"The satirist is prevented by repulsion from gaining a better knowledge of the world he is attracted to, yet he is forced by attraction to concern himself with the world that repels him"

Italo Calvino's quote talks with the paradoxical nature of satire. On the one hand, the satirist is drawn to the world, yet on the various other hand, they are pushed back by it. This produces a tension in between the satirist's need to understand the globe and their hostility to it. The satirist is therefore captured in between two opposing pressures, as well as should integrate them in order to obtain a much better knowledge of the globe. This tension is what drives the satirist to produce their job, as they are compelled to challenge the world that repels them in order to understand it. This way, the satirist has the ability to utilize their work to both critique and also understand the world they inhabit.