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There are many types of humor in literature; visual, auditory, verbal, and dramatic are merely four examples. While humor is not always comical, it can still help the author to express their opinion, make a point, and persuade the reader. The authors of Catch-22, Don Quixote, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, "Cinderella," "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf,” and “Old Man Coyote Makes the World," utilize humor in different ways as a tool to parody, emphasize, or oppose societal expectations in regard to the role and treatment of women, greed, and power.
Heller, Erdoes and Ortiz, and Garner use metaphors, repetition, and surprise to convey the role of women. In Joseph Heller's Catch-22, Luciana, a young Italian woman, after spending some time with Yossarian, gives him a piece of paper with her name and address written on it, but tells him to tear it up immediately after she leaves.
Yossarian follows her orders, yet suddenly regrets it because of his overwhelming lust for her body: "Yossarian choked on his toast and eggs at the enormity of his error in tearing her long, lithe, nude, young vibrant limbs into tiny pieces of paper so impudently and dumping her down so smugly into the gutter from the curb" (Heller 163). Proficient in: Gender
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Yossarian "chokes" on his breakfast because his supposed "error" visibly affects him. However, he tears up the piece of paper that represents the only way for him to ever contact Luciana again, therefore shredding her out of his life. Furthermore, by throwing the pieces of paper, which are symbolic of her body, down the drain, he demonstrates that he still views her as an object that can easily be discarded. Yossarian also only speaks of her physical features, such as her "nude, young vibrant limbs," rather than any aspects of her character. Through the use of metaphorical language, such as comparing Luciana's body to shreds of paper, and a playful tone, Heller reinforces the notion that soldiers turn to prostitutes and brief flings to temporarily satisfy their sexual desires during wartime. In addition, the folktale "Old Man Coyote Makes the
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World," edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, describes the origination of the Crow Indians. After creating various animals, people, and war, Old Man Coyote explains how satisfying wife-stealing is to Sirape, another coyote: ““Three times my wife has been abducted, and three times I have taken her back. Now when I say 'come,' she comes. When I say 'go,' she goes... She fulfills my every desire"" (Erdoes and Ortiz). Through verbal repetition, this folktale conveys the various practices that ultimately become Crow traditions, such as wife-stealing, to the reader. In this scene, the women are compared to pleasure machines. They are repeatedly "abducted" and stolen back by their husbands and the other male members of the tribe. Old Man Coyote's wife obeys his every command, like a trained animal, and "fulfills [his] every desire" like a sexual object. Also, the author emphasizes that women are nearly identical, since they are traded just as if they were possessions between men. However, Old Man Coyote declares that if a wife is stolen more than one time, she must be young and beautiful, and thus somewhat praises his own wife, as she has been taken back three times. Similarly, "Cinderella," by James Finn Garner, parodies the harmful standards that women are subject to.
When Cinderella tells her fairy god-person that she wants to go to the ball, he asks if she wants to "bind [herself] into the male concept of beauty? Squeeze into some tight-fitting dress that will cut off [her] circulation? Jam [her] feet into high-heeled shoes that will ruin [her] bone structure?”” (Garner). Her fairy god-person describes the "male concept of beauty," which confines women to a very specific and unrealistic physical appearance, mentioning trying to make her body fit into a tight dress that will "cut off [her] circulation," or forcing her feet into shoes that will "ruin [her] bond structure." These examples show the pain that women put themselves through just so they can cater to males' concept of a perfect female body. By placing a male in the role of Cinderella's fairy protector, which in turn contradicts the traditional fairy god-mother persona in the original tale, the author, Gardner, implements an element of dramatic surprise and thwarted expectations to highlight the comical reality of a man telling a woman to not conform to the male concept of beauty. Each author implements humor to express the various roles of women.
Furthermore, Cervantes and Heller utilize point of view, slapstick, and dramatic surprise humor to highlight Sancho and Milo's greed. In Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, Sancho, enticed by Don Quixote's promise of land, agrees to be Don Quixote's squire. He insists that Don Quixote marry Princess Micomicona, in order to fulfill his own vision, even though Don Quixote is deeply in love with his lady, Dulcinea. Sancho concludes that if Don Quixote does not agree to wed her, then he will not be able to claim the kingdom of Mimicon: "get married... in the name of Satan, and grab that kingdom that's falling into your hands without you having to lift a finger"" (Cervantes 276). He urges Don Quixote, in the name of the devil himself, to seize the marriage and land offered to him because he does not even have to "lift a finger," or make an effort, to "grab [the] kingdom." This situation displays an example of dramatic point of view humor, as the same event-Don Quixote being urged to marry the fictitious Princess Micomicona-is interpreted very differently by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. On one hand, Don Quixote is appalled that Sancho would urge him to marry this princess because he only has eyes for his Dulcinea, and criticizes him for insulting his beautiful mistress.
Conversely, Cervantes stresses Sancho's greed by showing that Sancho wants Don Quixote to marry the princess so that he himself can benefit from her property, even though he subconsciously knows that Princess Micomicona is Dorotea in disguise. Likewise, in Catch-22, Milo represents the coexistence of capitalism and the military. After Vittorio, Milo's deputy mayor of Sicily, tells Milo about new vegetable called an artichoke, Milo "was gone, sliding from his chair so swiftly that his striped barber's apron retained his shape for a second or two after he had gone before it collapsed" (Heller 235). Milo leaves so quickly that his apron "retain[s] [its] shape," and suspends itself in the air. This is an example of visual slapstick humor, because it highlights Milo's insatiable lust for money. He is so interested in the idea of a new product that despite not knowing what an artichoke is, he already knows that he can make money off of it. In addition, Milo bombs his own base with German planes and makes a substantial profit.
In a conversation with Yossarian, he says, "the Germans are not our enemies... Sure, we're at war with them. But the Germans are also members in good standing of the syndicate, and it's my job to protect their rights as shareholders"" (256). The fact that Milo arranges to bomb his own squadron shows that he does not care about the potential losses of life. In fact, his obsession with money and honoring his business contracts impairs his ability to make rational decisions. This scene acts as an element of dramatic surprise, as it Milo's actions are utterly absurd and go against his duty as a soldier. Heller criticizes capitalism by denouncing the fact that Milo's greed and infatuation with his industries, his enterprise, and the idea of the syndicate compel him to betray his duties to his friends and his country. The use of humor shows Sancho's selfish desire for land and Milo's fixation with money and his enterprise.
Also, Kesey, Heller, and Dahl apply absurdity, repetition, and thwarted expectation to communicate the effect of power. Throughout Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, McMurphy challenges the rules and authoritative figures of the ward. On the way to their fishing trip, the gas station attendants mistreat the men because they learn that they are from the mental hospital. McMurphy does not tolerate their behavior and shows them his scarred and scruffy hands to assert his dominance: “He held those hands in the guy's face a long time, waiting to see if the guy had anything else to say. The guy looked at the hands, and at me, and back at the hands" (Kesey 225). His hands indicate hard labor, and prove that he is a man of experience, physical hardship, toughness, and violence. Using visual humor of absurdity, Kesey solidifies McMurphy's image as a strong, tattooed, and buff man who can overpower anyone; he is so influential, powerful, and unnerving that he is able to win over the attendants by solely showing them his beaten-up hands.
Moreover, Catch-22 presents a corrupted and incompetent bureaucratic system. During Clevinger's trial, Lieutenant Scheisskopf handles all of the proceedings: "As a member of the Action Board, Lieutenant Scheisskopf was one of the judges who would weigh the merits of the case against Clevinger as presented by the prosecutor. Lieutenant Scheisskopf was also the prosecutor. Clevinger had an officer defending him. The officer defending him was Lieutenant Scheisskopf" (Heller 76). This verbal repetition and irony proves that their military system is truly degraded. The military is supposed to be sophisticated, disciplined, and organized.
However, Lieutenant Scheisskopf is the prosecutor, judge, and the officer defending Clevinger. Therefore, Heller uses this humor to draw on the ineptitude of the army and its high-ranking commanders. Similarly, "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf," by Roald Dahl, defies societal normalizations regarding dominance. At the end of the story, Little Red Riding Hood defeats the wolf: "The small girl smiles. / One eyelid flickers. / She whips a pistol from her knickers. / She aims it at the creature's head / And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead" (Dahl). Little Red Riding Hood opposes the wolf, and fearlessly "shoots him dead." To exhibit her prowess, she even makes a wolf skin coat and wears it like a cape.
Dahl uses the element of dramatic surprise to parody the traditional Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, in which the ferocious wolf conquers. Instead, in his version, the story ends in a completely different way because Little Red Riding Hood shoots and kills the wolf and is not weak or innocent, but very brash and self-confident. The authors use humor to prove the degree of power of McMurphy, Lieutenant Scheisskopf, and Little Red Riding Hood.
In Catch-22, Don Quixote, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, "Cinderella," "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf," and "Old Man Coyote Makes the World," the authors employ different types of humor in order to spoof, validate, or contradict societal normalizations in regard to the role and treatment of women, greed, and power. By means of several types of humor, the authors show how women are objectified by society, their husbands, and potential suitors, depict the all-consuming eagerness for land and money, and illustrate the influence of physical, governmental, and societal power.
Authors Who Used Humor to Comment on Gender, Greed, and Power. (2023, Feb 27). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/authors-who-used-humor-to-comment-on-gender-greed-and-power-essay
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