How Humor Functions In Literary Piece. Humor Is A Literary

Webster's online dictionary defines humor as "a quality that appeals to a sense of the ludicrous (laughable and/or ridiculous) or incongruous." Incongruity is the very essence of irony. More specifically, irony is "incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result." Flannery O'Connor's works are masterpieces in the art of literary irony, the laughable and ridiculous. The incongruous situations, ridiculous characters, and feelings of superiority that O'Connor creates make up her shocking and extremely effective, if not disturbing, humor. I say "disturbing" because O'Connor's humor, along with humor in general, most often contains the tragic. O'Connor has been quoted as saying, "The comic and the terrible

The author uses satire to support the theme of appearance versus reality. The definition of satire is an attempt to ridicule, mock, or criticize something or someone with humorous content. Satire is a rhetorical device that is used throughout the novel. The author uses humor in the wake of misfortune. This is evident in the chapter where Lazarillo serves his first master, a blind man. He treated Lazarillo horribly and also starved him. Lazarillo learns many deceitful things from his master which will serve him well throughout his life. Lazarillo’s goal was to get away from the blind man. An example of satire is the quote, “What! You smelled the sausage and you couldn’t smell the post? Ole’? Ole’? I jeered” (Albert 17). Lazarillo was making fun of the blind man for being able to smell the difference in the sausage and rotten turnips, but he did not smell the post that Lazarillo purposefully guided him into. Lazarillo was set on getting away from his first master and this is the clever way that Lazarillo gets away. He leaves without knowing the condition of his first master. In the end, Lazarillo did manage to outwit the blind man. The author’s portrayal of the clergy can be considered satire as

He has a typical upper class Englishmen personality of the time in which satire was used many times. His extravagance, nonsense, irresponsibility are all qualities that make one laugh at his careless personality. He throws expensive parties, even though he is in a state of being in debt. As Lady Bracknell points out, “he has nothing but his debts to depend upon.” A great example of satire is when Jack tries to force Algernon to leave his estate.

Over all, Ehrenreich used humor for a variety of reasons. She needed a way to convey the

Irony is a very big part of a story, because it can create new elements in a story. Some of these elements may include humor and theme. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a great example for this.

Yet, even in evaluating how anger is emotionally imposed on the audience due to the absurdity of the proposal, it’s impossible to disregard the role of humor. There are obvious elements of humor throughout the proposal and amusement in the very nature of the proposal is expected. However, any sense of humor abruptly disappears at the heart of the critism. When the proposer begins stating “I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal” the humor stops and the voice of Swift, as well as sharp criticism, begins. Although humor may be an integral part of the proposal and certainly a partial indication of the use of Horatian satire, the fact that humor isn’t present throughout the whole proposal suggests that the use of hilarity is secondary. Rather, this contrast of humor and emotionally imposed irritation only helps to emphasize the role of anger. This is especially evident when one considers the irony that litters the humorous proposal.

  In its time, satire was a powerful tool for political assault on Europe's corrupt and deteriorating society. Voltaire's Candide uses satire to vibrantly and sarcastically portray optimism, a philosophical view from the Enlightenment used to bury the horrors of 18th century life: superstition, sexually transmitted diseases, aristocracy, the church, tyrannical rulers, civil and religious wars, and the cruel punishment of the innocent.

An author’s utilization of humor can either speak to their attachment to surface level content or their keen ability to convey deep thought through entertainment. While there is a plethora of examples for both cases, there are a few cases where the line is not so easily seen. These cases, while rare, give the reader the task of discovering on which side of the fence the author’s intentions lie. Without effective dissection, these works can be mislabeled as dark and their true purpose could be lost. A prime example of this is Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut in 1961. The unique way Vonnegut formulates his piece leaves the audience wondering whether his piece is humorous or ominous. However, the author utilizes humor through hyperbole, irony, and satire effectively making this piece humorous as opposed to ominous.

Throughout time, humorists have been able to pull off a phenomenon, which allows for others to laugh about sensitive, stressful topics. With talent, humorists are able to captivate positive emotion from their audience and allow for society to see delicate issues in an unbiased view. Although humorists are commonly seen as people who only intend to entertain, humorists purposefully say things through their work that allow for hard issues to be spoken or illustrated.

There is a thing that occurs in stories that give you a since of humor while still giving you an ultimate message. Mark Twain has become the connoisseur of this term and uses it in a very unique way to show his readers that there can always be humor in your writing even when you think it’s impossible. The term is “satire” which in my own words mean putting humor and information in way that makes you think. I have found this prominent in two of Mark Twain’s books: The Good Little Boy, and The Bad Little Boy. These stories give its readers satire

People always say that laughter alleviates tension. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the use of humor when discussing uncomfortable topics can make the conversation easier and more light-hearted. One of Mark Twain’s most frequently used devices in works such as “Advice to Youth”, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is satire, which can provide society a method to bond over uncomfortable topics, and facilitate the ability to sustain that bond through an easier way to create discussion.

Florent was seen as the outcast of modern Paris because he was thin and also because he had been in prison. He had reconnected with his brother, Quenu, and met his family and “they [Quenu, Lisa, and Pauline] looked at him with the surprise of fat people gripped by vague feeling of unease at the sight of someone who is thin. Even the cat, whose skin was distended by fat, turned its round yellow eyes toward him in a glare of disgust”

In Gustave Flaubert’s short story “A Simple Heart” Flaubert tells of the life of Felicite, a poor woman who does not seem to have any luck at all. Felicite is the kind of character that makes the reader pity her while at the same time finding her to be incredibly strange. Flaubert uses human emotions in a story that is incredibly simple in both word and tale to tell the reader of a woman who does not live a particularly exciting or happy life. Through this short story, Flaubert has given the reader a character that is simple but loving, strange yet human, and easily attached to things. Through his use of realism and a firm grasp on human emotions Flaubert has crafted a tale that is unlike any other.

     In Moliere’s description of a satire, he was very direct as to the function and

Humour and satire are two concepts that are both wide ranging and diverse, from dark, to light hearted, with each producing a different effect. Humour in the main, is something that is used to please the audience, its function is to invoke laughter amongst its audience. Satire is used to create a comical critical view of the subject at hand, this can range from a light hearted comical way, to a judgemental way, with each style giving the text a different meaning, however this does not mean that satire cannot be humorous, which can evident in the use of parody and irony within texts. Within literature both concepts play an important role to how the text is viewed, humour can include word play, grammatical jokes, to even inside jokes with the author and reader, and with satire, including that of irony and parody, with each style and type delivering humour in its own unique way. These differing styles of humour can be found in a variety of forms including Jasper Forde’s The Eyre Affair (2001), with its silly atmosphere, word play and grammar jokes, and the use of light hearted satire and parody to brighten up the text, and Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (1989), where there is a more serious atmosphere, with a more critical, satirical eye on history and characters, as well as using irony to achieve its comical effect, and the position of the world. Each text is humorous and satirical in its own right, and with each author using different techniques to