Humor, timeless? (Response to Hokum, 107-139)

The passages from “Hokum” offered a different humorous experience as compared to the experiences of “The 50 funniest American Writers” or “Cat’s Cradle.” I noted the time period when these passages were written, who wrote them and who the intended audience was. Being an anthology of African-American humor, these humorous pieces were written by African-American writers for African-American readers. This reinforced the idea of how humor is shaped and how it differs depending on an individual’s background. It also reinforced the idea of how humor can change over time; something that was once funny may not be funny years after. Perhaps, this may suggest that certain humor isn’t exactly timeless. However, I found this insightful because it allowed for further exploration into why people laugh at certain things.

Personally, I did not find the passages from “Hokum” as hilarious as those from “The 50 Funniest American Writers.” I felt that this is because the humor presented in “Hokum” dealt with sensitive issues such as slavery and social/racial inequality. I was relatively surprised that such sensitive issues were being used as a foundation of humor, especially during the time when these pieces were written, the early 1900s. I am definitely not an expert in African-American history but perhaps at the time, these issues were not as controversial as they became later. This is because the inequalities seemed to be a normal thing as dictated by society at the time so it was acceptable to use it as a foundation of humor. However, I feel that these passages could have been means of social commentary, whether intentional or not or as a coping function.

Nonetheless, I found that there were common comic techniques, as previously recognized in Morreall’s “Comic Relief” in the passages of “Hokum.” Take for example the “Assorted Jokes Compiled by Alex Rogers.” Many of these jokes played on one’s mental schema and used cognitive shift. One of the jokes that really amused me follows:

He was colored and he said he was a carpenter.

“Do you thoroughly understand carpentry?” he was asked.

“Yas suh.”

“You can make doors, windows and blinds?”

“Oh, sho’. Yas suh.”

“How would you make a Venetian blind?”

He scrated his head and though for a few seconds, then finally replied,

“Well, I reck’n ‘bout de easiest way would be to poke him in de eye”

            It used wordplay and created a cognitive shift with the punch line at the end of the joke. However, I found that this might have reinforced some stereotypes at the time because it suggested that the “colored carpenter” misunderstood what he was being asked. Although, using stereotypes could have been a way of setting that mental schema on which the cognitive shift could be built. Overall, though I didn’t personally find the pieces hilarious, I could see how certain techniques had been used to create humor. On a different note, I liked how the pieces managed to give a preview of society at the time. For example, Rudolph Fisher’s “The City of Refuge” provided an impression of Harlem and how it contrasted with other cities at the time. Also, the use of slang showed how people spoke. Maybe I’m pushing it, but I felt that this served as an example of how literature and civilization are connected. It changes over time and can intentionally or unintentionally portray civilization at the time.

While reading “Hokum,” I feel that I gained further insight into the reasons why people laugh, why things are humorous. Overall, I found that culture and personal background influences an individual’s perspective and therefore influences what he or she finds funny. In the case of the passages from “Hokum,” the current social situation of that time had a great impact on humor and how these writers created humor. But to end, I leave you with a thought to ponder, is humor timeless or not? 

Learning Languages (fifth meeting)

It was that time of the week again for my meeting with Monique at Union Grounds. As usual, we started with small talk, talking about what we had been up to since our last meeting, how our workload was going and how our weekend plans turned out.

I like that our weekly meeting time has become part of our respective routines and if we were not to meet, it would seem as though something is missing from our weeks. This became apparent during our conversation. This is because Monique told me some interesting news that she is planning to enter TCU as an incoming undergraduate student next fall, after she completes her intensive English course. And through this, she suggested that we keep in touch. I told her that I would definitely keep in touch with her, especially during her transition into TCU and to give her any advice, if needed. She said that she felt a lot more comfortable knowing that I would be around.

So, our conversation this week was a little more serious than our previous ones because she asked me all about the academics at TCU, such as about the core requirements, selecting majors and minors and certain classes. I was surprised with how many of the questions to which I could give a good answer. After she asked me all of her current questions, I reminded her that she could always contact me if ever a question came up.

We then shared our experiences abroad. It was interesting because we had both been exposed to multiple cultures yet we have had so many different experiences. This is because we have traveled to different parts of the world; I have traveled around countries in Asia whereas she has traveled to countries in Europe and South America. We compared the different cuisines we’ve enjoyed and the different festivals we’ve experienced. Moreover, I learned that she actually was in Spain for 5 months last year to study Spanish.

From this, I gathered that she was good at learning languages so I asked her about her learning experience, especially since I am considering taking up Spanish. She told me she found it easier to learn Spanish than English because it is more similar to Portuguese. But she said that because I know French, another one of the romantic languages, it would be easier for me to learn Spanish. Moreover, she said that it’s easier to learn a language when you are in an environment where you need to use the language. I agreed with this because even though I had studied French for seven years in the past, I already felt that I was losing some of my French after a year of not using it. Additionally, I insist that my parents keep speaking to me in Vietnamese every time they call me so that I can retain my Vietnamese while I’m here. We also agreed that languages are hard to learn depending on the way they are taught. Moreover, we agreed there is not one specific way to teach a language because learning styles vary from person to person. This is where we ended our conversation as Monique had an errand to run. We said bye and wished each other a good week! 

Scary or not? (fourth meeting)

Meeting again over coffee, Monique and I told each other about what we had been up to since our last meeting. I had been busy studying for a few exams and working on a few assignments, as Monique was getting ready for an upcoming week of assessments. I asked her about what she had to do and she told me that she had journal entries and essays to write. In turn, I asked her what she had to write about. I learned that at her level, she was required to read “Freakonomics” throughout the whole semester and this was what she had to write about and what she was quizzed on. Moreover, she is expected to make a few group and individual presentations throughout the semester. She said that this is her least favorite thing to do because she is not the biggest fan of public speaking. I told her that for our class, we are expected to make a few group presentations too and that I feel the same way about presentations.

However, she brought up an interesting point. She said, “at least you aren’t presenting in a second language.” This really got me thinking because it made me realize how much harder it would be to be in her position. I tried thinking about making presentations in my second and third languages and thought about how much more terrifying that would be! In response, I told her that if she ever wanted to practice her presentations to anybody, I would be happy to listen.

We had enough with school talk so she asked me about my Halloween plans. She told me that she and a few of her Brazilian friends here had decided that they would all dress up as a Brazilian soccer team. In response, I asked her if Halloween is celebrated in Brazil and she told me that it wasn’t that prevalent but there are some Halloween-related events. I told her it’s the same case in Vietnam. We came to the conclusion that Halloween is more of an American holiday. But it was still interesting to recognize that Halloween is still somewhat prevalent internationally. I told her that I wasn’t sure about my Halloween plans yet, maybe watch a few scary movies or go to a haunted house with some friends.

Then, she told me that she didn’t like haunted houses. She didn’t like being scared. I said that I felt the same way but I enjoy scary movies and haunted houses if I am with a large group of friends. She agreed with me. She even said that going to a haunted house or watching scary movies with friends makes them funny.

This reminded me of the idea discussed in Morreall’s Comic Relief that humor is enjoyed in large groups and that humor can be a sign of security and safety. Maybe being in large groups gives this feeling of security and safety and therefore makes scary movies and haunted houses less frightening and instead, creates a humorous experience. 

Already Ready for the Holidays (third meeting)

After fall break, Monique and I met for another coffee at Union Grounds. We talked about our fall breaks and shared stories on what we did. Monique had gone to see Cirque du Soleil, which is currently in Dallas. She encouraged me to check it out. We also talked about the state fair since I had had plans to go during break. She said she had gone before so she shared her experience and warned me to be prepared for all the fried foods at the fair. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to go to Dallas in the end because I had other plans that got in the way. Instead, I had spent time with my friends who were still on campus during break.

Maybe it’s too soon to be thinking about it, but we then shared our winter break plans. She told me how she was planning to go back to Brazil for the break and see her family. It’s disappointing, though, because she won’t be able to stay for “Carnival,” a weeklong Brazilian festival to celebrate Mardi Gras. During “Carnival,” everybody dresses in costumes and, as Monique put it, everybody “goes wild;” it’s like a weeklong party. Interested, I asked her more about this festival. It usually happens around late February and everything is closed so that everybody can celebrate. This reminded me of Lunar New Year (Tet) in Vietnam during which all services are closed for celebration.

She told me more about Brazilian celebrations. It was exciting to learn about the holidays that are celebrated in Brazil.  What I found most intriguing were the Brazillian traditions for common holidays. It’s interesting to see how different cultures celebrate worldwide holidays. For example, during New Years, everybody wears white in Brazil. This is to bring in good luck and peace for the New Year. New Years is her favorite holiday and favorite time to be home so she’s glad that she’ll at least be able to be home for it. Moreover, she told me she was ready to get away from the cold since it will be warm when she goes home in December. I told her that I could relate to this since I was also raised in a warm country but I liked that it was getting colder because it brings that feel of the holiday season, which is my favorite time of the year. 

Nostalgic for Childhood Vacations (Response to The Funniest 50 American Writers, Hughes, 259-285; Carlin, 351-357)

As I read John Hughes’ “Vacation ’58,” I reminisced on my childhood family vacations. Of course, I did not completely relate to the story, as my dad never did the things the narrator’s dad did to that extent. However, I did find it relatable because I remembered how my dad would always be worried about the time and having the “perfect” family vacation as my mom would nag him about making sure to stop for food and rest. In other words, to my dad, everything had to be on a tight schedule whereas to my mom, everything had to be planned around meals and sleep. By the end of most of my family vacations, as in Hughes’ “Vacation ’58,” my parents would be exhausted and would have reached a mild state of craziness. This usually indicated a time to go home and get back to reality. I also saw this in Hughes’ story in which both parents had reached a similar state by the end of the story. This was quite amusing because Hughes had played with the idea of a family vacation. There was a sense of incongruity and contradiction: a vacation is meant for a time to relax, enjoy and unwind yet parents on family vacations tend to worry and stress.

The story was relatable. But even more, it was exaggerated to an extreme. It took a typical family vacation and exaggerated it and the different stereotypical personalities. As aforementioned, you had the dad who was concerned about the schedule and the mom who made sure everybody was well fed and well rested. I found it particularly amusing at the beginning when the mom had thought she had left the oven on so they had to go back home to see that it was, in fact, switched off. Then, she insisted that they might as well stay home for lunch even though they were already behind their schedule. This reminded me of something my mom has done before like realizing she had forgotten to pack our passports when we would be halfway to the airport. Furthermore, Hughes especially exaggerated the dad personality as, for example, the dad disregarded the cruel death of Aunt Edythe’s dog and the death of Aunt Edythe herself. Instead, he insisted with moving on with their schedule.

Hughes also created stereotypical family personalities, such as the old Aunt Edythe, the baby and the brother who was always asleep, to name a few. I believe that the narrator’s character was the least exaggerated in that most children, still learning their morals, would find anything amusing and would see their dad as some sort of action hero. Yes, his character was exaggerated to an extent but I believe that his character was typical of a young boy’s because he was extremely excited even during the police chase. In the end, I believe it just goes to show that parents do not need to stress and create the “perfect” holiday for their children as their children will find anything entertaining. Overall, Hughes had exaggerated the personalities and events of a typical family vacation. The events became increasingly exaggerated as the story progressed, from being behind schedule, to the dad attempting to shoot Walt Disney. It was particularly amusing because everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. For example, even through all the trouble of travelling to Disneyland, they arrived to find that it was closed for maintenance.

Hughes took something familiar and exaggerated it. In a way, for me personally, it induced nostalgia; it took all my memories of “failed” family vacation experiences and made them key moments. It built a sense of authenticity to my childhood vacations and made those unoriginal “Disneyland” family trips unique. This is why I appreciated Hughes’ story. Also, it highlighted this idea of how a tragedy could become a comedy over time.