“Somehow Form a Family”: Tony Earley’s Assertion of Commonality to Highlight Difference
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Lynn Briggs
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
5-7-2024 9:05 AM
End Date
5-7-2024 9:25 AM
Location
PAT 304
Primary Discipline of Presentation
English
Abstract
Tony Earley’s essay “Somehow Form a Family” presents a unique exploration of family life in America via the lens of satire. This paper delves into Earley’s adept use of exaggerated satire to illustrate the individual American family experience under the guise of complete commonality. Through employing formal analysis, television references, and biographical anecdotes, Earley develops a narrative that suggests universal experiences to be shared by all, only to reveal the diversity and complexity of every household. Insight from scholars Valentina Varinelli and Ayelet Kohn provides a deeper analysis of the implications of Tony Earley’s satirical approach. Their assessment highlights Earley’s use of humor as a coping mechanism, his navigation of personal hardships, and his use of satire to challenge naïve narratives of families shown in media. This paper demonstrates how Earley’s essay stands as a thought-provoking commentary on the manifold nature of family dynamics. Ultimately, Earley’s essay invites his audience to reassess how they perceive commonality and variance in the American family landscape.
Recommended Citation
Earley, Tony. “Somehow Form a Family.” Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present. Edited by Lex Williford and Michael Martone, Simon & Schuster, 2007. pp. 167-75. Kohn, Ayelet. Prime-Time Television ‘Fable Families’: Political and Social Satire for Segmented Audiences. Emergences: Journal for the Study of Media & Composite Cultures, vol. 10, no. 1, May 2000, pp. 105–18. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ewu.edu/10.1080/713665780. Varinelli, Valentina, et al. Introduction: Humour and Satire. Romanticism, vol. 28, no. 3, Oct. 2022, pp. 205–07. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ewu.edu/10.3366/rom.2022.0561.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
“Somehow Form a Family”: Tony Earley’s Assertion of Commonality to Highlight Difference
PAT 304
Tony Earley’s essay “Somehow Form a Family” presents a unique exploration of family life in America via the lens of satire. This paper delves into Earley’s adept use of exaggerated satire to illustrate the individual American family experience under the guise of complete commonality. Through employing formal analysis, television references, and biographical anecdotes, Earley develops a narrative that suggests universal experiences to be shared by all, only to reveal the diversity and complexity of every household. Insight from scholars Valentina Varinelli and Ayelet Kohn provides a deeper analysis of the implications of Tony Earley’s satirical approach. Their assessment highlights Earley’s use of humor as a coping mechanism, his navigation of personal hardships, and his use of satire to challenge naïve narratives of families shown in media. This paper demonstrates how Earley’s essay stands as a thought-provoking commentary on the manifold nature of family dynamics. Ultimately, Earley’s essay invites his audience to reassess how they perceive commonality and variance in the American family landscape.
