Download or read book A Confederacy of Dunces written by John Kennedy Toole and published by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.. This book was released on 2007-12-01 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize “A masterwork . . . the novel astonishes with its inventiveness . . . it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue.”—The New York Times Book Review A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole's hero, one Ignatius J. Reilly, is "huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures" (Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times).
Download or read book Humor in Contemporary Junior Literature written by Julie Cross and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-12-14 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new book, Julie Cross examines the intricacies of textual humor in contemporary junior literature, using the tools of literary criticism and humor theory. Cross investigates the dialectical paradoxes of humor and debunks the common belief in oppositional binaries of ‘simple’ versus ‘complex’ humor. The varied combinations of so-called high and low forms of humor within junior texts for young readers, who are at such a crucial stage of their reading and social development, provide a valuable commentary upon the culture and values of contemporary western society, making the book of considerable interest to scholars of both children’s literature and childhood studies. Cross explores the ways in which the changing content, forms and functions of the many varied combinations of humor in junior texts, including the Lemony Snickett series, reveal societal attitudes towards young children and childhood. The new compounds of seemingly paradoxical high and low forms of humor, in texts for developing readers from the 1960s onwards, reflect and contribute to contemporary society’s hesitant and uneven acceptance of the emergent paradigm of children’s rights, abilities, participation and empowerment. Cross identifies four types of potentially subversive/transgressive humor which have emerged since the 1960s which, coupled with the three main theories of humor – relief, superiority and incongruity theories – enables a long-overdue charting of developments in humor within junior texts. Cross also argues that the gradual increase in the compounding of the simple and the complex provide opportunities for young readers to play with ambiguous, complicated ideas, helping them embrace the complexities and contradictions of contemporary life.
Download or read book An Anatomy of Humor written by Arthur Asa Berger and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humor permeates every aspect of society and has done so for thousands of years. People experience it daily through television, newspapers, literature, and contact with others. Rarely do social researchers analyze humor or try to determine what makes it such a dominating force in our lives. The types of jokes a person enjoys contribute significantly to the definition of that person as well as to the character of a given society. Arthur Asa Berger explores these and other related topics in An Anatomy of Humor. He shows how humor can range from the simple pun to complex plots in Elizabethan plays.Berger examines a number of topics ethnicity, race, gender, politics each with its own comic dimension. Laughter is beneficial to both our physical and mental health, according to Berger. He discerns a multiplicity of ironies that are intrinsic to the analysis of humor. He discovers as much complexity and ambiguity in a cartoon, such as Mickey Mouse, as he finds in an important piece of literature, such as Huckleberry Finn. An Anatomy of Humor is an intriguing and enjoyable read for people interested in humor and the impact of popular and mass culture on society. It will also be of interest to professionals in communication and psychologists concerned with the creative process.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Humor Studies written by Salvatore Attardo and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 985 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia of Humor: A Social History explores the concept of humor in history and modern society in the United States and internationally. This work’s scope encompasses the humor of children, adults, and even nonhuman primates throughout the ages, from crude jokes and simple slapstick to sophisticated word play and ironic parody and satire. As an academic social history, it includes the perspectives of a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, child development, social psychology, life style history, communication, and entertainment media. Readers will develop an understanding of the importance of humor as it has developed globally throughout history and appreciate its effects on child and adult development, especially in the areas of health, creativity, social development, and imagination. This two-volume set is available in both print and electronic formats. Features & Benefits: The General Editor also serves as Editor-in-Chief of HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research for The International Society for Humor Studies. The book’s 335 articles are organized in A-to-Z fashion in two volumes (approximately 1,000 pages). This work is enhanced by an introduction by the General Editor, a Foreword, a list of the articles and contributors, and a Reader’s Guide that groups related entries thematically. A Chronology of Humor, a Resource Guide, and a detailed Index are included. Each entry concludes with References/Further Readings and cross references to related entries. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and cross references between and among related entries combine to provide robust search-and-browse features in the electronic version. This two-volume, A-to-Z set provides a general, non-technical resource for students and researchers in such diverse fields as communication and media studies, sociology and anthropology, social and cognitive psychology, history, literature and linguistics, and popular culture and folklore.
Download or read book Humor Writing written by Bruce A. Goebel and published by National Council of Teachers of English (Ncte). This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an educational environment of high-stakes tests and school accountability, humor has been virtually banned from the classroom. That's a shame, and perhaps a mistake, since student success depends on engagement, and young adults seem to be naturally drawn to comic media. How can you take advantage of your students' interest in humorous material? According to Bruce A. Goebel, incorporating humor writing into the classroom not only reduces student anxiety but also provides them with an opportunity to study and practice the careful and effective use of language. Divided into four chapters--(1) Humorous Words, Phrases, and Sentences, (2) Funny Stories and Essays, (3) Light Verse, and (4) Parody--the book offers more than 150 activities you can use to help students develop writing skills in voice, word choice, style, and organization while exploring a variety of genres. Depending on your purpose and needs, you can either sprinkle brief lessons throughout your instructional units or create an extended humor writing unit. Perhaps most important, these activities offer students the rare opportunity to express their creative, divergent-thinking sides in an increasingly serious classroom space.
Download or read book Cruelty and Laughter written by Simon Dickie and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-12 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rollicking review of popular culture in 18th century Britain this text turns away from sentimental and polite literature to focus instead on the jestbooks, farces, comic periodicals variety shows and minor comic novels that portray a society in which no subject was taboo and political correctness unimagined.
Download or read book Harpo Speaks written by Harpo Marx and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-17 with total page 758 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1961, this is the autobiography of Harpo Marx, the silent comedian of The Marx Brothers fame. Writing of his life before, during, and after becoming famous by incorporating lovely and humorous stories and anecdotes, Harp Marx tells of growing up in a rough neighborhood and being poor, being bullied and dropping out of school, teaching himself to read, write, tell time, and to play the piano and harp. He speaks of his close relationships with his family members, particularly his mother and brother Leonard (Chico), who would become his partner-in-crime on screen, and the profound effect that the death of his parents Sam and Minnie had on him. Filled with insider tales of his antics on and off stage, and the hard graft he and his brothers put into reaching their level of success, the reader becomes privy to a rare glimpse into Marx’ thoughts on everything and everyone he had the privilege of working with. The book reveals the friendships he forged and the blows he was dealt in show-business, and of his marriage to his wife, actress Susan Fleming, with whom he adopted four children and built a ranch on which they lived happily ever after, along with numerous animals. A thoroughly enjoyable read. “This is a riotous story which is reasonably mad and as accurate as a Marx brother can make it. Despite only a year and a half of schooling, Harpo, or perhaps his collaborator, is the best writer of the Marx Brother. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal “A funny, affectionate and unpretentious autobiography done with a sharply professional assist from Rowland Barber.”—New York Times Book Review “This is a racy autobiography by the mute Marx Brother with the rolling eyes, oversized pants and red wig who could send a glissando reeling over his harp.[...] It is enjoyable reading and polished writing...”—Kirkus Review
Download or read book Humor in the Caribbean Literary Canon written by S. Vásquez and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2012-08-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humor in the Caribbean Literary Canon intimately examines Caribbean writers who engage canonical Western texts and forms, while using humor to challenge Western representations of people of African descent.
Download or read book Humor in Young Adult Literature written by Walter Hogan and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrates the accomplishments of YA authors acclaimed for producing high-quality comedies, who have not yet been treated in a book-length bio-critical study. Simultaneously, it reminds readers that no matter how funny an author of fiction may be, if he shows off his wit in ways that fail to play a natural role in advancing his narrative, he is not writing good fiction. To demonstrate this, humorous passages are presented to illustrate the contribution a sense of humor can make to a work of fiction. The book is arranged topically to facilitate a comparison of distinctive treatments by various authors of adolescent life events, such as sibling rivalry, bullies, and first dates.
Download or read book Translation Humour and Literature written by Delia Chiaro and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-11-25 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: >
Download or read book The Game of Humor written by Charles R. Gruner and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 2011-12-31 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humor, wit, and laughter surround each person. From everyday quips to the carefully contrived comedy of literature, newspapers, and television we experience humor in many forms, yet the impetus for our laughter is far from innocuous. Misfortune, stupidity, and moral or cultural defects, however faintly revealed in others and ourselves, seem to make us laugh. Although discomforting, such negative terms as superiority, aggression, hostility, ridicule, or degradation can be applied to instances of humor. According to scholars, Thomas Hobbes's "superiority theory"—that humor arises from mischances, infirmities, and indecencies, where there is no wit at all—applies to most humor. With the exception of good-natured play, Charles R. Gruner claims that humor is rarely as innocent as it first appears. Gruner's proposed superiority theory of humor is all-encompassing. In The Game of Humor, he expands the scope of Hobbes's theory to include and explore the contest aspect of "good-natured" play. As such, the author believes all instances of humor can be examined as games, in terms of competition and keeping score—winners and losers. Gruner draws on a broad spectrum of thought-provoking examples. Holocaust jokes, sexual humor, the racialist dialogue of such comic characters as Stepin Fetchit and Archie Bunker, simple puns, and many of the author's own encounters with everyday humor. Gruner challenges the reader to offer a single example of humor that cannot be "de-humorized" by its agonistic nature. The Game of Humor makes intriguing and enjoyable reading for people interested in humor and the aspects of human motivation. This book will also be valuable to professionals in communication and information studies, sociologists, literary critics and linguists, and psychologists concerned with the conflicts and tensions of everyday life.
Download or read book The Psychology of Humor written by Rod A. Martin and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-07-14 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of us laugh at something funny multiple times during a typical day. Humor serves multiple purposes, and although there is a sizable and expanding research literature on the subject, the research is spread in a variety of disciplines. The Psychology of Humor, 2e reviews the literature, integrating research from across subdisciplines in psychology, as well as related fields such as anthropology, biology, computer science, linguistics, sociology, and more. This book begins by defining humor and presenting theories of humor. Later chapters cover cognitive processes involved in humor and the effects of humor on cognition. Individual differences in personality and humor are identified as well as the physiology of humor, the social functions of humor, and how humor develops and changes over the lifespan. This book concludes noting the association of humor with physical and mental health, and outlines applications of humor use in psychotherapy, education, and the workplace. In addition to being fully updated with recent research, the second edition includes a variety of new materials. More graphs, tables, and figures now illustrate concepts, processes, and theories. It provides new brief interviews with prominent humor scholars via text boxes. The end of each chapter now includes a list of key concepts, critical thinking questions, and a list of resources for further reading. Covers research on humor and laughter in every area of psychology Integrates research findings into a coherent conceptual framework Includes brain imaging studies, evolutionary models, and animal research Integrates related information from sociology, linguistics, neuroscience, and anthropology Explores applications of humor in psychotherapy, education, and the workplace Provides new research, plus key concepts and chapter summaries
Download or read book There Was an Old Scientist Who Swallowed a Dinosaur written by Lucille Colandro and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You won't believe why the Old Scientist swallowed a dinosaur, a fern, a rock, a pick, a dustpan, a sifting screen, a pen, and a magnifying glass! There was an old scientist who swallowed a dinosaur. I don't know why she swallowed a dinosaur but she needed to explore. Filled with hilarious illustrations, fun rhyming text, and real facts about dinosaurs, this is the latest book in the bestselling Old Lady series that's perfect for young readers.
Download or read book Humour written by Terry Eagleton and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling guide to the fundamental place of humour and comedy within Western culture—by one of its greatest exponents Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humour and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humour subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit? Packed with illuminating ideas and a good many excellent jokes, the book critically examines various well-known theories of humour, including the idea that it springs from incongruity and the view that it reflects a mildly sadistic form of superiority to others. Drawing on a wide range of literary and philosophical sources, Terry Eagleton moves from Aristotle and Aquinas to Hobbes, Freud, and Bakhtin, looking in particular at the psychoanalytical mechanisms underlying humour and its social and political evolution over the centuries.
Download or read book To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred One of the most cherished stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.
Download or read book Calvinist Humor in American Literature written by Michael Dunne and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2007-12 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though the phrase "Calvinist humor" may seem to be an oxymoron, Michael Dunne, in highly original and unfailingly interesting readings of major American fiction writers, uncovers and traces two recurrent strands of Calvinist humor descending from Puritan times far into the twentieth century. Calvinist doctrine views mankind as fallen, apt to engage in any number of imperfect behaviors. Calvinist humor, Dunne explains, consists in the perception of this imperfection. When we perceive that only others are imperfect, we participate in the form of Calvinist humor preferred by William Bradford and Nathanael West. When we perceive that others are imperfect, as we all are, we participate in the form preferred by Mark Twain and William Faulkner, for example. Either by noting their characters' inferiority or by observing ways in which we are all far from perfect, Dunne observes, American writers have found much to laugh about and many occasions for Calvinist humor. The two strains of Calvinist humor are alike in making the faults of others more important than their virtues. They differ in terms of what we might think of as the writer/perceiver's disposition: his or her willingness to recognize the same faults in him- or herself. In addition to Bradford, West, Twain and Faulkner, Dunne discovers Calvinist humor in the works of Flannery O'Connor, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, and many others. For these authors, the world -- and thus their fiction -- is populated with flawed creatures. Even after belief in orthodox Calvinism diminished in the twentieth century, Dunne discovers, American writers continued to mine these veins, irrespective of the authors' religious affiliations -- or lack of them. Dunne notes that even when these writers fail to accept the Calvinist view wholeheartedly, they still have a tendency to see some version of Calvinism as more attractive than an optimistic, idealistic view of life. With an eye for the telling detail and a wry humor of his own, Dunne clearly demonstrates that the fundamental Calvinist assumption -- that human beings are fallen from some putatively better state -- has had a surprising, lingering presence in American literature.
Download or read book On Humor written by Louis J. Budd and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1929 to the latest issue, American Literature has been the foremost journal expressing the findings of those who study our national literature. American Literature has published the best work of literary historians, critics, and bibliographers, ranging from the founders of discipline to the best current critics and researchers. The longevity of this excellence lends a special distinction to the articles in American Literature. Presented in order of their first appearance, the articles in each volume constitute a revealing record of developing insights and important shifts of critical emphasis. Each article has opened a fresh line of inquiry, established a fresh perspective on a familiar topic, or settled a question that engaged the interest of experts.
