During class, on multiple
occasions, I have overheard my peers bashing The 50 Funniest Writers; specifically, they will question how and
why certain authors or excerpts were included in this anthology of humor. I
always feel the need to retort with something along the lines of, “Who died and
made you the judge of our entire culture’s sense of humor?” or “Maybe it’s just
you; I thought it was quite humorous and an insightful portrayal of the human
condition through the lens of comedy.” Shorter, definitely less appropriate,
responses, such as “Shut up” or “Go to Hell” may or may not have even danced impishly
on the tip of my tongue from time to time. My parents raised me better though.
After all, if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything at all,
right? But I digress. Maybe I am just the fool who keeps his mouth shut...
Regardless, once again, I enjoyed and appreciated this collection of readings as a whole. Of
course, some stood out to me as more humorous than others did, but I
appreciated them all for their comedic value. After all, someone must think that these stories are
funny if they are included in this book, right? Enough of my ranting, here are
my thoughts.
Nora Ephron’s short story, A Few Words about Breasts, immediately
garnered my attention. I was initially disappointed that this excerpt was not,
as I thought or perhaps hoped, an in depth chronicle or journal of breastology;
however, my disappointment quickly transformed into enjoyment. Ephron
masterfully captured humanity’s universal need to fit in with her comedic
account of her journey through puberty. I laughed, and I related. I related,
and I laughed. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece and while I couldn’t relate to
her breast situation, her story definitely brought to mind my family’s “late
bloomer” tendency which harassed me throughout middle school even and into high
school. That’s all I really care to share, but there is definitely something to
be said about finding humor in our past miseries. She makes light of a serious
issue, which clearly pestered her throughout her life. I relate to Ephron’s
piece to a limited extent, being a late bloomer, and that made it all the more
hilarious.
After reading Ephron, I thought
that I knew for sure I would write my blog on her piece, but then I started In the Morning Post by Donald Barthelme.
This guy is funny. I got the impression Barthelme was the sort of guy who could
make a dinner with extended family entertaining, if only because of his sly wit
and deft sarcasm. I didn’t laugh out loud as I read this but I barely stopped
grinning. His jokes often warranted a second read through to fully comprehend
or catch, but they were worth it. Maybe this is just my type of humor but I
really enjoyed how he slipped certain bits. For example, his drinking buddies
were Joseph “Joe” Conrad and Thomas “Tom” Aquinas, two notable individuals who
also happened to be stone cold dead before he was born. He was nonsensical at
times and always conversational. This conversational, humorous tone made the
story for me. Another author worthy of this anthology.
I did not think Tough as Bob War and Other Stuff, by
Molly Ivins, was as funny as the rest of today’s readings. That being said, I
still appreciated it for its comedic value. As I read, I pictured my dad or
even older brother laughing at Ivins’ jokes and stories, but it just wasn’t for
me. I grinned when she used “Bob War” as barbed wire. I know plenty of people
who pronounce words with a strong Texan drawl, and bob war is just about spot
on. She came across a little too cynical for my taste, but I still saw the
humor in her writing. On the other hand, Roy Blount Jr., in his short story Gothic Baseball, balanced his cynicism
with an appropriate dose of realism, and that made all the difference.
I enjoyed Gothic Baseball from start to finish. Blount seemed intelligent and
even though he was playing off basic ideas and stereotypes, he did make a good
point. The North is much more gothic than the South, but then again, “What’s
not to be Gothic about?”(343). I’ve thought some of the things Blount details
in his story, and it was entertaining to see them gracefully and comedic ally
presented in his short story. I don’t have much to say about this story accept
I related to his generalization about people in the South and our relationship
with Northerners. Really funny stuff.
As scatterbrained as I feel right
now, I have realized through these stories the importance of finding humor in
the past, even when…no, especially when “the past” is a negative experience or unfortunate
truth. We can find humor in just about anything. Like Bill Cosby said, "You can turn painful situations around through
laughter. If you can find humor in anything - even poverty - you can survive
it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment