Light-Bulb Jokes: Charting an Era
For the first essay I have chosen to write about the article from Laughing Matters titled Light-Bulb Jokes: Charting an Era, written by Daniel Harris. In this essay the author sets out to show the importance of humor in society and how it has adapted over time. The author forms his argument around the ever popular Light-Bulb joke. By opening his argument with a timeline of these jokes and giving more examples throughout the work, the author shows that no social class, culture, or technology is ever free from ridicule. The essay also argues that through slight manipulation of the joke the insulted can easily become the insulter. The essay also shows how jokes and humor change from generation to generation, and the content often relies on what is occurring in that era.
The questions I plan to use in order to formulate my essay are as follows:
- What is the purpose of the argument? What does it hope to achieve?
- Who is the audience for this argument?
- What shape does the argument take? How is the argument presented or arranged? What media does the argument use?
- How does the language or style of the argument work to persuade an audience?
I really like the topic you have chosen for your essay. I think it will be easy to elaborate on and also be something that everyone can connect with. I find the change in humor to be very interesting and I think it will be a strong foundation for your essay.
ReplyDeleteAs far as a possible problem I cannot really give much insight. You have listed the questions that you will be answering in the essay so I cannot give much of an opinion. Other than I think they apply to the text you have chosen. My advice would be to make sure you answer each question fully and continually make reference to the text so that the reader does not get lost. I found this the most difficult thing to do while I was writing mine because it is easy to go on something that is funny but may not apply directly to what you have chosen to write about. If I were writing this essay I would focus on the first question. I believe that your text is not only dealing with comedy but also our society and morals. Talk about why you think comedy has changed over time.
Be very careful when your peer's comments are nearly as lengthy and developed as the original post itself. This does not reflect well on your effort or work here.
ReplyDeleteAs Clint points out, you've stated the questions you want to address but said nothing about them, keeping us from being able to give you any feedback.