Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
by James Weldon Johnson
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Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man: Satire 1 key example

Definition of Satire

Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of satire, but satirists can take... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians, are often the subject of... read full definition
Satire is the use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something or someone. Public figures, such as politicians... read full definition

Key Examples in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Grand Ambitions:

In Chapter 3, the narrator graduates and tells his mother about his plans to be a distinguished Black man who "reflect[s] credit on the race." He comments that he would not come up with a real plan for doing so until years later, both foreshadowing his success as a ragtime musician and satirizing his own position as an "ex-colored man:"

For days I could talk of nothing else with my mother except my ambitions to be a great man, a great colored man, to reflect credit on the race, and gain fame for myself. It was not until years after that I formulated a definite and feasible plan for realizing my dreams.