Gutterman 1

Steven Gutterman

Ms. Moss

Pre-AP English, Period 4

17 April 2018

Dialectical Journal: Page #241

Passage

“‘I’ve heard before of creatures like this, the heartless ones, and as they grow bigger they

get more and more beautiful and behind them is nothing but broken bodies and shattered souls,

and these without hearts are anguish bringers, and my advice would be, since you’re both still

young, to have another child, a different child, and be rid of this one now, but, of course, the

final decision is up to you’ and the father said to the mother, ‘Well?’ and the mother said, ‘Since

the midwife is the kindest person in the village, she must know a monster when she sees one;

let’s get to it,’ so Buttercup’s father and Buttercup’s mother put their hands to the baby’s throat

and the baby began to gasp” (Goldman 241).

Satire Analysis - Juvenelian Incongruity

William Goldman provides details of the shocking and despicable actions of Buttercup’s

parents in her dream in order to create an incongruous scenario, invoking a grim mood.

Buttercup’s nightmares are detailed in this portion of the novel, and this specific dream is

prominent in its utilization of irony and incongruity. The midwife humorlessly suggests, “my

advice would be...to have another child, a different child, and be rid of this one now.” For a

midwife to even utter such words of disposing a child is unheard of, and the fact that she does

offer this gruesome recommendation is clearly out of place. Additionally, the mother voices that

“the midwife is the kindest person in the village.” This detail coupled with the sickening
 Gutterman 2

suggestion of the midwife reveals the absurdity of the dream’s plot, as a midwife in a real-life

setting who is “the kindest person” would never advocate for such a foul act of murdering a

child. Not only does the midwife in the dream display the workings of Goldman’s satire, but so

do Buttercup’s parents. Goldman writes, “so Buttercup’s father and Buttercup’s mother put their

hands to the baby’s throat and the baby began to gasp.” After discussion between the midwife

and the parents of how Buttercup is “heartless,” the parents themselves go on to perform possibly

the most insensitive and inhumane action known to humankind: murdering an innocent child.

Goldman presents such satire to reveal how people will unjustly commit horrible acts in an

attempt to prevent others from doing the same, touching upon the widespread cliché of “two

wrongs do not make a right.” Given that the parents strangle Buttercup so that she would not

bring anguish to others in the future, it is evident that the midwife, who proposes the murder,

commits a wrongful act to ensure that Buttercup does not do the same later on in her life.

Ultimately, Goldman comments on the hypocrisy of society, where those who are deemed

“moral” and “kind” much like the midwife are overlooked when they perform unjust actions.