Eve Craker
Melbourne Cup Horses refuse to take horse wormer and
insist on human wormer instead.
The article from The Shovel “Melbourne Cup Horses refuse to take horse wormer and
insist on human wormer instead.” addresses a serious problem by the use of satirical
devices such as metaphors, hyperboles and irony. They do this to convey a
dangerous issue by creating a humorous report which ridicules and makes fun of
conspiracy theorists that influenced people during the pandemic. If the reader
understands the language features, it contains a purpose of sharing the issue of
people taking the horse medicine (Ivermectin) as a solution to beat Covid-19.
One of the first ways they have chosen to address the issue is with Metaphors.
Metaphors are used to describe an object in a way that is not figuratively true.
“Conspiracy theorist Melbourne Cup horses refuse to take horse wormer, insist on
human wormer instead.” This article is about horses refusing to take Ivermectin and
instead, they insist on the human worming medicine called Combantrin. This is a
metaphor for the conspiracy theory that taking Ivermectin is more curative than
taking traditional medicine suggested by professionals. It is quite frequent in this
article that they have replaced the word humans with horses and Ivermectin with
Combantrin, therefor reversing the roles in the article.
The second language feature they have used is hyperboles. By using hyperboles, it
highlights how ludicrous their idea is as a way of treating Covid. “You’ve gotta do
what’s right for you. And for me, that’s a 24-pack of chocolate square Combantrin
from Chemist Warehouse. $12.99 why pay more?” This is a quote taken out of the
article, it represents another quote said by a person who believes in the conspiracy
theory. In this quote, exaggeration and hyperboles are relevant because it
highlights how satirical and over the top the theory is. It is obvious that taking this
medicine and following through with their theory can cause extreme physical health
problems provided that doctors and scientists have said that it is not safe to follow
through with this way of treating Covid. Another horse stated that, “It’s just another
plot by humans to control us. Next thing you know they’ll have us running around a
circular track”. In the view of the reader, the statement shows how ridiculous their
opinion is and uncovers another reason to why they refuse to take Ivermectin.
The third satirical device that has been used to convey the message is Irony. This
article is filled with Irony to reveal and bring attention to the reality of the situation.
“$12.99, why pay more?” This quote brings a spotlight to the Irony used as to why
they would not and refuse to pay more than $ to look and properly care after their
own health. Another quote says “Many other horses are going along with it. Those
horses are sheep.” In this quote they refer to people who choose to use professional
advice as Sheep. “You’ve got to do your own research on this. I’ve seen video after
video on YouTube that very clearly lays out the evidence for human horse wormer…
our trainers keep insisting that we take Ivermectin.” This whole article shows that in
reality, they’re the ones that have been blindly following a YouTube video and a
Google search about how to use Ivermectin to deal with Covid. Furthermore, these
people have had numerous individuals that profession in medicine and healthcare
tell them that this can and will cause serious harm to them if they continue disobey
their given warnings.
Finally, there is quite a lot of evidence about how this article displays satire language
features to present the true meaning behind the article. They have used a large
Melbourne Cup Horses refuse to take horse wormer and
insist on human wormer instead.
The article from The Shovel “Melbourne Cup Horses refuse to take horse wormer and
insist on human wormer instead.” addresses a serious problem by the use of satirical
devices such as metaphors, hyperboles and irony. They do this to convey a
dangerous issue by creating a humorous report which ridicules and makes fun of
conspiracy theorists that influenced people during the pandemic. If the reader
understands the language features, it contains a purpose of sharing the issue of
people taking the horse medicine (Ivermectin) as a solution to beat Covid-19.
One of the first ways they have chosen to address the issue is with Metaphors.
Metaphors are used to describe an object in a way that is not figuratively true.
“Conspiracy theorist Melbourne Cup horses refuse to take horse wormer, insist on
human wormer instead.” This article is about horses refusing to take Ivermectin and
instead, they insist on the human worming medicine called Combantrin. This is a
metaphor for the conspiracy theory that taking Ivermectin is more curative than
taking traditional medicine suggested by professionals. It is quite frequent in this
article that they have replaced the word humans with horses and Ivermectin with
Combantrin, therefor reversing the roles in the article.
The second language feature they have used is hyperboles. By using hyperboles, it
highlights how ludicrous their idea is as a way of treating Covid. “You’ve gotta do
what’s right for you. And for me, that’s a 24-pack of chocolate square Combantrin
from Chemist Warehouse. $12.99 why pay more?” This is a quote taken out of the
article, it represents another quote said by a person who believes in the conspiracy
theory. In this quote, exaggeration and hyperboles are relevant because it
highlights how satirical and over the top the theory is. It is obvious that taking this
medicine and following through with their theory can cause extreme physical health
problems provided that doctors and scientists have said that it is not safe to follow
through with this way of treating Covid. Another horse stated that, “It’s just another
plot by humans to control us. Next thing you know they’ll have us running around a
circular track”. In the view of the reader, the statement shows how ridiculous their
opinion is and uncovers another reason to why they refuse to take Ivermectin.
The third satirical device that has been used to convey the message is Irony. This
article is filled with Irony to reveal and bring attention to the reality of the situation.
“$12.99, why pay more?” This quote brings a spotlight to the Irony used as to why
they would not and refuse to pay more than $ to look and properly care after their
own health. Another quote says “Many other horses are going along with it. Those
horses are sheep.” In this quote they refer to people who choose to use professional
advice as Sheep. “You’ve got to do your own research on this. I’ve seen video after
video on YouTube that very clearly lays out the evidence for human horse wormer…
our trainers keep insisting that we take Ivermectin.” This whole article shows that in
reality, they’re the ones that have been blindly following a YouTube video and a
Google search about how to use Ivermectin to deal with Covid. Furthermore, these
people have had numerous individuals that profession in medicine and healthcare
tell them that this can and will cause serious harm to them if they continue disobey
their given warnings.
Finally, there is quite a lot of evidence about how this article displays satire language
features to present the true meaning behind the article. They have used a large
