The satirical and ironic content of "On Holidays and How to Make Them Work" by Nikki Giovanni and "Bob the Dog" by Merrill Markoe are very similar, but still different.
             Giovanni's satire in "Holidays" seems more harsh and critical towards our way of life. "Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday has come up for the first time as a national holiday...But what we really want, where we can know we have succeeded, is that every Federated department store offers 50 percent off to every colored patron who can prove he or she is Black...everybody will want to be Black for a day." (par.3) This seems funny to some people, but it is almost, if not is, offensive to others. She is discreetly suggesting that white people do not want to be Black at all, unless a "half-off" sale comes with it.
             Markoe's "Bob the Dog" is very light-hearted and humorous with its satire. "It was during our years in New York City that I came home one evening to find that Bob had eaten a jar of pills the vet had prescribed for my other dog, Stan. I never knew if the pressures of city life were responsible for this sudden drug problem..." (par.11, L.11-14)
             Markoe makes fun of her dog eating the pills by wondering if maybe some kind of "stress" from New York had caused the dog to overdose like a human could. Comparing her dog's life to a human life problem is a very funny and effective satirical tool.
             Giovanni decides to point out irony in our everyday lives by describing one of her working experiences. "On Labor Day you take the day off, then go to the Labor Day sales and spend your devalued money with a clerk who is working...Who wants to join an organization that makes you work on the day it designates as a day off?" (par.1)
             Giovanni's whole article is ironic in a way. Her point is that we do not spend holidays how they were intended to be spe...