Tales of Juha - Conditioning

Tales of Juha: Classic Arab Folk Humor has definitely been my favorite read this semester.  This could partly be due to the fact that the entire book is purely jokes divided into different topics, but also because even though it is Arab humor, it is still relatable and enjoyable universally.  In addition, it relates to my “Humor around the World” presentation, so that was pretty neat!  And then, I think most importantly, this collection of humor was culturally enlightening. 

This last grouping of reading, which included the sections of “Juha the Butt,” “Boastfulness and False Pride,” “A Witty Rogue,” “Cowardice,” “Justice and Generosity,” and “Critic of Despotism,” may have actually been my least favorite of the three.  I can definitely say that the first day of reading was my favorite, mainly in part to the wit and smartness of Juha.  I can definitively say that wit is my favorite form of humor, therefore justifying my favorite grouping of reading.  But why then did I enjoy this one so much less?  I think this is partly due to the culture references in this section.  While most of the humor in this book is universal, some I think would be funnier or more enjoyable to those who understand and live in that form of culture.  This can particularly be identified with some of the judge jokes, and jokes involving the governor.  Also, since I preferred the first section due to the wit and smartness of Juha, it makes sense that I did not enjoy when Juha was the butt of the joke or viewed as naïve and cowardly.

One of the jokes that particularly stood out to me in this grouping of reading was from the section entitled “Critic of Despotism,” where Juha taught Tamerlane’s donkey to read (135-136).  The way in which Juha taught the donkey to “read” (rather, taught him to turn the pages of a book), was by placing barley between the pages, turning the pages as the donkey ate the barley; then the donkey would begin to turn the pages on his own, in order to get to the barley to eat; after that, Juha did not include the barley between the pages, but the donkey continued to turn the pages of the book.  Juha said the donkey would continue to turn the pages without the barley, because he was looking for the barley.  This situation reminded me of Skinner’s “Operant Conditioning” where learning occurs by association.  At first the barley makes the donkey eat and turn the pages of the book, making the barley a reward for the desired action of turning the page.  Therefore, Juha was promoting positive reinforcement as the donkey had to turn the page in order to get the barley.  Eventually all it took was for the donkey to see the book to know it should turn the pages, because the donkey had been conditioned to do so, and was still under the impression that he would find barley between the pages.

This story also reminded me of The Big Bang Theory,  when they depicted conditioning by Sheldon training Penny to not sit in his spot, or to be quiet and not talk as much.  Sheldon trained Penny by giving her chocolate every time she did something correct or realized a mistake, in order to eventually train her to not have those tendencies. 

 

There are two other particular reasons I enjoyed this particular joke.  First, Juha is depicted as being smart and cunning, opposed to dumb or cowardly like many of the other jokes in this grouping of reading.  It takes some intelligence and understanding in order to get the donkey to respond the way he did.  Second, it reminded me of science and psychology which I love!  The mind is truly fascinating and seeing a correlation in this humor excited me and was noteworthy.   

The Final Conversation...

Today, Sunday, November 18, 2012, I had my final meeting with Alex.  It was a bit sad, as Alex and I have had some great conversations over the course of this semester.  We agreed to meet for lunch or dinner sometimes next semester just to keep up with one another!

At first, though, I did not think Alex was going to show up.  I arrived promptly at 1:30 and after ten minutes of waiting, Alex had not shown up; I decided to send him a text to see if he was coming, but received no response.  At 1:45, I decided maybe it would be more effective to call, and that was successful.  My phone call consequently woke him up, so he said he would meet me in ten minutes. 

 

Once Alex finally arrived, we first discussed our weekends and what all we had done.  Alex had watched quite a few movies, none of which I had even heard of!  He made a joke about Americans being fascinated with zombies, because two of the movies he watched incorporated zombies.  I am not personally interested or really entertained by such movies, but I suppose some people are!  While still discussing our weekends, we learned that we both had eaten at McAllister’s Deli for dinner Saturday night!  We discussed what we had eaten, and both agreed that it was delicious.  We also talked about the weather, and how it was so beautiful outside today; not hot, not cold, but basically the perfect sunny, blue sky, jeans and a t-shirt type weather!

 

Our last topic of interest today was Thanksgiving and what our plans for the break entail.  We both are excited for the mental break of school for 5 days!  I plan on going home and spending time with my family, whereas Alex’s plans include staying at TCU.  Originally a group of his friends were going to go to San Antonio for the break, but too many people backed out where it started to become too expensive, so instead he will be staying at school.  He is unsure of what all he is going to do for the 5 days here; I suggested sleeping! 

We wrapped up our conversation at this point, as I had a meeting to attend, but we both agreed to meet at different points throughout next semester for lunch or dinner, because who doesn’t love food and some good company?! 

And in spirit with the Thanksgiving atmosphere, I am thankful for this opportunity to have met with Alex throughout the course of this semester.  I have learned a lot from him and it was a great way to be exposed to a different culture and customs.  I would not have expected to learn as much as I did from this experience, but I certainly have and it was truly worthy of my time. 

Conversation Number 7!

Alex and I meet today at our usual Sunday time and location, 1:30 pm at Union Grounds!  It is hard to believe that this is already conversation number 7!  At the end of today’s conversation we set up our eighth, and consequently, our last conversation time.  This semester truly has gone by incredibly fast and I can’t believe that our conversations are nearing an end.

Today, we finally talked about the all-important topic of humor!  Alex informed me that the main thing that they, in China, and he laugh at is other people’s mistakes.  And here we are, back to the topic of Schadenfreude.  As shown by many of the presentations, as well as my conversation with Alex, this concept is something that appears to be considered funny somewhat worldwide. 

Other than this, Alex was not really sure how to identify and describe their humor.  Also, what some people find to be funny, he does not.  Jokes were a big topic of discussion, but Alex did say that many of their jokes are not transferable or funny in America.  Alex did, though, take some time to tell me a few jokes, such as, “How many steps does it take to put an elephant in the refrigerator?”  Answer: “3 – open the refrigerator, put the elephant in, and close the refrigerator.”  Next joke, “How many steps does it take to put a giraffe in the refrigerator?” Answer: “4 – open the refrigerator, take out the elephant, put the giraffe in, and close the refrigerator.”  Alex just thought this joke was hilarious.  And I can agree that it’s funny, but this is a little bit of a different concept of humor than what I now hold as a young adult.  Another type of joke that Alex said the Chinese people enjoy are jokes that talk about events that recently happened.  These jokes help lighten the mood about the events and also give the people a way to discuss them. 

We also discussed comedy movies, and according to Alex, they are considered low-level, like junk food or fast food.  I found this to be a very interesting viewpoint, especially since comedy is a crowd-pleasing genre here in America.  Personally, many of my favorite movies fall into this category, such as The Proposal, Pitch Perfect, Baby Mama, and The Sandlot. 

The last question I asked in regards to humor was if anything was off-limits to joke about in their culture.  Alex said that really anything could be joked about as long as the other person finds it funny.  He said that one thing that he cannot joke about is death.  His mother does not like when people talk about death, as it is like a curse to that person. 

To wrap up our conversation today, we talked about what was on our agendas for the rest of the day; mine consisted of lots and lots of homework and studying, as well as bible study; Alex’s consisted of homework, sleeping, and Skyping with his parents!

The Lesson

The Hokum reading was fully enjoyable!  I actually enjoyed all three stories that were assigned for today’s reading.  All three were entertaining reads, but I particularly liked the second story, “The Lesson.”  Many things hit home with me and caused me to think.  The part at the end when the students learned the lesson made me rethink how I view things and made me realize how incredibly blessed I am. 

When Sugar stated, “You know, Miss More, I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs” really struck me.  The other line that really got me was, “Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven people.”  Wow.  How powerful, yet true, that statement is.  Earlier in the story it was stated that there was a toy that cost thirty-five dollars; that thirty-five dollars could “pay for the rent and the piano bill too.”

 

The world I grew up in and was raised in, the type of living I am accustomed to is utterly different than that which is depicted in “The Lesson.”  It really was an awakening and a reminder at just how fortunate and blessed I truly am in my life, especially with the opportunity to be at a phenomenal school receiving a higher education, something that many people dream of but never have the opportunity to achieve.  Also, in regards to money, our tuition is a ridiculous amount, especially in comparison to someone only paying $35 in rent.  And yet, we horned frogs find the $43,000 a year to attend this university.  Just how crazy is that?  I was talking with a friend who grew up in a family where the annual income was only $35,000.  That’s as much as tuition at TCU, and with the addition of room and board, is even less. 

Another conversation I had in the past week was with a cleaning lady in Samuelson.  She told me how she has been applying for the job at TCU for over a year and finally got it.  Why was she applying for it?  Because she wants to give her kids an equal opportunity to attend school and get an education that is so stressed in today’s society, something that she never had the opportunity to achieve.  How humbling.  I, a lot of the times, forget about how lucky I am to receive this opportunity.  To me, it just seems normal; since a young age it has been put in my head that I can do anything; that I will go to college; and that I will receive a higher education.  Other people are not as fortunate. 

The lesson learned by Sugar, is that “this not much of a democracy if you ask me.  Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”  And I agree.  Unfortunately, our world, our country, our society is not set up this way.  And it definitely was not in the 1970s when blacks were heavily discriminated against and were not given nearly the same rights or opportunities as the white race who viewed themselves as superior.

But just remember, being at TCU is a huge blessing, and this story was an incredible reminder at just how lucky we are to be here.

Conversation Number 6!

Today, Alex and I met at Union Grounds for another conversation and discussion!  We grabbed some drinks and got to talking!  First, we discussed how the rest of week went since we had last met on Monday and what we had done this weekend.  We both participated in LEAPS yesterday, so we shared our experiences with each other and both agreed that it was rewarding. 

After this discussion, Alex abruptly changed subjects and asked about religion and Christianity.  He associates Americans with Christianity, and to clear things up I made sure he knew that America is founded on freedom of religion and we don’t have an official religion.  There are a wide varieties of religions practiced in America, but approximately 75% of Americans do identify within the umbrella of Christian faiths.  It was interesting to hear about how he does not believe in God or in a god, and that he views the world as a material thing.  It was also interesting to hear some of the stereotypes that he views in regards to Americans and Christianity.  While some are true in regards to some people, they are after all just stereotypes and were not necessarily true for the mass population.

 

Alex asked me to explain some of the basic components of Christianity, such as God, his son, Jesus, forgiveness, sins, and communion.  While explaining, Alex would also share his view and opinion on these topics and what he knows/has heard before.  It was interesting to be presented with his perspective on this stuff, and I also realized how weird and crazy some of these beliefs may sound to an outsider; also, it could be hard for him to believe in something like this when he has never been exposed to it.  He told me that his grandparents are Buddhists and explained some of those beliefs; I explained that as Christians because of Jesus we are forgiven for our sins, but he said for Buddhism that if you do something wrong then directly or indirectly at some point in your life something bad will occur to you.

 

We also talked about history in many regards.  First, we talked about the history of religion and I asked how important religion was in China and what faith is most widely practiced.  Alex gave me a little history of the migration of religions through the dynasties which was actually pretty cool!  Alex was then interested in the history of Texas, as they had briefly touched on it in one of his classes on Friday.  I explained the six flags over Texas, who Texas has been ruled by, and the process of Texas gaining their independence – being sure to mention the Alamo.  Explaining this to him took a lot of digging and memory as the last time I’ve studied Texas history was in 7^th grade (when I did not particularly enjoy history…).  But I did my best and Googled a few articles and pictures to better help my explaining and his understanding. 

 

The conversation today was definitely interesting and for the first time I was required to do most of the talking.  It was truly enjoyable, and I am glad that Alex was comfortable enough to ask these questions and that I was able to explain these things to him! 

Conversation Number 5!

Last week, Alex and I decided that we would meet on Sunday at 6 for dinner like our previous meeting.  At 6:00 I was standing at Union Grounds when we decided to meet and I found myself standing there by myself for 5 minutes.  I texted Alex asking if we were still meeting, and he replied saying he completely forgot about our meeting and asked if we could move it to Monday.  Immediately following class today (Monday), Alex and I met at Union Grounds for some coffee (or in my case hot chocolate) and conversation; we had a visitor today, too!  One of Alex’s friends, Leo, was with him and joined us for our conversation.

The dynamic of the conversation was different having an extra person, but it was a good change!  It was neat to meet another person and have a conversation as a group.  Our conversation began with the usual introductions for Leo and myself, as any first time meeting on a college campus would begin.  I found myself struggling to understand Leo sometimes, but Alex would translate for me which was pretty cool!  The three of us talked about the weather and how relieved we were that it is no longer so hot outside.  We then talked about music and the types of music we enjoy listening to.  They had some friends going to the Justin Bieber concert tonight, and the three of us agreed that he was definitely not our favorite artist.  Leo then asked who my favorite artist was and I quickly answered Train.  I realized though that the chance of them knowing who Train is was a long shot and was about to start explaining to them when Alex said, “Oh, the band that sings that song Drive By.”  I think my day was made when he knew who Train was. 

Leo and Alex had a lot of questions about classes at TCU and the format and such.  For the remainder of our time this is what we discussed.  We discussed the sorts of classes I take for my major, what they want their major and minor to be, textbooks for classes, and the format of lectures and tests.  It was interesting having to explain these different aspects and concepts of classes to them, as it is just second-nature to me at this point.  It is so common for me that I forget it is a foreign concept to them.  I sure hope I did a good job explaining everything! 

We wrapped up our conversation after 45 minutes as Leo and Alex had grand plans of hitting the gym and working out!  All in all, today’s conversation was awesome and extremely interesting.  It was cool to have a small group type setting for a conversation and to gain perspective from another individual. 

Hokum Readings

I have found Hokum, an anthology of African-American humor, to be an interesting, surprising, and confusing read. 

In regards to the first selection, “When De Co’n Pone’s Hot,” I could for the most part understand the writing but there are a few lines I could not, and therefore am confused on the meaning and context of this story.  In regards to the last story, The Bone of Contention, I enjoyed the story and especially the punch line at the end.

But the reading that affected me the most was the “Assorted Jokes Compiled by Alex Rogers.”  I found these assorted jokes to be fairly humorous, some even evoking slight chuckles and laughter from me while reading.  I believe that this was due to the set-up and the way these jokes were presented, as well as the wit of these jokes.  The perception of the joke and then the punch-line was different than expected, or was witty, which made these jokes humorous.  However, what confused me is that these jokes seem to be making fun of a colored person, or make them seem stupid and ignorant.  If some of us in this class were to say some of these jokes then we would be perceived as racist, or someone who enjoys racial humor.  So the reason I am so surprised is because these jokes, poems, and stories we are reading in Hokum are written by African-Americans, and therefore why do they find this as humorour or why do they portray themselves in humor this way.  I am not sure why I was so curious and wondering so much about these jokes, but I even read some and was discussing the context and humor with some friends.

In general, Hokum has not been my favorite read so far, and mainly I think that is due to the fact that I don’t fully understand the humor.  This could be due to the cultural context and time-period, where I am simply missing the point and the humor. 

Conversation Number 4!

After our wonderful conversation on Wednesday about food, Alex and I decided to meet for dinner at Market Square on Sunday at 6:00pm.  Sometimes food and talking combined can have awkward moments; you know, the whole ask a question right when the other person is stuffing food in their mouth and then can’t talk due to the food in their mouth and the proper rules of etiquette.  Well yes, there were a few of those occurrences, but for the most part our conversation went smoothly!

Alex was interested in learning more about my major and future job.  To someone who has no idea what physical therapy is, it is doubtful he would know about the even more obscure field of occupational therapy, which was the case with Alex.  Luckily, I am pretty used to having to simplify this topic in order to explain the field of occupational therapy because even most Americans do not know about the field; they are only familiar with physical therapy.  So explaining the field of occupational therapy was challenging and Alex did not quite understand it at first.  He didn’t understand the rehabilitation aspect and that I would be helping people in a clinic type setting.  Eventually though, he did understand (or at least pretended to understand) what I was explaining to him.

Our other topic of discussion on Sunday was about some cultural and development differences between China and America.  Our first subcategory was in regards to TV shows and movies.  Alex told me about two shows he is really invested in watching since he came to America – Lost and Walking Dead.  I have not seen either of these shows which he was surprised about!  But honestly, I haven’t seen many shows or movies; it is definitely an area where I lack knowledge.  We did discuss superhero movies and how they are so big in America, but in China the comic is not.  After that, we talked about movies that were huge successes in America that were also popular in China such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.  The other subcategory we discussed, this one in regards to the development of the countries, was transportation.  It is amazing how dependent we Americans are on automobiles to get from place to place, where in China people walk, bike, or heavily rely on the public transportation system.  My one experience abroad was to London where we rode the public transportation system basically everywhere.  And honestly, I loved it!  Everything went smoothly, and all I needed was a map to guide me!  Here though, the roads can be confusing and after traveling this weekend realized how dependent I am on Google and the internet maps to get anywhere new or unfamiliar.  We also talked about the cycle we have experienced in regards to transportation.  When America wasn’t as “developed” we relied on trains to transport us places.  And then the car was invented and we saw that as an important invention that every family should utilize and sure enough became the mode of transportation with railway a dying way of traveling except in regards to products and goods.  However, now we are pushing public transportation on people due to our nonrenewable energy sources depleting.  Now the “old-fashioned way” of mass transportation is actually the best mode in order to save fuel and be eco-friendly.  It is amazing to see how our country has come full circle, and the fact that an outsider from the U.S. has noticed this.  This, in part, is due to the fact that he is unable to travel easily or get to places he wants to since he doesn’t have a car and the public transportation cannot get him everywhere he desires. 

I especially enjoyed our conversation on Sunday, and loved learning about some cultural and lifestyle similarities and differences in American and China!

Conversation Number 3!

Well, a month later the third conversation finally occurred!  I had attempted to contact Alex for 3 weeks with no response.  I thought I had scared him off or that I was just a really boring person to have to meet with.  Last Friday I randomly ran into him in the BLUU and so we talked!  He explained his phone wasn’t working so was unable to contact me.  He gave me his email address and we decided to meet as usual, Wednesday afternoon at 2pm at Union Grounds.

Being ignored for three weeks really worried me!  I was just hoping that I hadn’t actually scared Alex off and that he would show up for our meeting.  2:00 hit and he hadn’t arrived; 2:02 and he still wasn’t there.  But at 2:03 he came strolling into Union Grounds and boy was I relieved!  We began our conversation with the student favorite topic of Fall Break.  Alex stayed at TCU of course, but said his favorite event of the long weekend was going to Six Flags.  He really enjoyed the rollercoasters, which apparently scared his friends a little.  I asked him what his favorites were, but he did not know the names of the rides; he was only able to describe them based on the color.  Luckily, I am a Six Flags, rollercoaster loving person and knew exactly which rides he was referring to.  Alex is used to rollercoasters, as there are many amusement parks in China which he would frequent.

Also over Fall Break, Alex made some authentic Chinese food.  He made his favorite dish from home that his Grandma would always make.  I learned that his grandparents are actually farmers and all that they grow and raise, which was very interesting.  Alex told me that he wishes there was farm land around here, as that is something he thinks of when he thinks of America, but has yet to see;also, seeing farmland would make him feel more at home.  His grandmother cooks with wine a lot, so he said the dish he made this weekend wasn’t quite the same without the wine; darn American 21-and-over drinking laws.  This discussion of food he made led to us talking about food in general for the duration of our time together.  We talked mainly about vegetables and the food that is available in the BLUU.  Needless to say, I left our conversation extremely hungry for food and excited for our next conversation.

Response to "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved"

“The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” by Hunter S. Thompson is an interestingly worded and put together short story.  There are many details that the author spends so much time on describing, but then never finishes or explains these thoughts.  Also, it was the longest story we have read so far from The 50 Funniest American Writers according to Andy Borowitz, and the simple point of it is to show the irony of the narrator and Ralph Steadman becoming the people they were searching to portray at the Kentucky Derby.

The details that were left unanswered may not have been fully pertinent to the story, but nonetheless, left me curious.  First, the narrator spends time describing his failed attempts to get press passes, but then, all of a sudden, he has passes! It is never really explained how these are obtained.  Also, the narrator tells other people that he works for Playboy as a photographer.  It is told, though, that the tag on his bag was merely given to him and that it is not who he actually works for.  However, who is it that he works for?  These two details may not have been all that relevant to the story, but still, irked me in a way that left me thinking and wanting to know the answers (and wondering if somehow I missed these details!).

The last item about “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” that I found intriguing is some of the word choices.  The language was used in such a way that makes a point as to how the narrator, Steadman, and others at the Kentucky Derby were acting.  I sometimes found the word choices Thompson used as slightly offensive.  One thing that shocked me was how soon this language was used (as in, the second page of the story).  The contextual meaning of the words he uses, especially in today’s society, and maybe even more so in the 1970s, can be offensive; this is in particular response to a word in the story that can have a negative connotation towards those that identify as being homosexual.  This word was just used freely and in a way that I do not agree is appropriate, nor should be used at all.  Another area in the story that surprised me was the last paragraph, particularly the last few sentences.  Personally, I get uncomfortable when people say these words, even in a joking matter, as we as society should be more mature and less offensive when we speak; these words though, were still uncomfortable just reading, despite when used in this drunk, joking, morally corrupt sense that the story exposes. 

Three Important Points from Comic Relief

Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor by John Morreall may not have been my preferred book of choice (hence the vent session in a previous post), but it did lay a great foundation concerning humor in regards to this course.  There were some arguments made that were very true and some that I agreed with.  In conclusion from Comic Relief, three points that I find important or beneficial are:

1)      Humor Increases Health: Humor increasing health is a point that was mentioned many times throughout Comic Relief, which I took note of and really liked.  I mean, how cool is it that humor and laughter is actually increasing our health?!  Well, I think it is pretty darn awesome.  Laughter “reduces heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and stress chemicals in the blood” (Morreall 66).  Normally, negative emotions suppress the activity of the immune system, but laughter is able to actually enhance the immune system.  In fact, many psychological studies show that “humor serves as a buffer against stress, and that people with a good sense of humor go through fewer and less pronounced emotional swings” (Morreall 68).  Also, hearty laughter involves several areas of the brain, nervous system, and muscles groups; in addition, it is estimated that 20 seconds of hearty laughter gives the heart and lungs a workout equivalent to three minutes on a rowing machine, and 15 minutes of laughter can burn 40 calories!  These health facts are very beneficial, which gives me a reason to make people laugh more, right?  I’m only trying to help their health…

2)      Harmful Effects of Humor: While humor and laughter can be fun and beneficial, there are some cautionary things to be careful of while joking.  Morreall discussed how “the practical and cognitive disengagement in humor can have harmful effects” (Morreall 102).  He focused on three effects: irresponsibility; blocking compassion; and promoting prejudice.  In regards to irresponsibility, humor can cause us to neglect actions that are called for, or cause us to do things that should not be done.  In our lives, we can be notorious for simply laughing off a problem instead of taking the required action.  By doing this, we are treating a problem as trivial, instead of giving it the necessary attention.  Secondly, another harmful effect of humor is blocking compassion instead of helping those who need it.  In this way, humor can displace an action or insult on those who are suffering, which in turn increases suffering.  Morreall stated that the “most widely accepted moral rule is to not cause unnecessary suffering.  From that it follows that we should not laugh at someone’s problem when compassion is called for (Morreall 105).  The third harmful effect is that humor may be promoting prejudice. This effect is cognitively disengaging us from the object of our amusement.  In personal opinion, these jokes are widely used in our society today, which is spreading false and exaggerated stereotypes of “the other.”  In fact, these jokes are categorizing “all members of a group as being interchangeable and as having certain shortcomings” (Morreall 108).  In this case, we are saying that anyone who is different than us is inferior, and therefore showing the harmful effect that some forms of humor can cause.  While humor can be beneficial and create a fun atmosphere, there is also a line that cannot be crossed with humor.     

3)      Disengagement in Humor: Humor and disengagement is one of the first ideas presented in Comic Relief, and is also mentioned many times throughout.  Morreall uses this idea of disengagement in amusement to build some of his other arguments and theories off of.  I found the idea that emotions such as fear and anger cause us to be cognitively and practically engaged to what is going on around us, while amusement involves cognitive and practical disengagement.  The emotions cause us to be serious and focused on the dangers or opportunities around us, which prepares us to take further action if necessary; therefore, we are aware of our surrounding and engaged in the situation.  Amusement, however, makes us not serious or concerned about dangers or opportunities that could be around us, and does not prepare us to act.  If we are amused or laughing at someone, it is not possible to also be angry or upset at them; this shows the differences between engagement and disengagement, which is an important point that is continually referenced throughout Comic Relief. 

The Inferiority of the Joke Teller in “The House of Mirth”

“The House of Mirth,” included in The 50 Funniest American Writers according to Andy Borowitz, portrays a theory, as stated by the husband, that the institution of marriage can be improved by extending the domestic relationship to the social sphere. The social aspect is a matter of teamwork between himself and his wife.  The husband proceeds to script jokes with his wife based on the expected conversations of the dinner parties they will attend.  However, his jokes only work with specific wording, which his wife continually messes up.  The husband tries to explain to the wife his beliefs about his theory, but she replies that there has to actually be a domestic relationship first, in order for there to be a socialized relationship outside of the home.

While reading, I was reminded of an argument that Morreall posed in Comic Relief; while this did not completely relate to the meaning of this story, it does relate to the foundation on the philosophy of humor that Comic Relief presented for the purpose of our class. Morreall proposed that the wit is better than the joke, for many reasons.  These reasons include: the joke teller is a performer, not an instantaneous creator; the joke teller is limited to the jokes he can remember; and the joke teller interrupts the conversation (Morreall 84).  The husband in “The House of Mirth” exemplifies many of the negatives of being a joke teller.  In accordance with Morreall’s argument, the husband illustrates the inferiority of joke tellers.  The husband’s jokes were obviously not adaptable to every situation; rather, they were memorized and had to be set up correctly otherwise they would fail, as they did.  The wife would change the wording of her line that was to set up the joke, which therefore ruined the punch line.  In one situation, the wife is supposed to say, “Was he on your mother’s side?” (Borowitz 107).  The husband planned on answering, “Yes, except in money matters, when he usually stuck up for my father” (Borowitz 107). This joke makes sense, but at the party, the wife changes the wording saying, “I keep forgetting, was he your maternal grandfather” (Borowitz 108).  The husband, regardless, proceeds to say the exact scripted punch line, which no longer makes sense, nor is humorous.  This form of humor, therefore, was actually interrupting the conversation, opposed to keeping the conversation going and enhancing it.  The husband, during this sequence, proved that as a joke teller he is a performer and not a true creator of humor, as he was not able to adapt his joke to still make sense; also, in order to be funny he had to script it.  In this way, “The House of Mirth” is able to defend Morreall’s case that the joke teller is inferior to the wit.

Conversation Number 2!

The second conversation with Alex went great! At first, though, I showed up to meet him, and he wasn’t there! Luckily, he texted me a few minutes after we were supposed to meet and said he was running late at the bank, and asked if we could move our meeting back 30 minutes.

A great topic once again was the weather; Alex was very relieved that it has cooled off a little bit!  He is enjoying the cooler mornings and nights, and of course, so am I!

Our next topic of interest was videogames, which is a topic I rather enjoy.  He said he has been playing Call of Duty a lot recently, which, is a videogame I will play (no shame).  Videogames led to the topic of sports.  We talked about the TCU football game; Saturday was Alex’s first American football game!!! He explained how different and awesome the atmosphere was, such as how important and into the game the students are, how everyone stands the whole time, and he even enjoyed the band (near where he was watching) who danced to their songs sometimes.  It was very interesting to hear about his football experience, especially since it is not really played in China.  I am so thrilled to hear that he plans to attend the next home game!  Next, I told him that my favorite sport was baseball, which he also said is not played often in China.  He is used to playing/watching soccer.

Our final topic of the day was his classes and what they have been discussing.  He also showed me his self-teaching English book; the Chinese symbols were so foreign and confusing to me!  I can’t imagine how hard it would be to learn English after knowing Chinese your whole life (or vice versa)!

I have really enjoyed my conversations with Alex.  I have learned so much regarding the differences between culture here and in China.  It has been fascinating and educational, and cannot wait to learn more from him! Agenda for next meeting: discuss humor! J

First Conversation with Alex

After receiving the contact information for Alex, I emailed him with potential times to meet up.  However, I did not hear back from him.  Zheyna suggested that I try texting him, and as soon as I did, there was an instantaneous response!  We decided to meet today, Wednesday, September 5, at 2:00 PM at Union Grounds.

I am always nervous when it comes to new situations and meeting people, and my first meeting with Alex was no different.  Some concerns I had were being able to recognize him and what we would talk about.  Luckily, we were able to guess who one another was, and so we began our talk! Alex was very talkative which helped subside my reservations. 

First, I learned that he was from China (the Shanghai area) and he is thinking of majoring in Business.  He told me a lot about where he was from, such as the weather, and described the nature.  Besides the awful heat, he enjoys the landscape of Fort Worth more because there are trees and green space, as well as a very blue sky; due to the amount of pollution in China, this is not the case there. 

What I found most interesting from our talk is the Intensive English Program.  He explained what he has been doing these past three weeks and what the classes are like.  He says that he is good at speaking, but his writing and grammar needs work before graduating from IEP.  What was interesting is that in China, Alex learned British English, not American English, so this is a bit of an adjustment for him.  Also, Alex said that he feels lonely sometimes at TCU because he doesn’t feel like he fits in with the other students on campus.  He wants to fit in with the American culture and life that we are so accustomed to.  This made me feel a little empathetic for him; I can’t imagine going to another country, away from my family, and trying to learn and understand a whole new language and lifestyle.  I hope that our talks help him feel a little more comfortable and included at TCU!

Comic That Was NOT a Relief

After reading the first two chapters of Comic Relief, I was excited to continue the reading over the philosophy of humor.  The author, John Morreall, shared some very interesting ideas, such as the conversation rules and the different theories regarding humor.  He presented ideas that I had never thought or heard of, over material that I personally find interesting.  I mean, what is better than laughter and humor?!

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of Comic Relief ended shortly after the first assigned reading.  This second chunk of reading (Chapters 3 and 4) has been a bit more of a struggle to be entertained by, and therefore to have a desire to read.  Particularly in regards to Chapter 3, many things irritated me.  Not only was some of the language choices hard to understand and follow, many ideas were repetitive.

First, the repetitive nature of the text irked me.  I felt like a dog that was attempting to chase his tail.  All the information presented seemed to combine and overlap with one another.  Instead of multiple new and enlightening ideas being presented, it was the same sort of ideas just slightly tweaked over 28 pages.  Also, the text within a section was repeated multiple times, almost over-stating an idea.  This leads me to my next point of Morreall expanding self-explanatory ideas unnecessarily into two or three pages.  For example, the 4 aspects of amusement were initially simply explained, but then expanded.  The expansions of these, for the most part, just drug on as he almost over-explained his thoughts, which causes repetition in his explanations.  And lastly, Morreall reuses exmples from chapter to chapter, because the ideas overlap accordingly so.  Morreall uses an example about “Oedipus the King,” which he also used in Chapter 1 (59).  This just shows how the ideas he presents from chapter to chapter are similar and overlap, therefore repeating his views.  In short, I guess what bothers me is feeling like I’m reading the same thing, but getting confused in the process because of the wording, length and wordiness of the text, and trying to overthink the point he presents.

Thank goodness, though, for the summary at the end of chapter 3, one thing that was brief, to the point, and logical.  Maybe I should have saved myself confusion and just read that to begin with…

On the bright side, and to end on a positive note, there was at least one thing that I absolutely loved in chapter 3: “I love to sleep. It really is the best of both worlds.  You get to be alive and unconscious” (57). 

What makes people laugh?

What do people find funny, or what is it that makes them laugh? 

Below are things that make some people laugh:

"Humor to me is anything that makes you laugh.  I think of SAC and sarcasm; I really enjoy sarcasm."

"Sarcasm. Irony."

"I guess things that are a little ridiculous or out of the ordinary.  But normally only if everyone involved in the situation is alright."

"I usually laugh at funny faces."

"SAT prep, friends getting hurt, Wilfred, puns, people that try way too hard (for example, getting dressed up for school)."

What is Literature and What is Civilization?

Seemingly simple questions that aren't so simple.