Definition Essay: The Use Of Humor

No matter how well you paint a smile on a clown, you can never cover the true emotions under their mask. As much as we hate to admit it, humor has moved away from its actual purpose. Instead of using jokes purely for the entertainment of ourselves and others, we are using humor to hide and hurt. You see examples of this behavior everywhere, from self-deprecation to the election of our new president. Just how much of what say is “humor” is actually considered humorous? Just what have we morphed it into from what it was in the past? What road is it headed down as we speak? I believe that humor is far more than meets the eye.

The static definition of humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. Is that actually what we use it for? I am inclined to deny that definition completely. While it is true that we sometimes use it in its most innocent form, we tend to change it into a weapon or barricade. How often do you hear someone call someone out in a “humorous” manner? Why is it that it strikes you that they may have not meant what they said in a …show more content…
We think we know what it is and how it is used but we do not. Over and over again we befall to the same deception it has always been. Time and time again we use it as our own personal weapon of mass destruction. Even as it hurts us, it helps us as well. You would have never gotten over your breakup if your friends did not crack some awful puns about your ex. Maybe you never would have faced your fear of bunnies if someone did not harmlessly joke about it from day to day. In a society where we so heavily rely on humor and continue to rely on it continuously as the years go by, we lack a true understanding of just how many variations there are. That is for another time, though. For a joke for what it is and know that the meaning could change dramatically in the future. How many of you think that you could take a