Laughing Fit to Kill: Black Humor in the Fictions of Slavery

302 Pages·2008·3.12 MB·English

by  Glenda Carpio

LAUGHING FIT
TO KILL
This page intentionally left blank
LAUGHING FIT
TO KILL
Black Humor in the Fictions
of Slavery
GLENDA R. CARPIO
1
2008
1
Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further
Oxford University’s objective of excellence
in research, scholarship, and education.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offi ces in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016
www.oup.com
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
A version of chapter 3 was previously published as “Conjuring the Mysteries of Slavery:
Voodoo, Fetishism, and Stereotype in Ishmael Reed’s Flight to Canada,” American
Literature77,no. 3 (2005): 563–89. Reproduced courtesy of American Literature.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carpio, Glenda.
Laughing fi t to kill : black humor in the fi ctions
of slavery / by Glenda R. Carpio.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-19-530470-1;978-0-19-530469-5 (pbk.)
1. American literature—African American authors—History
and criticism. 2. African American wit and humor—History and
criticism. 3. Black humor. 4. Slavery in literature. 5. Comic, The, in literature.
6. African Americans in literature. I. Title.
PS153.N5C373 2008
817.009'352996073—dc22 2007041364
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
for Samuel Otter
This page intentionally left blank
Procurad también que, leyendo vuestra historia, el mel-
ancólico se mueva a risa, el risueño la acreciente, el
simple no se enfade, el discreto se admire de la inven-
ción, el grave no la desprecie, ni el prudente deje de
alabarala.
Another thing to strive for: reading your history should
move the melancholy to laughter, increase the joy of
the cheerful, not irritate the simple, fi ll the clever with
admiration for its invention, not give the serious reason
to scorn it, and allow the prudent to praise it.
—Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote
This page intentionally left blank
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am not the fi rst to call Werner Sollors a great scholar and a gentleman, nor am I
the fi rst to thank him for setting a stellar example and for providing his sustain-
ing and inspiring guidance. But it well merits stating it all again and I do it with
much warmth and gratitude. This book would not have been possible without
his sharp, witty insights and wise encouragement. Indeed, many of my esteemed
colleagues at Harvard and beyond have been instrumental in the completion of
this project. Aside from embodying much of the essence of African American
humor, Henry Louis Gates Jr. has been both fuel and fi re, always expecting the
best of me. Marcyliena Morgan and Lawrence Bobo have been not only incred-
ibly generous hosts and incisive critics, but also friends with whom I have shared
much laughter fi t to kill.
Several people have given me their support in small ways (a passing but in-
sightful conversation in the hall) and big ways (revelatory references, generous
readings). Vincent Brown has been a brother in the struggle; he generously read
much of this manuscript and offered extremely helpful criticism, advice, and
laughter. Colleagues in the English Department, especially Larry Buell, Daniel
Albright, John Stauffer, and Gordon Teskey, have all been encouraging. Thank
you, Daniel, for reminding me of Beckett’s “risus purus”! Others have clari-
fi ed my thinking and given me encouragement in moments of doubt. Barbara
Rodriguez has been a supremely generous and supportive friend. Cheryl Fin-
ley and Robin Bernstein who, along with Vincent and Barbara, constituted the
Mourning Group, provided incisive commentary on drafts of chapters. Conver-
sations with Adam Bradley about African American popular culture (and Ellison)
proved illuminating, as did talks about comedy with Pierre Marks. Toward the
end, Jeffrey Ferguson’s intellectual integrity and wry sense of humor were both
enlightening and absolutely necessary. At Oxford University Press, I thank Niko
Pfund for believing in this project. My editor, Shannon McLachlan, has provided