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Importance of humour in our life
Importance of humour in our life
Importance of humour
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When E.M. Forster wrote A Room with a View in 1903, he wasn’t pleased with it, stating it was “clear and bright and well constructed, but so thin.” (Macaulay, 2007:78). This novel has become one of Forster’s most famous and well liked books. It is a satirical romantic comedy that criticizes the world of polite manners and social rules, through amusing dry wit and hilarious characterization. It is a social satire criticizing conservative Victorian British society at the beginning of the twentieth century; at a time when the Edwardian more lax standard of codes was just beginning to take hold (Leah, 2012). A Room with a View is about a young woman living in the repressed Edwardian times who travels to Italy with her spinster cousin. While in Italy they make the acquaintance of a number of characters who often find themselves in humorous situations.
What we find humorous is influenced by our culture, our age, gender, personality and our life experiences. Bremmer and Roodenberg (1997), define humour as ‘any message – transmitted in action, speech, writing, images or music – intended to produce a smile or a laugh’. Veatch defines it as “a psychological state which tends to produce laughter.” (Veatch, 1999). Wit that is critical humour is a genre of literature called satire (Audrieth, 1998).
In writing about authors who write satire, Bloom & Bloom explain that they “have liked to think of themselves as judges of morals and manners” (Bloom, 1979). In satire, vices and shortcomings are ridiculed with the purpose of shaming either individuals or society. A critical attitude is blended with humour so that in the end “humanity may be improved” (Harris, 1990). A Room with a View is a light hearted social satire of the Horati...
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L. Audrieth, Anthony "The Art of Using Humor in Public Speaking" 1998.
Robert Harris, 1990 The Purpose and Method of Satire http://www.virtualsalt.com/satire.htm
Tom Veatch, 1999 http://tomveatch.com/else/humor/paper/node30.html Satire Stanford University
Tom Veatch, 1998 A Theory of Humor Stanford University, Stanford, California http://tomveatch.com/else/humor/paper/
Bloom, Edward A. and Lillian D. Bloom. 1979. Satire’s Persuasive Voice. London: Cornwell University Press.
Gruner, Charles R. 1992 Satire as Persuasion. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED395321
Herz, Judith 2007. The Cambridge Companion to T.M. Forsterr, ed. David Bradshaw Cambridge University Press
Macaulay, Rose, 1970. The Writings of E.M. Forster. Barnes & Noble Inc.
K. Gifford, 2013 Horatian Satire Humanities Web.org www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=l&p=t&a=d&ID=309
Harris, Robert. "The Purpose and Method of Satire." VirtualSalt 20 Aug. 1990. 13 April 2001. <http://www.virtualSalt.com/satire.htm>
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.
Festa, Conrad. “Vonnegut’s Satire.” Vonnegut in America: An Introduction to the Life and Work of Kurt Vonnegut. Vol. 5. 1977. 133-50. The GaleGroup. Web. 10 March. 2014.
Thoughtful laughter is a technique used frequently in satirical pieces in literature. It allows for the audience to enjoy the wittiness of a work, later ponder on the meaning, and then apply the message to reality. Thoughtful laughter is often an inner experience that can only be achieved by authors who write meticulously. Two examples of satirical works in literature that display this concept explicitly are Voltaire’s Candide and C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Both authors explore the depths of satire and simultaneously deliver an important message to readers through skillful technique.
Satire is a technique used in literature to criticize the faults of society. An excellent examle of contemporary satire is Kurt Vonnegut's novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The author tells the life of Eliot Rosewater, a young and affluent man troubled by the plights of the poor. Eliot is the President of the Rosewater Foundation, a sum of money worth approximately $87 million. Using this position, he does everything he can to help the poor. This charity giving is socially unacceptable to the wealthy, particularly Eliot's father Senator Lister Ames Rosewater. Vonnegut uses caricature, irony, and tone to satirize the lack of care the rich have for those socially "beneath them."
The films Young Frankenstein and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest can be viewed as a critical analysis of society’s issues and dysfunctions in the form of satire and parody using humor. While Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks cinematic version of the gothic novel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, uses parody in the form of Horatian satire, which is achieved through gentle ridicule and using a tone that is indulgent, tolerant, amused and witty. The film One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the adaptation of the Ken Kesey novel, uses a form of satire called Juvenalian satire which is demonstrated in the form of attacks on vice and error with contempt and indignation. Horatian satire will produce a humor response from the reader instead of anger or indignation as Juvenalian satire. Juvenalian satire, in its realism and its harshness, is in strong contrast to Horatian satire (Kent and Drury).
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists study humor because it is a fundamental culture value, but they still can’t determine why certain things make some people laugh and others not. There are “humor quotient” tests that are designed to measure an individual’s sense of humor, but these tests are questionable. These tests aren’t accurate because almost all humor depends on cultural background knowledge and language skills. Not every person in the whole world, or even in one country share the same background knowledge and skills, therefore they cannot have the same type of humor. “The fact remains that individuals vary in their appreciation of humor” (Rappoport 9). Since humor varies from individual to individual, humor lies in the individual. How successful or funny a joke is depends on how the person receives the joke, humor cannot be measured by a statistical
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
Satire is a great tool used by many writers and actors since ancient times. The earliest example that we know about is a script from 2nd millennium BC in Ancient Egypt (Definition: Satire) and since then has evolved into a great part of our society. Satire is used to point out the faults of human vice in order for change and reform in either of two ways. There is a very bitter Juvenalian or a mild and light Horatian. In order to fully understand these forms of satire, method, purpose, and applications will be addressed.
Brown, Earl B., Jr. "Kosinski's Modern Proposal: The Problem of Satire in the Mid-Twentieth Century." Ebscohost. N.p., 1980. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2014.
A Room With a View is a novel written by E.M. Forster in 1908. In the novel, the protagonist, Lucy, must choose between her limited but safe Victorian lifestyle and the opportunity of an exciting but scary Edwardian future. This choice is reflected in the attitudes of the two men she considers marrying, Victorian Cecil Vyse or the Edwardian George Emerson. The characters in A Room With a View have extremely contrasting attitudes and behaviors because some are Victorian and others are Edwardian.
Satire is defined as “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues” (Oxford). The best satirical writers can make the reader believe that an idea is “logical and practical.” This is seen in great abundance in Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World. Through his writing, Huxley uses satire to effectively point out the flaws of society at the time. Even though Brave New World was written in 1931, the satirical points Huxley makes are still relevant in today’s world.
In A Room of One’s Own, Virignia Woolf presents her views evenly and without a readily apparent suggestion of emotion. She treads softly over topics that were considered controversial in order to be taken seriously as an author, woman, and intellectual. Woolf ensures this by the use of humor, rationalization, and finally, through the art of diversion and deflection. By doing this Woolf is able to not alienate her audience but instead create a diplomatic atmosphere, as opposed to one of hostility that would assuredly separate the opinions of much of her audience. As Woolf herself says, “If you stop to curse you are lost” (Woolf 93). Because of this, anger is not given full sovereignty but instead is selected to navigate the sentiments of her audience where she wills with composed authority and fascinating rhetoric. That being said, Woolf is not without fault. She occasionally slips up and her true feelings spill through. Woolf employs a stream-of-consciousness narrative, satire, and irony to express her anger towards male-controlled culture in what is deemed a more socially acceptable way than by out rightly saying that they suck.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and
Humor is the tendency to look at things from the mirthful or incongruous side. It is the quality that makes something laughable or amusing. Humor is the ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is amusing or comical. It is the source of laughter and the catalyst of smiles. Humor is the spark that lights our eyes as well as the cause of tears that never grows old. Humor is a state of mind.