Satire For the Ages

While reading Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away, the thought of ridiculousness came to my mind. The essay seemed strange and without meaning. However, S.J. Perelman cleverly used satire throughout the essay to convey a message about the definition of insanity. Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away describes the author going through the process of building a simple delivery truck toy. He consistently struggles to build the toy, and after immense frustration gives up and quite literally goes insane. S.J. Perelman was a satirical author who was most widely known for short pieces in The New Yorker. In fact, Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away was first published in that magazine. His sarcastic nature shows very clearly throughout his essay. For example, he uses phrases like, “easily intelligible to Kettering of General Motors, Professor Millikan, or any first rate physicist” to show his difficulty in understanding the construction method. At other times, he employs hyperbole, such as in the line “… the subject is placed in a sharply sloping attic heated to 340 degrees F” to show the author’s apparent frustration in building the toy. Through his satirical style of writing, S.J. Perelman shows how he was driven to the point of insanity because he was unable to come to terms with his difficulty in building things. This essay was aimed at males in American society who, like the author, struggled to keep the gender roles that were very common during the time the essay was published. Insert Flap “A” and Throw Away aims to ridicule the gender role of males in the household building and fixing things. By placing himself into the stereotype, and using satire, S.J. Perelman does achieve his purpose in writing the essay. Readers can sense the ridiculousness in the author’s experience, which is what Perelman wanted from his audience.

This shows the complexity of the device the author was trying to build in the essay. Looking at the diagram, Perelman's confusion does seem to be justified. The cartoon is called This Way Out, written by Mike Sacks and illustrated by Julian Sancton.