The Human Comedy

Much to thy surprise, my course of events today became larger than expected! Just this morning, my fellow tradesmen and I paraded the streets of Rome, yet Flavius and Marullus, two tribunes, interrupted our celebrations. Marullus, seemingly in bad spirits like a trapped rat, asked me which trade I performed, which evoked me to answer, “Truly, sir, in respect of a fine workman, I am but, / as you would say, a cobbler” (Act I. Scene I. Lines 10-11). Much to his surprise, however, I also included a…

The reading discourse community of which I am a member is atypical in the sense that it consist of early 19th century and late 18th century literature. I take great delight in reading books from authors of the aforementioned times for a fair amount of reasons: their elegant style of writing, as well as their expressive nature when conveying matters. If ever faced with the choice of either reading a contemporary book or a book from the late 17th century, I would summarily select the latter. It…

Although many informants agreed that the United States has always been a society that has been prejudice or insulting to others. As subject M2 said, “human nature, to a degree, is to make fun of what they don’t understand.” This shows the presence of offensive humor could be seen to be omnipresent in this country since it was formed, whether it was the colonists making fun of the British, or visa verse…

Being popular in high school can truly be a struggle. Mean Girls is a teen comedy film loosely based on the self-help book titled Queen Bees and Wannabes. The main character is a high school student named Cady that just moved from Africa and has been homeschooled her whole life. The American culture and society she is introduced to is embodied by the Plastics, who are the most popular girls at North Shore High: Regina, Gretchen, and Karen. Mean Girls criticizes the idea that women can only be…

There are no elements of writing that can compare to the brutal twists of irony. It is like a torture device used on the characters of a story for our entertainment. In reality, we have no control over the ironic torments life hands to us, and that is why it is so prevalent in fiction. Not only can we control something so elusive, but we can use it strategically to create tales that shock and captivate an audience. This strategic use of irony in story telling can be seen in Flannery O’Conner’s…

Why is Humor the Best Coping Strategy for Stress? One might ask why is humor the best coping strategy for stress? In a vast majority of people's’ perspectives, they believe laughter is the best medicine because it creates a sense of relief as well as reducing muscle tension. For these and many other reasons, humor is the best coping strategy for stress (“Managing Conflicts with Humor”). One of the main reasons why humor should be the best coping strategy to relieve stress is one’s well being…

Shakespearean Character Comedy Think of one character in a movie, but not just any character. Think of a character that is hilarious, such as Homer Simpson, or Sheldon Cooper. These characters channel a comedic experience through their language and actions. Like these characters, Shakespeare connects Character comedy in A Midsummer Night's Dream by making one character more exaggerated to provide comedic relief. This adds comedy to Shakespearean writing. Character comedy is in A Midsummer…

How Diction Creates Pity in The Odyssey In “The Odyssey” an epic poem Homer uses diction to create a pitiful mood within book 17 as a description of Argos, Odysseus’ dog is given. While a comparison of Argos’ past and present is given he is described to be “Treated as rubbish now…”(319.383). The word rubbish means a “waste material”, for one to “reject as worthless”, and being useless. All of which carry a negative connotation; by stating that Argos is now treated as rubbish it is shown that…

Certain holy and sacred matters exist in the world. Things like the Bible, cute cat videos, Gandhi, and pizza are Earthly treasures that no one dares to tarnish. However, leave it to America to try. One brave soul on YouTube decided to demolish one of Earth's most famous musical masterpieces. Nintendo and Mario may never recover. AMERICAN ON YOUTUBE UNLEASHES FREEDOM ON NINTENDO AND MARIO At first glance, this might look like an innocent video honoring a birthday and an old friend. However,…

I believe it is time to stop trying to protect people’s feelings from getting hurt, because it might cost us dearly. Some of the best literature, art, and comedy is considered greatly offensive by specific groups of people, and due to complaints, schools are already banning masterpieces such as To Kill a Mockingbird for being “inappropriate”. We should consider the fact that the content itself might not be…