The various elements of Claire Bioko's writing style work together to create a sense of humour, absurdity, and satire, well-suited to the science fiction and comedy genre of the play, The Book That Saved the Earth. Comment, with reference to any one element.
Answer as written by the student:
One element of Claire Bioko’s writing style that creates a sense of humour, absurdity, and satire is the use of irony. Irony is a literary device that involves a contrast or discrepancy between what is expected and what actually happens. In the play, The Book That Saved the Earth, there are many examples of irony that make the audience laugh at the foolishness and ignorance of the Martians. For instance-
- the Martians think that books are sandwiches and try to eat them. This is ironic because books are not food, and they are actually meant for reading and learning.
- The Martians also misinterpret the nursery rhymes in the book as literal messages from the Earthlings. They think that the rhymes are threats, warnings, or instructions for them. This is ironic because nursery rhymes are not serious or realistic, but rather playful and imaginative.
- The Martians fail to understand the cultural and linguistic context of the rhymes, and they end up being scared and confused by them.
Another example
- The contrast between the self-proclaimed intelligence of Think-Tank and his actual stupidity. Think-Tank claims to be the smartest Martian of all, and he expects his crew to praise him constantly. However, he is actually very arrogant and ignorant, and he makes many wrong assumptions and decisions.
- He does not listen to anyone else’s opinions or suggestions, and he does not admit his mistakes.
- He is easily fooled by the simple words and pictures in the book, and he does not realize that he is being outsmarted by a children’s book.
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