Evensong’s Statement upon Human Nature Questioning one’s actions towards others can define an individual’s character instantly. In several of Evensong’s stories the use of satire, or use of humor and ridicule expose society’s flaws and usage of irony, using language that signifies the opposite, for an emphatic effect renders mankind’s selfish nature. Kurt Opponent, author of “Welcome to the Monkey House” exercises the use of satire and irony to explain how humans will be intolerant and take advantage of each other. The author uses satire in “Report on the Farmhouse Effect” to reveal the selfish insights of human nature.
The professor states “l admit I know next to nothing about international politics, but it seems reasonable to suppose that nobody would want to fight wars if there were enough of everything to go around” (Opponent 182). The discovery of the professor’s powers led to the American military desire to abuse it. The professor’s intention for the use of his power did not include harming individuals, which contradicted the military plans for personal and military gain which involved Jeopardizing the lives of foreign citizens.
The military desire for personal and military gain is selfish because it declares that the government would rather seek a violent solution rather than a peaceful one instead. The professor declares “l have never dared to concentrate as hard as I can for fear of the damage I might do” (Opponent 180). This statement is ironic because it exposes that the professor did not want to harm anyone but the nation’s political and military only sews him as a weapon against other countries rather than a way to aid the world.
Opponent provides these details to show how people are selfish for only regarding to their requests. This shows selfish human nature because the government wanted to tailor their needs rather than see the potential of the international benefits the professors powers could have complied too. In the short story “IPECAC” Opponent usage of irony and satire discloses how people will take advantage of another for self-interest. IPECAC asked “What’s love? What’s girl? ” asked IPECAC.
Flabbergasted I noted the dial settings on his control panel, then lugged a Webster Unabridged Dictionary over to the keyboard. ” (Opponent 300). This statement is ironic because IPECAC is a valuable machine used to solve military problems; however the narrator installed and taught the machine irrelevant lessons to solve his personal problems. This represents how a person will take advantage of another because the narrator reprogrammed this war machine to do his bidding and after it is completed he will o longer have a use for the machine.
After writing poetry for the narrators lover IPECAC fell in love, but the narrator explains to it that since it is only a machine it cannot love. This cruel irony represents how individuals will take advantage of another for personal gain. The narrator claimed “l loved and won -IPECAC loved and lost” (Opponent 304). Satire is seen here because the narrator used IPECAC so that his lover, Pat would agree to marry him. The narrator had no more use for IPECAC and crushed IPECAC hope for love.
This displays how an individual will take benefit from another for selfish reasons. This is vital because society allows this behavior it will destroy trust amongst each other and many healthy relationships . IPECAC was an innocent machine that was built for war, but after discovering love through poetry it was denied of its true feelings by the narrator. By disregarding Ipecac’s emotions after teaching him, a machine who was not initially programmed to love the narrator proves that individuals will take advantage of each other for personal benefit.
Seeing how society has formed itself where individuals will take advantage of each other to satisfy themselves represents how egocentric a person can be. Opponent exposes this using satire and irony several times through characters that have resorted to extremes by being taken advantage of for personal benefit. When inquiring about one’s intentions or reasoning behind their actions we should also regard our own because providing help or taking advantage of others purely for the sake of your own benefit does not Justify a person’s actions by any meaner.