Charmaine Hotchkiss

English 112B Prof. Warner

Unit Plan—Humor in Literature

Humor In Literature: “It's Funny 'Cause It's True”

Why I chose this Genre and Theme

Teachers and school boards often devalue the importance of humor in literature and, because of this, choose to leave comedy and satire out of their normal curriculum. However, those who oppose using humor in the classroom forget that humor is a useful tool to keep students engaged and interested in literature. Although comedies and satires may not elicit tears from the reader, more than likely they succeed in making the reader laugh. Isn't laughter just as strong an expression of emotion as crying? Good authors of humor are able to elicit laughter from the audience because their piece makes fun of some social truth and, in doing so, the author may inspire change within the individual or even within a society. Thus, the theme of this unit is “It's funny 'cause it's true,” suggesting that great authors have used humor in literature to reveal a truth about society and/or the human condition. In short, humor is a useful tool for teachers to make students aware of the social conditions surrounding them in a more fun and engaging way.

Consider the students who sit at the back of the class and make jokes about anything and everything. The best way to engage these students is to appeal to their strong sense of humor. With literature that makes people laugh, the teacher can make reading seem “cool” and fun. It may also force the teacher to remember his/her own sense of humor, allowing the teacher to connect with the students on a deeper level.

A unit that focuses solely on humor is also a great way to show students the lighter side of literature. Often times, students believe that literature is boring and associate reading with torture. By showing them that reading can be fun, a teacher has the power to convert non-readers into readers. Although many young adult literature books deal with heavy themes, such as rape or child abuse, they often incorporate humor to make their characters more real and engaging. Take, for example, Melinda from Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. Though the book deals with the heavy issue of rape, Anderson adds bits of dark humor through the thoughts of Melinda to make the book more real and more interesting to the reader. This is an example of how humor is used to make literature more enjoyable for young readers, while still revealing some dominating truth or theme.

One canonical piece of literature that uses humor to reveal truth is Aristrophanes' play, Lysistrata. The play is a commentary on the absurdity of the Pelopennesian War and the low social status of women in early Greek society. In Lysistrata, the women from the opposing territories, Athens and Sparta, withhold sex from their husbands in order to persuade the men to end the war. The play includes many sexual innuendos and funny fights between the male and female characters that are sure to keep students engaged and laughing. The end result is that the men finally give in to the women and end the war, allowing them to have sex with their wives again. The anti-war sentiment that the play endorses is an important theme to teach young adults. Lysistrata has been reproduced several times and has recently been used to campaign against the war in Iraq. Thus, the importance of humor in literature must not remain unnoticed; it exposes the public to very serious issues and should, therefore, be used in the classroom.

Launching the Unit

1. Before reading Lysistrata, students must first understand the significance and goal of humor and comedy. The famous poet, Shel Silverstein, has produced many poems for young adults. Silverstein often incorporates funny twists at the end of his poems that reveal some truth about human nature or society. Have the students analyze the following two poems and discuss these two questions: Why is it funny? What truths do each of these poems reveal?

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed

His underwear is hanging on the lamp.

His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,

And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.

His workbook is wedged in the window,

His sweater's been thrown on the loor.

His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,

And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.

His books are all jammed in the closet,

His vest has been left in the hall.

A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bedm

And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!

Donald or Robert or Willie or—

Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,

I knew it looked familiar!

The Little Boy and the Old Man by Shel Silverstein

Said the little boy, “Sometimes I drop my spoon.”

Said the old man, “I do that too.”

The little boy whispered, “I wet my pants.”

“I do that too,” laughed the little old man.

Said the little boy, “I often cry.”

The old man nodded, “So do I.”

“But worst of all,” said the boy, “it seems

Grown-ups don't pay attention to me.”

And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.

“I know what you mean,” said the little old man.

2. Humor found in mainstream pop culture also reveals truths; artists poke fun at popular items or events to make us aware of certain issues. Consider cartoons, T.V. shows, music, magazines, etc. Cartoons like Family Guy or Southpark are great examples of popular media that uses humor to make people aware of social problems. T.V. shows like Mad TV, Saturday Night Live, and The Daily Show are also good examples of this. As a fun assignment, have your students analyze one of these subcategories of pop culture. Then have them write a report about what truth is revealed, how it is expressed through humor in these forms of media, and what they learned from it.

3. To have students further admire humor as a genre and humor in literature, break the students into groups and have them write a short skit that uses humor to expose some social problem or social trend. For example, if a group wants to expose the ridiculousness of Black Friday, they may make a skit about crazy shoppers wrestling each other for a 10 dollar discount on a 600 dollar T.V. Then have each group perform their skit in front of the class. After each group finishes their performance, have their classmates try to guess the underlying social message of the skit. This way, the students will know whether or not they were successful in exposing the social problem they chose to focus on.

The Main Text—Lysistrata by Aristrophanes

The best way to read Lysistrata is to read it aloud in class. By assigning roles to the students, the voices of the characters come to life and make the funny parts of the play more obvious. A reader's theater would be the best way to get all of the students involved and engaged in the story. Those who do not play the main roles should read the roles of the Chorus in unison. Because some of the jokes may not be so obvious in modern times, it would be useful to stop the students and point out some of the humor that is not so obvious. Be sure to explain why it may be funny to the Greeks and why the joke may not survive in the context of today's society.

After reading through the comedy, have the students try to answer these questions:

1. What is Lysistrata's strategy for ending the war between Athens and Sparta? Why do the other women follow her advice? What are their motivations for following Lysistrata?
2. Lysistrata's play has often been reproduced during protests for the war in Iraq. What does this suggest about the strength of Aristrophanes' comedy? What do you think is Aristrophanes' opinion of war? Explain and support with textual evidence.
3. How are women portrayed in this play? Is this portrayal accurate of women in today's society? How about in Greek society?
4. Aristrophanes includes many sexual jokes and innuendos in this play. Why does he do this? Is he merely trying to be obscene? Explain and support with textual evidence.
5. Explain the significance of the character Peace. Why is she naked? What is the humor associated with her?

When the students finish writing responses to these questions, hold a Socratic seminar. This will help the students understand the text more, as they will be able to bounce ideas off each other. Also, have students read aloud passages that they found funny or interesting and explain why.

To tie this back to the theme “It's funny 'cause it's true,” have the students write a 3-5 page paper on what truths Aristrophanes revealed in his play. What social problems were revealed? What did Aristrophanes say about the status of women? What does he say about war? Have the students also include their own comedic suggestions on how to end the war between Sparta and Athens. This will allow them to be creative and expand their thinking on the subject.

Extending the Unit

There are also many young adult literature books that use humor to reveal a truth. Consider thesee following books that take a comedic approach to very serious themes and problems.

→ Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Leo Borlock led a very normal life until a foreign transfer student shows up at his school. Stargirl captures Leo's heart with her uniqueness and free spirit. She is admired because she is different from the rest of the students, but her differences eventually become her downfall. The student body soon turns on her and Leo begs her to become normal. The book celebrates nonconformity with Stargirl's seemingly crazy outfits and actions in a comedic way, but also has serious undertones of fitting in. (Summary taken/adapted from inside jacket of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli).

→ Slot Machine by Chris Lynch

Fourteen-year-old, overweight Elvin Bishop struggles with fitting in at the summer camp he is sent to with his friends. While all his friends easily fit in some athletic “slot,” Elvin has a harder time fitting into one particular slot and ends up trying all of the sports offered by the camp. He appears to be a failure at everything. However, “appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes real strength comes from breaking the rules rather than playing the game. And sometimes finding acceptance is less about fitting in than making your own way—with grit and humor.” (Summary taken/adapted from back cover of Slot Machine by Chris Lynch).

→ The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danzinger

“Marcy Lewis hates school, her father is a tyrant, and she despairs of ever being thin. Then along comes Ms. Finney, an English teacher who's willing to try anything in the classroom and who treats the kids like human beings. Marcy has never met anyone like her, and suddenly life has a purpose. When Ms. Finney is suspended because of her teaching methods, the whole school is thrown into an uproar. Now out of her protective shell, Marcy helps organize a protest, and she too is suspended. Is this new independence worth the price she must pay at school and home?” (Summary taken from the back cover of The Cat Ate my Gymsuit by Paula Danzinger).

→ Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

One morning, a young teenager named Annabel switches bodies with her mother. Confused and frustrated, the two women are forced to live life through each other's eyes. Only when they learn to respect each other are they able to switch back to their own bodies. The book exposes the many hardships of adult as well as teenage life through the eyes of Annabel and her mother. It is a great story about coming to terms with your parents, told in a hilarious way. (Summary taken/adapted from the inside jacket of Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers).

The Classics

Teachers may also take a more canonical approach to teaching humor in the classroom. The following books are more canonical pieces of literature that incorporate humor to reveal truth.

→ Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

This book is a satire on the human condition. Gulliver, the main character, becomes shipwrecked and encounters several different societies that reveal some sort of truth about the human condition. In one society, he encounters people that are only 6 inches tall. In another, he gets stuck in a place where horses are the highest creatures and human beings are the animals. The book is a great satire on the human condition and appeals to audiences because of its humorous aspects. (Summary taken/adapted from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift)

→ Tartuffe by Molière

This enticing play by Molière is a satire on religious hypocrites in France during the 1660s. Tartuffe, the antagonist of the play, is a supposed man of religion who overstays his welcome at a host's home. The host, Orgon, is blinded by Tartuffe's manipulation and fails to see Tartuffe's true nature. The rest of Orgon's family, however, is not deceived. They try to convince Orgon that Tartuffe is a greedy old man who just uses Orgon for his money and hospitality. Orgon only sees Tartuffe for the true hypocrite that he is when he catches Tartuffe in a rather compromising situation. (Summary taken from Tartuffe by Molière)

→ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain pokes fun at racism and religion through the eyes of a young narrator. Huck escapes his abusive father and the widow who tries to civilize with a slave named Jim. Together, they travel along the Mississippi River and have many adventures together. Jim and Huck face many hardships along the way, and it becomes a humorous journey for the both of them. (Summary adapted from the back cover of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain *Penguin Classics Edition).

These are just seven of many resources one can use to teach humor in the classroom. Do not forget that movies, T.V. Shows, and cartoons also reflect the idea that humor holds some truth to it. Showing movies or clips of cartoons would be great ways to get students engaged and familiar with this genre.

Works Cited

<http://www.amazon.com>

Aristrophanes. Lysistrata.

<http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/shel_silverstein/poems/>

Danzinger, Paula. The Cat Ate My Gymsuit. New York: The Putnam and Grosset Group, 1998.

Lynch, Chris. Slot Machine. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1995.

Molière. Tartuffe.

Rodgers, Mary. Freaky Friday. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1972.

Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York: Random House Inc., 2000.

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin Group, 1985.

<http://www.wikipedia.org>