briefly, asked him to help them, and then returned him to the shed. In this moment, Jim has the chance to escape but does not, and the ridiculousness of the situation is exposed through this ironic exchange between the captive Jim and his temporary masters.

In “The American” by Henry James, cultural satire is also an important element driving the narrative, yet its subject and its intent are different. “The American” by Henry James, opens with Newman, the main character, sitting in the Louvre Museum, overwhelmed by all of the amazing art that he has seen. This experience compels him to move to Europe, where he expects he will experience the best of everything that the world has to offer. Though he has made his fortune in the States, he is ready to leave everything behind in search of what he perceives to be a more cultured society. The series of events in “The American” by Henry James  set into motion by this decision, however, expose what a folly such thinking was, and James is merciless in his making fun of Newman and others like him, who reject their own cultural identity in favor of an idealized culture that they do not truly understand. When Newman returns to the States at the end of the novel, essentially defeated, the satiric point has been driven home. Unfortunately, though, it appears that while the reader has learned a great about the nature of cultural identity, Newman has learned little, if anything at all, about the subject.

Just as culture is the source and subject of satire in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and in “The American”, so too is the subject of class. In fact, one may contend that class and culture are, at least in these two novels, portrayed as concepts and social constructs that are linked inextricably. Clearly, in “Huck Finn” the main characters are of the lowest social castes in society, and Twain pokes fun at them a bit, emphasizing the idiosyncracies of their language, their dress, and their social habits. Twain does not intend to be shaming, however; instead, he simply wants the reader to see and comprehend how others view these characters, and how class status shaped their experiences and the responses to them as people. This is one of the most sophisticated uses of satire in “Huck Finn”, as it subverts the reader’s expectations and compels him or her to figure out just what Twain means when he makes fun of characters for whom he really wishes the reader to feel great empathy. Twain effectively conveys to the reader that class is a social construct; in other words, it is not natural or inherent to any society, but it is developed as a way to separate people from one another. Through his deft use of satiric commentary, Twain calls the reader to question the value and utility of such social constructions.

Similarly, James utilizes satiric techniques to expose some of the ridiculous characteristics of the upper class, both in Europe and in the United States. From page one there is clearly satire in “The American” by Henry James as he places his characters in places and situations that are representative of the highest class and cultural achievements, but then confuses or questions the characters’ roles within these places and situations vis-à-vis their inability to negotiate such experiences effectively. James cleverly injects satire throughout the novel in subtle ways. Consider for example, the names of the characters: Newman, whose name is a thin play on words for the person he is striving to become; Urbain, who represents the urbane world to which Newman cannot gain access; and Bellegarde, whose family name represents the pinnacle of European sophistication. These are all ways in which the author invites the reader to question the class distinctions that both unite and divide the characters in The American.

Satire is a technique that can be used effectively to draw the reader into a story and encourage him or her to identify with the social criticism that is being lodged against the time, place, and people represented in a novel. While The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The American are distinctly different novels in terms of character, setting, place, and plot, both Twain and James use satire skillfully to expose and question artificial divisions constructed by culture and class. In doing so, they subtly attack these social institutions and question their value to the functioning of a healthy society. One can see that there are numerous ways in which satire can be deployed over the course of a novel, from the actual events of the plot to more subtle devices, such as naming of characters. Ultimately, the use of satire is a clever literary technique that, in the right hands, can produce conversation and social change through literature.

Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include :  Comparison Essay of My Name is Asher Lev, Huckleberry Finn, and Emma  •   American Literature in Historical Context : 1865 to Roosevelt     •   Realism in American Literature  Turn of the Screw by Henry James as a Psychological Thriller

Works Cited / Sources

James, Henry. The American. New York: Buccaneer, 1990.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.