During the holidays we all have specific experienced certain situations that would only happen in such a hectic time. As the holidays pass, we look back and laugh at how ridiculous those times can be. David Sedaris shows this from his perspective when he applied to be an elf and Macys one holiday season and showed us what society looked like from inside an elf costume. Elf, although not a real story, is a movie about a human who thinks he is an elf who meets his dad and experiences extreme culture shock as he goes to New York for the first time. In this essay, I will be comparing these similarities between these two stories and what types of comedy are found in each.
The first scene from Elf that was similar to Santa Land Diaries was the scene when Buddy the Elf first arrives in New York City, specifically the part where he was continuously taking pamphlets until the people would get angry. Sedaris, early in his story explains an instance where he would take pamphlets because he felt bad, he says, “I tend to not only accept the leaflet, but to accept it graciously, saying, “Thank you so much,” and thinking, you poor, pathetic son of a bitch” (Sedaris 4). In Elf, instead of the guys handing out of the leaflets looking pathetic, Buddy is the one who looks ridiculous. He is a grown man dressed as an in elf in yellow tights and he is taking leaflets from two guys who are standing five feet from each other until they both get angry and chase him off. The outside characters in these stories play different roles, as we notice from this scene. The outside characters in Elf are more involved because Buddy brings them into the story with his actions. On the other hand, Sedaris is just explaining the other characters and they act more of...
... middle of paper ...
... Buddy the Elf brings them into his fantasy world as a real elf. In the book, we were able to see how people acted in real life situations during the holidays and how Sedaris used those situations to create his jokes. I felt more compassion or pity for Sedaris then for Buddy based on the reality factor. I would not want to work as an elf based on Sedaris’ experiences described in his writings and it is very difficult to try to relate to Buddy as the entire movie would never realistically happen. Both are humorous but as I described, both took different approaches of the same type of situation.
Works Cited
Elf. Dir. Jon Favreau. New Line Home Entertainment, 2004.
Morreall, John. Comic relief: a comprehensive philosophy of humor. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.
Sedaris, David. Holidays on ice. 2nd ed. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2008. Print.
Archibald Lampman’s “Winter Evening” and P.K. Page’s “Stories of Snow” both initially describe winter to be delicate and blissful, yet, as one delves deeper into the poem, it is revealed that the speakers believe winter to be harsh and forceful. Archibald Lampman’s “Winter Evening,” starts describing an evening
The Web. The Web. 13 May 2014. McCormick, Annie. A. “Brian’s Winter.”
Ring, Ring, Ring! People begin to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. I walk through town seeing everyone celebrating Christmas and having a good time with their family. Around these times you can tell how generous people become and people begin to change due to the holiday spirit. People don't always change due to the holiday spirits. In the stories of “Dante’s Inferno” and “A Christmas Carol” both show many similarities and differences through them. Some similarities consist both have guides, both have chapters that represent different places or times, and they both have consequences on their actions. Then the differences consist that they have different places they go through, the age differences, and Scrooge changes his lifestyle while Dante
Works Cited Doctorow, E. L. Welcome to Hard Times. New York: Penguin, 1998. Grey, Zane. Riders of the Purple Sage. New York: Penguin, 1990.
Elf starts out with the introduction to the life of Buddy, an orphaned baby, who would mistakenly crawl into Santa’s sack on Christmas Eve. Buddy would be raised on the North Pole but would soon realize that this wasn’t his place. Santa soon revealed that his true father was still alive, lived in the New York, and most importantly was on the naughty list.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a story we are all familiar with, it captures a moment in time of blatant prejudices and inequality that spanned years from when it was written in 1939 to when it was released as a movie in 1964. However endearing the story may be, it is a testament to what conditions were socially accepted as normal during that time period. Originally written by Montgomery Ward to sell appliances, this story has an explicit lens of bigotry, inequality, and the importance of conforming to society.
Some traditional stories are so influential, they are born again in modern-day books. Such as, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge lives in London in the 1800’s. He is selfish and greedy. His ex-partner comes to visit him as a ghost. He warns him that he will be visited by three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Just like A Christmas Carol, How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, The Grinch is mean. He tries to steal the Who’s, from the imaginary town of Whoville, Christmas spirit and happiness. Cindy Lou Who helps The Grinch become a better person. And of course, The Grinch’s dog, Max, tags along.
An Anthology For Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 1283-1296. Print.
Halloween is the time of the year when people dress up and have fun scaring people. Christmas is the time of the year full of joy and happiness. All though these two holidays are quite the opposite, some people find it hard to determine what type of movie The Nightmare Before Christmas is. There are two different sides, the people who think it’s a Halloween movie and the people who think it's a Christmas movie. I personally feel and believe that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie. I feel this way because after watching the movie multiple times, I’ve come up with many valid reasons that can make your mind change to stand with me on the side of people who also believe it’s a Christmas movie.Those reasons include the movie’s
In Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas the main theme, of the conflicting opinions about Christmas, is understood when understanding the emotions of the grinch. At such a joyful and merry time, how is one soul not feeling the love without a solid emotional excuse? It is clear that at some point the grinch suffered through a memory that may be directly or indirectly related to Christmas. While the grinch is much different than all the whos in whoville, he must have felt lonely during a time when everyone else is feeling welcomed. This has resulted in the grinch not believing in the ‘joys’ of Christmas, as he never experienced them himself. The grinch, being isolated and far from everyone else, views Christmas as only being of gift exchanges
The novel and the movie version of The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens have both similarities and differences. Some of the similarities are character development, the setting and the plot. Some of the differences are character development and added or deleted scenes.
Mr. Scrooge was a man who didn't like christmas. Mr. Scrooge thought christmas was a waste of his time. Mr. Scrooge wasn't a christmas person ether. Mr. Scrooge hated christmas. Mr. Scrooge was a person who didn't like coming out on christmas he always liked to stay inside his house. Mr. Scrooge was an old man too.
Comedy differs in the mood it approaches and addresses life. It presents situations which deal with common ground of man’s social experience rather than limits of his behaviour – it is not life in the tragic mode, lived at the difficult and perilous limits of the human condition.
Suddenly, Vince jolts upward and hits a mysterious woman in the face. Mrs. Claus, startled by his abrupt awaking, welcomes him. Vince is not the least bit jolly as he realizes he is in a place of Christmas spirit. Convinced by Mrs. Claus' tempting promises, he agrees to try to reveal Christmas to himself and try to enjoy this amazing time of year. Together, Vince and Mrs. Claus stroll through the streets watching families sing holiday tunes, enjoy extravagant feasts, and open gifts o...
It’s December of 1967, the snowfall had begun early this year, but whether it came in inches or buckets, I could hardly wait for weekends. Playing outside in the snow was awesome. When I was nine years old, a Saturday morning routine consisted of my older brother’s and I waking up to a warm bowl of oatmeal with a raisin smiley face, and thirty minutes of mom methodically layering us with snow pants and jackets, socks and boots, hats and mittens, and a scarf. One by one we rushed outside to begin our day. I remember waddling down sidewalks with mountains of snow on each side, fierce snowball fights with neighbors across the street, swirling angels’ wings in a fresh layer of snow, and cheers for finding the biggest icecycle. Our annual snowman displayed a warm hat and scarf, two branches from the maple tree in our front yard, raisins and a carrot for the eyes and nose. My brothers and I would stay outside for hours and hours, only coming inside when we were called to dinner or could no longer see in the dark. A delicious hot meal or a cup of hot chocolate would be waiting at the table after we left a mound of winter clothes at the door. My day always ended with mom tucking me in with a good book and a kiss good night, and I’d fall asleep dreaming of endless possibilities in the snow. Life was good, I didn’t want for anything; mom and dad anticipated my needs before I even knew them.