Humor can be used in storytelling as a device to magnify something that is truly funny, or to make something that is sad bearable. David Sedaris is an American humorist known for his use of satire and sarcasm in his writing, which is often autobiographical or based on personal experience. Sedaris’ essay “The Youth in Asia” is a comical and exaggerated portrayal of the importance the family pets play in the household. The family’s Great Dane, named Melina, is described with human qualities and affection equal to a child. In the essay “Repeat After Me,” Sedaris uses humor to light sensitive family dynamics. Sedaris also uses his sister’s pet parrot Henry to demonstrate the emotional dependency that humans have on their pets. Humorists use tools such …show more content…
In talking about their childhood, Sedaris describes Lisa as the appointed star of the family and most likely to succeed. The reality could not be further from the truth. As Sedaris reflects, “We’d always known her as an authority figure, and while we took a certain joy in watching her fall, it was disorienting to see her with so little confidence” (Sedaris 144). Similar to his essay “The Youth in Asia,” Sedaris uses the relationship between people and animals to demonstrate a person’s reliance on a pet’s dedication and connections that cannot be forged among people. In a funny recollection, Sedaris shares how his underachieving sister Lisa trained her parrot Henry to act as her emotional cheerleader. Sedaris writes, “I’d call and hear him in the background, screaming, ‘We love you, Lisa!’ and ‘You can do it!’” As Sedaris reflected, “...it is understood that (Henry) is loyal to only one person, which, I think, is another reason my sister is so fond of him” (Sedaris 149). If Lisa was the appointed leader of the family, Sedaris was the one to most likely set his house on fire (Sedaris
where the author wants to become proficient in speaking French. He studies language instructions only to end up being embarrassed by the teacher. This results to him being more culturally confused. David Sedaris finds humor in situations that are humiliating.
Rebecca Krefting (2014), “an Associate Professor of American Studies, affiliate faculty to Gender Studies, and Director of the Media and Film Studies Program” (Skidmore), wrote an article called “Making Connections.” Krefting (2014) explains the connections between comedy and people, listing the reasons the world can build “Cultural Citizenship” through “charged humor” (p. 17-18)
By comparing their familial attractiveness, Sedaris makes it clear that in this life, he values not the relationship that he has with family, but qualities that family has given him. He has inherited a lot more than skull shape from his father, but he specifically chooses those words to emphasize his shallow interpretation of the meaning of family. This idea is further developed by a similar statement, in which Sedaris’ braggadocio further exemplifies this parental relationship. He continues his description of his family’s talents, by boasting “because we are so smart, my parents and I are able to see through people as if they were made of hard, clear plastic.” (1) In addition to putting value in the things his parents have given him, rather than the relationship they have, Sedaris’ diction borders on patronizing. He specifically uses the word “we” in order to subliminally
In conclusion, Merrill Markoe portrayed high comedy using witty humor along with situational irony in the short story “A Conversation With My Dogs”. She does this while also reaching the moral of the story, which is that with some people or animals you have to be super specific or else they won’t understand what you are trying to say. I have experienced this with some people, including my mom who is often focused on her work. The combination of witty humor and situational irony makes the audience
In the short stories “A Drug Called Tradition,” “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” and “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore” collected in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, author Sherman Alexie uses humor to reflect the life on the Spokane Reservation. In “A Drug Called Tradition,” the story starts with a joke by having Thomas sit down inside a refrigerator in response to Junior’s comment as to why the refrigerator is empty. The Indians are having a party hosted by Thomas, who gets a lot of money from a corporation for leasing some of his land. Alexie’s three second selves, Victor, Junior, and Thomas, later go to the Benjamin Lake and use the drug that Victor brings with him. In “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” Jimmy Many Horses, who suffers from terminal cancer, humorously describes his tumors to his wife, Norma, who cannot bear Jimmy’s humor and leaves him. At the end, Norma comes back to Jimmy because the person she lives with is too serious. In “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore,” Victor and Adrian talk about the basketball stars on the reservation, hoping that someone on the reservation can resist alcohol and develop his or her basketball skills to be a successful ballplayer. The function of Alexie’s humor shifts throughout his stories. In “A Drug Called Tradition,” Alexie’s humor effectively accomplishes one of his goals by obliging readers to reconsider their concepts, while his humor helps his characters improve their situations in “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor.” In “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore,” humor mitigates the characters’ pain and despair. One common function hum...
For example, Sedaris uses hyperbolic statements to connect to the audience by using humor. The statement, “... and had front teeth the size of tombstones...” (P8) is meant to be humorous, which creates a sense of amiability between Sedaris and his audience. When Sedaris says, “Her reaction led me to believe that these mistakes were the capital crimes in the country of France,” (P16) he is referring to his poor pronunciation, and is highlighting the teacher’s extreme responses to the slightest mistake. Language is also used to create an easygoing relationship between the speaker in the audience. Sedaris uses informal language--as can be seen in the quote,“the teacher killed some time …” (P14)--to create a companionable tone, and makes it appear as though the story is being told to you by a friend, rather than reading an essay. The point of view is also essential to achieving the purpose of the essay; it is a first person
While the tone may range from playful to angry, satire generally criticizes in order to make a change. Exaggeration, parody, reversal, and incongruity are satirical devices. Author’s use satirical devices to strengthen their central idea.
Barry uses this example to suggest that his comparison extends further than to just human males. And although the author is relating people to dogs, women readers will be able to relate and still feel superior since the male dog is constantly in trouble or doing something wrong. Barry mixes colloquial language with humor to make his essay easy to relate to and understand. By using common language, he becomes more understanding. It would not be humorous to use an extensive vocabulary along with jokes. He appeals to a wider audience by using simple, common knowledge words. He then uses italics to emphasize the jokes he is making. Often in writing, it is more difficult to make out what is meant to be sarcastic or verbal irony, but Barry overcomes this and is able to make his funny texts
Finally, within the syntax of the novel, Sedaris has interlocked various arguments together with the choice of his words. He skillfully crafts a very sarcastic and humorous piece through applying an argument that is intermingled with generalizations. Thus, it means that the syntax is direct and declarative. For instance, the author states that the teacher is exhausting him with her foolishness and is rewarding her efforts with barely anything but pain. However, the syntax that the author used in some parts of the essay can be said to be confusing because he is fond of changing the topics or employing a different approach of transition in order to make his point of view clear to the readers. This is evident because at some point of the story, he would insert the earlier events or apply metaphors to describe a given occurrence.
For example, the comedy shows The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon expresses satirical humor concerning politics. His show also demonstrates political satire by telling jokes and even impersonating political figures for the audience. He creates humor through sarcasm that focuses on real issues. His sarcastic humor causes others to feel more confident in their criticism toward politicians. For example, “Jimmy Fallon expresses his humor about Donald Trump, impersonating his appearance and imitating his voice while talking about politics. He uses his humor by impersonating Donald Trump and his sweeping generalizations with Madea (Rogo).” Jimmy Fallon shows people his views through humor and it creates a sense of community to express their agreeable and disagreeable views. As we discussed some ideas about satirical humor that affects political changes, it was important to reveal their feelings about changes in life and drove them to look upon their society or government more
Steve Almond’s “Funny is the New Deep” talks of the role that comedy has in our current society, and most certainly, it plays a huge role here. Namely, through what Almond [Aristotle?] calls the “comic impulse”, we as a people can speak of topics that would otherwise make many of uncomfortable. Almond deems the comic impulse as the most surefire way to keep heavy situations from becoming too foreboding. The comic impulse itself stems from our ability and unconscious need to defend and thus contend with the feeling of tragedy. As such, instead of rather forcing out humor, he implies that humor is something that is not consciously forced out from an author, but instead is more of a subconscious entity, coming out on its own. Almond emphasizes
re using it for fast punchlines... I can put a joke together well enough that I
5. I thought Sedaris’s first essay “chipped beef” was a hilarious arrangement of considedness and make believe. Although this essay is not arranged with the perverted humor featured in some of his other essays, he had a very effective way in making the readers laugh
Humor is more than just amusing entertainment to pass the time. Though jokes and witty banter can be shallow, humor can go deeper than surface level to convey messages to audiences who would otherwise be close-minded about certain ideas. Humor is a great tool to get audiences to change the way they think, feel, and act. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” Alexander Weinstein uses humor to criticize some of society’s faults such as the way it has become heavily reliant on technology, racially insensitive, and judgmental.
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.