This past weekend, I participated in
my first Evergreen Lock-In. The Lock-In
has a theme and every Evergreen needs to wear a costume that fits that
theme. This year, the theme was the
Olympics. I was paired with another
person to represent the French track and field team. This was difficult for me; I am not
currently, nor have I ever been an extremely athletic person. I did not know what a track star would wear,
so I settled on a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt with FRANCE
screen-printed boldly on the front. My
partner ran track in high school. He
showed up in a full spandex running outfit (Uniform? Costume? I don’t know the
terminology). A stack of first place
medals hung around his neck, all engraved with his name and the events he
ran. He handed me one so we would match
a bit better. I found our pairing to be
comical in itself because we were so obviously different, yet we were meant to
be the same team. Early in the evening,
we were asked to introduce ourselves in our pairs, saying our name, year, and
sport we were representing. When my partner and I stepped forward, he went
first. As he said he was representing track, he ran in place, jumped up, and
landed in a perfect starting position as if he were about to race. I looked down at him, then back at my fellow
Evergreens. I paused after saying my
name and added, “I’m representing the uhhh field events.” I shrugged and
everyone started laughing. My partner
and I were extremely different, and the incongruity of our introductions caused
everyone to laugh. None of this was done
on purpose, and the humor in our actions was very subtle so that it made the
most sense in the context of that particular event. If someone were to try and present the moment
with different people in a different context, it would likely not have the same
level of humor.
Subtlety in humor is a major part of
the humor that is at work in Gilbert’s memoir.
The work itself is not meant to be primarily; in fact, it covers a host
of more serious topics, including divorce, depression, and the journey to
spiritual enlightenment. None of these
are inherently funny, and when focusing on each topic, humor is never a main
focus of the book. Instead, Gilbert
intersperses humor in light commentary throughout the narrative. For example, when explaining herself and the
way she deals with her emotions, she mentioned that David said, “You have the
opposite of a poker face. You have, like…miniature
golf face” (Gilbert 41). This observation is funny because it puts an
unexpected twist onto a popular adage.
It fits in with the incongruity theory of humor, subverting the
expectations of the reader who would not necessarily think that miniature golf
would be the opposite of poker. Quick
jokes such as this one are quite common in the book because they fit in the
best with the story Gilbert wants to tell. When discussing difficult topics
such as divorce and depression, it may be difficult to add humor to the
situation, and when it is done incorrectly it can appear insensitive and in bad
taste. Gilbert generally avoids this by
keeping the humorous remarks short and to the point. This keeps the humor from disrupting the
overall flow of the story while still making a contribution.
Although most of the humor in the
story is expertly placed in such a way that it does not interfere with the
overall message of the story, there was one section where I do not think that
the humor functioned in a way that was constructive. While she was in India, Gilbert frequently
mentioned Richard from Texas and the strange things he would say while giving
spiritual insight. These moments felt
very forced to me. His presence does not
fit in with the general feelings that Gilbert is dealing with at the Ashram,
even though he is giving guidance that fits in with the teachings of the
Guru. For example, he tells Gilbert, “You’re
like a dog at the dump, baby—you’re lickin’ at an empty tin can, trying to get
more nutrition out of it. And if you’re not careful, that can’s gonna get stuck
on your snout forever and make your life miserable” (Gilbert 150). This is important advice pertaining to
Gilbert and her relationship troubles that are preventing her from moving
forward in her life, but it is prevented in a very quirky and ridiculous
metaphor. It does not fit in with the
deep and introspective theme of the section of the book. The incongruity is so apparent that it is too
much to accept as a small comical instance.
Combined with the constant recurrence of Richard’s remarks, the fall
flat in my mind. It is not convincingly
funny because it does not fit well with the rest of the section of this book. The comments seemed forced and unreal, which
prevented me from laughing at them after Richard’s introduction. This made me question the validity of the
entire story. When one of the main
characters is unbelievable, the whole story can start to fall apart. I stayed skeptical for the rest of the
reading because of my dislike of one character, but Richard ruined the subtlety
of humor that had been established throughout the first half of the story.
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