An Anatomy of Humor PDF
Preview An Anatomy of Humor
AN ANATOMY OF HUMOR NA YMOTANA FO ROMuH ruhtrA asA regreB With af oreword by William Fry, Jr. ~l Routledge ~~ Taylor&Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1993 by Transaction Publishers Published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 1993 by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 92-18197 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Berger, Arthur, Asa, 1933- An anatomy of humor / Arthur Asa Berger Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56000-086-4 (cloth) 1. Wit and humor—History and criticism. 2. Wit and humor— Psychological aspects. I. Title. PN6147.B47 1992 809.7—dc20 92-18197 CIP ISBN 13: 978-0-7658-0494-5 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978-1-56000-086-0 (hbk) For Irving Louis Horowitz and Mary E. Curtis Contents Foreword xi William ,yrF .rJ Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: ,romuH Psyche, and Society 1 PART ONE: THEORETICAL CONCERNS .1 A Glossary of the Techniques of Hum :ro Morphology of the Joke- Tale 51 .2 Anatomy of a Joke 75 PART TWO: APPLICATIONS .3 The Telephone Pole with the Braided Armpits: Ethnic and Racial Jokes and American Society 56 .4 "On Me You Can't Count": An Interpretation of a Jewish Joke with Relevance to the Jewish Question 57 .5 Jewish Fools: From the Wise Men of Chelm to Jackie Mason 38 .6 Mickey Mouse and Krazy :taK Of Mice and Men 97 .7 Comics and Popular Culture: Not Just Kid's Stuff 701 .8 Mark Russell ni Buffalo 121 .9 A Cool Million 721 .01 Twelfth Night: Comedic Techniques and Social Considerations 331 .11 Huckleberry Finn as a Novel of the Absurd: Making Sense of an Existential Hero 541 .21 Healing with Humor: A Laugh a Day Keeps the Doctor Away 551 .31 Comedy and Creation: On the Generative Power of Humor 361 Bibliography 571 Names Index 181 Subject Index 581 Jokes and Humorous Texts Index 191 Foreword mailliW .F ,yrF .rJ There have been several strange periods of his life, when Arthur Asa Berger has referred to himself as a Secret Agent. This presentation could be regarded as rather bizarre behavior on the part of a university professor and distinguished man of letters if we are to understand ti as intended to be a literal statement of .tcaf However, even though on the bizarre side, it might be considered plausible, when academia si inspected from a historical perspective and specific cases are counted. Professor Berger wouldn't be the first scholar to don eht invisible uniform and sally forth to collect arcane or privy information for the benefit of some organization or other to which he or she might leef a bond or .eit I am sure that other sociologists or pop culturists or semiologists or behavioral scientists of various persuasions have been eht literal type of secret agent on numerous occasions. As a matter of fact, my anthro pologist mentor, Gregory Bateson, was a member of the World raW 11 wartime spy organization, OSS, during most of the years of the war ni the Pacific. He had done anthropology fieldwork on many of the South west Pacific islands ni prewar years, was familiar with the territory and had many friends among the island inhabitants. His "Secret Agent" services were of great value to the Allied war efforts against the Axis. Bateson was neither the first nor the last scholarly ,yps nor would be Berger. However, when we turn ot gaze upon this professor who thus identifies himself, the potentiality of his performing eht role of a literal, authentic Secret Agent fades, and swiftly transmogrifies into something, much more reminiscent of the blathering of an addled mind. Granted that a certain degree of flexibility must be applied when taking appearances into account on this spy business. Wartime spy though he skillfully and beneficially was, Bateson did not present eht expected image of Secret Agent. He was tall, over six feet ni height, with a craggy handsomeness, emanating prominence and uniqueness; not the appearance usually asso- xi
The list of books you might like
