Satire, Narrative, and Diction in "The Frequency" Shanti Anuradha Boyle College

As consumers, one of our biggest faults is our constant need to be entertained. Integral facets of everyday life, such as the news, become sensationalised; otherwise, the news would not be absorbed. This presents a danger to the integrity of journalism. On October 4, 1986, notable anchor-man and journalist Dan Rather was attacked by two unknown men repeating the phrase, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” Paul Limbert Allman, in his piece “The Frequency,” utilises this mystery as a vehicle to address the state of investigative journalism as he sees it. In the form of a satirical conspiracy theory disguised as a serious news story, Allman’s dark humour assists with this goal. His strategic use of narrative and diction contribute to the cultivation of satire, which creates a caricature of a news story that emphasises the faults of investigative journalism.

Lacing the words of the article is an extended narrative about a postmodernist author named Donald Barthelme. Allman weaves him into the article as a man who most certainly knew Dan Rather and harbours a concerning vendetta against him. Allman cites one of Barthelme’s characters as evidence. After finding the name “Kenneth” in two of his novels, Allman concludes that “[t]his is...