v How does Shel Silverstein use exaggeration (hyperbole) to
create humor?
In “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take
The Garbage Out" Shel
Silverstein does an amazing job when using hyperbole in a poem to create a vivid image in the reader's mind humorously.
He describes the garbage could "piled
up to the ceiling”, "covering
the floor”, “blocking the door” and even could “filled the can”. I believe we cannot help chuckling when we imagine
that garbage looks like a naughty kid, who is playing his naughty tricks,
bringing troubles to others!
When Silverstein writes
that "the garbage reached across the
state", he uses this hyperbole to exaggerate the truth to make
children, and perhaps some adults, giggle at the thought of someone’s households
were suddenly filled with garbage and stretching across the land that was as
big as a state!
Silverstein also uses hyperbole to emphasize a point in a funny way. At the end, because Sarah didn’t listen to his
father, she lost everything (“And all the neighbors moved away. And
none of her friends would come to play.”), and even ruined an entire state (“The garbage reached across the state. From New York to the Golden
Gate”). That
wouldn’t really happen, but it really emphasizes the point in a humorous way, doesn’t it?
Obviously, Silverstein has successfully used exaggeration (hyperbole) as a very effective and fun
tool to create humor in grabbing a reader’s attention from the very beginning lines
of the poem!
v Find three examples of alliteration in the poem.
1. Sarah / Cynthia / Sylvia / Stout
2.
Prune / pits / peach / pits
/ peel,
3. Black / burned
/ buttered / bits / beefy,
v What is the theme of the poem? Do you think Silverstein is serious
about his message or having fun? Explain you
Simply, the theme of the poem is
“Be tidy and get things done” ”and “Kids should listen to their parents, and if
you do not, bad things will happen!.” .Sarah
Cynthia Sylvia Stout, the main character in the poem, hasn’t followed her father’s
instruction (“Take the garbage out.”),
so
at the end she has trapped herself
into a big problem by ruining her house and the environment of the whole state.
Moreover, I realize that
Silverstein
would like to send us another more valuable
message: "Everyone must have a responsibility to recycle garbage taking
care
of the environment around us for not causing our beautiful Earth in
ruins."
Even though the poem makes us laugh merrily by its humorous
writing- style, but I think it’s not for entertainment only. Silverstein is
definitely serious about his message. Sarah
Cynthia Sylvia Stout (the main character in the poem) has just got a little
lazy with her chores, especially with taking the garbage out. But at the end,
she has not only put herself into big trouble by ruining her own house, but
also her neighbors and other community as well. Her personal problem (“And
there, in the garbage she did hate. Poor Sarah met an awful fate”) has
now become a HUGE and serious community crisis (“Garbage finally touched the sky. And all
the neighbors moved away”).
In real life , if we haven’t started recycling garbage now, the green and
beautiful Earth we live in is going to become a GIANT desert full of nothing
but garbage (“The garbage reached across the states. From New York
to the Golden Gate”). At the end, Silverstein has seriously reminded us to remember
recycling garbage to save the Earth from being ruined days after days (“But children, remember Sarah Stout. And
always take the garbage out!”), before we “cannot now relate. Because the hour is much too late”
Even though he has taught a lesson, he still added humor.
Shel Silverstein showed that you could
have humor while teaching a lesson. Like most young readers, I think, it’s even
more effective than listening to a boring and serious moralization!
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