Comedy

Humour is the most engaging cowardice. With it myself I have been able to hold some of my enemy in play far out of gunshot.
Robert Frost

The ability to laugh at life is right at the top, with love and communication, in the hierarchy of our needs. Humour has much to do with pain; it exaggerates the anxieties and absurdities we feel, so that we gain distance and through laughter, relief.
Sara Davidson

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.
    Will Rogers

            There are things of deadly earnest that can only be safely mentioned under cover of a joke.
    J.J. Procter

He that jokes confesses.
Italian proverb

Overview
            Rationale
            Objectives
            Strategies
            Classroom Activities
            Bibliography/Resources
            Standards

Rationale

As pointed out in Psychology as Applied to Teaching (Biehler, 1982), “humor is an excellent, all-around influence technique, especially in tense situations.” Most teachers find that humor can easily diffuse situations as well as make the classroom a more pleasant place in which to work and learn. “Leave some water for the fish,” is a common expression teachers use to get a student to stop drinking at the fountain that is more effective in many cases than reprimanding a student for wasting class time at the drinking fountain. Where adults have learned to use humor to their advantage, many of our students have learned the same lesson and many would benefit greatly from recognizing the power of humor.

I think often of a student I had almost ten years ago. Steven was a puny kid in a school where fifth graders who were puny would be easy targets for the bullies and anyone else who was out to prove themselves. The school was tough too, one where violence was an everyday occurrence and “your mama” jokes were cause for major fights and bloodshed. Not a day went by when Steven didn’t see a fight either in his classroom, on the playground or in the cafeteria. His neighborhood wasn’t peaceful either. Gang drive-bys and drug related crime were a common happening in the project he called home. His mother was a crack addict who was so high at a parent-teacher conference once that she couldn’t concentrate enough to write an absence note. Steven was the oldest of three so he took care of his siblings and his mother while struggling regularly to make sure no one knew he was the one in charge of everything at home. As a result, perhaps, Steven wasn’t the strongest student, in fact, if he were this may have made it even harder on him. He wasn’t the best athlete and wasn’t the most popular. But Steven was never in a fight, never in trouble with the administration at the school and never in trouble with the police. He was a favorite of many of his teachers, myself included, who looked forward to seeing him every day. He was living in a world where violence ruled and the tough guy finished first. But somehow Steven was able to survive. He survived so well that when I saw him seven years later he was working and going to community college. Not a small feat for someone from the Northview Heights projects.

How was Steven able to be successful in this environment? He survived simply because he was funny. His quick wit and casual sarcasm got all of us, teachers and students alike, through many hard days. A student would “step up” to him and he would have them smiling and laughing within seconds. Steven was the only student I ever knew that could call his peers hurtful names, right to their faces, without any retribution. He had learned the value of laughter, the value of diffusing a situation, the value of humor.

What is humor to a ten-year-old? The list changes everyday of course because this is the nature of their developmental stage. Most of the fifth graders are just ending their years as concrete operational thinkers according to Piaget’s characteristics of cognitive development. A characteristic of a concrete operational thinker is that he is able to consider the interrelationships of things and break them into classified groups. (Santrock, p. 136) Students of this age often classify things as well as people and determine their relationships within that group. The group dynamic is apparent in ten-year old humor. Many of the jokes and silliness that are demonstrated at this age are directed at those around them in an effort to be accepted. The student recognizes that being funny and making people laugh can make them a part of the group or at least their peer group society.

Although many of my fifth grade students do have great senses of humor, many of them do not recognize that sometimes the best way to diffuse a situation is through humor. Sometimes our most important ideas and opinions can be expressed through humor and be more easily accepted. From Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Moliere, comic writers have used humor to express their ideas concerning social and political mores. Although many of their writings were criticized and perhaps held in contempt by the powers that be, they live on as examples of a good way to express opinions.

Instead of taking offense at every expression of negativity, students could benefit from letting criticism roll off their backs rather than getting upset and fighting over a trivial matter such as rudeness or “your mama” type expressions. Much of this life skill is a learned behavior. Yes, there are those that do have a good natural sense of humor but manipulating that humor is a learned action. Violence in our schools has become such a common occurrence that it is easy to envision that many students have not learned what humor is and what power humor can have. In fact, many of our students have learned that the only way to solve problems is through violence. This unit will give them an alternative.

The students will be able to create a working definition of comedy through class discussion and small group interaction. They will utilize the theories of Frye and Meredith to examine their own definitions. The students will also develop an outline of basic comic characters and develop their own characters that will fit into each character type. They will explore the underlying theme of comic writings and practice ways in which humor can be used to diffuse a situation. The students will explore the structure of humor and identify this structure in various classroom readings. The students will also role-play some situations and determine how best to diffuse the situation. They will also use journal writing as a means to express their thoughts about how certain given scenarios can be peacefully resolved. As a culminating activity the students will write a humorous persuasive essay to help determine how effective humor can be to express opinions.

This unit plan will explore the nature of humor. It will provide some life skills lessons for fifth-grade students that can be utilized in your reading class and include a whole class instruction model and a small group, or flexible group model. This set-up will allow the students to benefit from direct teaching especially when dealing with new terms and concepts about humor. It will also allow the students to share ideas in a small group setting. These small groups, which are heterogeneously grouped rather than ability grouped, allow the lower level students to analyze comedy at a higher level by sharing ideas with students who work at a higher level. The stronger students will also benefit from this interaction by allowing them to take on leadership roles.

In order for the students to understand the structure of a comedy they must also understand the structure of a well-told story. As fifth-graders, this concept has been taught to them in numerous ways, mainly through experience with written texts. However, for the purpose of these lessons in comedy the students must have a direct and concrete look at comedic structure that they can utilize to analyze the stories they will read in this unit. What I will present in this lesson is a very simplified version of the picture of a story structure and then compare it to the story structure in a comedy. For instance, I will have the students draw a diagram of a story thus –

For our purposes, a story follows this basic triangular arc. We will discuss how this arc is apparent in the story “Ben and Me” by Robert Lawson. This work of biographical fiction follows this arc beautifully and also gives the students some examples of how comedy can disguise the real reason that a story is being written. The students should find each point on the triangle and determine where in the story they can find each component. They should then utilize this exercise in their groups for another story they have read in class. This will give the students practice in finding and analyzing story components before moving on to a more detailed evaluation in the next section of this lesson.

Comedy and tragedy follow this triangular arc but with very different results. If we look at tragedy as a story that ends in a falling action, some kind of non-redemptive, sad finale, then a comedy ends with some sort of rising action – a happy ending. But many comedies are not quite that simplistic. They do end with a hope for the future or some kind of redemption. For instance society or one of the characters is redeemed in some way. The following diagram can show the students concretely how this rising action compares to that of tragedy. Again, compare this diagram and analyze a story like “Ben and Me” discussing how the story ends a rising action.

Tragedy – The individual Comedy – The individual who was not
is excluded from society. accepted is included in society.

Lesson 2 – The Comic Character – Are You One?

To fully understand the comic structure, the students need to explore some stock type characters of a comedy. This is not to say that all comedies contain all of these characters but the students will quickly identify with some of the characters very easily so that they are able to identify some characteristics of comedic characters which will help them eventually write about and use these characteristics in their own interactions. Northrup Frye defines some rigid characteristics of the comic character that the students could easily identify.

The first type of character Frye calls the alazons or impostor. This type of character lacks self-knowledge and tends to speak of his greatness rather than prove it with actually great deeds. (Frye, p. 172) This type of character could be described in terms of the characters from the television situation comedy “Seinfeld.” George Costanza fits the imposter role because of his continuous lying and expressions of grandeur as in the episode where he tells a potential girlfriend that he is a marine biologist and then is forced to try to save a beached whale.

Another type of character in comedy is the eiron. This is the role of the “tricky slave.” (Frye, p. 173). This character is the one entrusted with figuring out how the hero will win. He is often the impetus for much of the confused, frenzied action that comedies often include. In “Seinfeld” this character would be that of Elaine who always seems to have some scheme in which the other characters become involved.

The third type of comic character is that of the buffoon. The buffoon does not contribute to the plot but helps to increase the comic moments. (Frye, p. 175) In “Seinfeld” this character would be Kramer who by merely entering a room establishes a comic atmosphere and gets a laugh.

The fourth type of character is agroikos or the churlish or rustic. (Frye, p. 175-176). This character is the killjoy who becomes the butt of many of the jokes or just the character that provides the limits to the fun. In “Seinfeld” we can see this character as Newman. Jerry openly disdains this character who is snobbish about his job as a mailman and is even extremely proper in his speech, especially when talking to Jerry. Although Newman does get involved with much of the comic action it is often as an unwilling assistant or as someone who is only involved for his own gain such as the plot he and Kramer get involved in to transport aluminum cans in a mail truck to get the $.05 refund in another state.

After presenting this example to the students as a whole class and utilizing “Seinfeld”, or some other popular television show that the students are knowledgeable about, the students will break up into four groups. Each group will be assigned a particular comic character type and using another popular television show such as “It’s All That”, they will determine which character on the show fits into this mold. They will then give examples of why this character fits this character type and site specific examples from the show. This exercise not only will have the students exploring comic characters but it will also force them to explain, with specific examples, their position.

The students will then present their findings to the class. If their examples are not specific enough other students may argue that their character does not fit into the character mode. This may occur when two groups choose the same character for different character types. If their examples are not specific enough then the group will not get the group points.

Lesson 3 – Alexander’s Bad, Yet Funny Day

The students will read “Alexander and the Very Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” The students will probably be familiar with the story and this is a simple enough book that children of all reading levels will be able to understand its simple language and theme. “Alexander…” also contains a lot of comic elements that the students will be able to identify easily. Try to allow the children to identify what makes this story funny or comic.

There is repetition – “I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day,” is repeated seven times throughout this short story. The students will pick up on this repetition and often will start to repeat the line out loud as it is being read. This repetition is comic because the reader comes to expect what will happen next and as the horrible things get worse and worse it is clear what action will take place. There is also the repetition of Alexander moving to Australia. This repetition is actually more important to the story because it speaks to the theme that everyone has a bad day and you cannot run away from it. “Alexander …” could be tragic with all of the disappointing and sad things that happen to the small boy in the story but it ends in an upbeat way. It is clear that Alexander will have a better day and that he will not be able to go to Australia to get away from his problems. So the story has rising action where the individual is accepted into the society, in the case by his mother, by being told that everyone has bad days sometimes and that tomorrow will be a better day. The events that happen to Alexander to make this a bad day are also what helps to make it comic. The reader can identify with Alexander because all of us have had similar things happen to us. We can put ourselves in Alexander’s shoes and laugh at ourselves as we laugh along with Alexander.

After the students have identified these key elements of comedy, discuss how Alexander could have made his situation better and have the students decide if there is any point in the story where he makes his day even worse through his own actions.

The students should then break up into their flexible groups and discuss a bad day that they have experienced. The group should take notes with a short description of the events that occurred and how the situation was eventually resolved. As a group, the students should choose one of the bad days and determine how the situation could have been solved comically, or how could the situation be solved so that there is rising action at the end of the tale. (See appendix 3 for worksheet sample).

Now that the students have been introduced to some comic structures as well as some different types of comic characters, they are ready to use these structures and character types in some realistic role plays. The first scene will be given to the entire class. After reading the scene together the students should determine if the situation is comic or tragic and decide on who each of the characters are based on the types outlined in the last lesson. After discussing this scene several students will act out the scene for the class.

Joe – That sue is so hot! Every time she walks by I think of flowers and candy.

Sue – Not that you could ever even buy her one dandelion or one used piece of candy.

Joe – So true. No “bling-bling” or cash is in my hand. But I do wqnt to ask Sue to go with me.

Salome – She wouldn’t even look at you sideways much less straight forward… Hey, are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Salome – She doesn’t know you, right? How foes she know that you aren’t the richest and coolest guy in school? (Joe shrugs) So why don’t we dress you up, make you look hot and I’ll a t like you are sooo cool. She’ll get to know you ad before she finds out that you’re really a pathetic loser, she’ll be in love with you.

Oh, Joe and I were just talking about how he had to dress in his junky clothes so he would fit in around here. He usually wears only designer labels and Jordans but he didn’t want to make anyone jealous of him in his new school. He wouldn’t want to be like Fred, he’s such a loser! (Fred walks by and is a regular guy that everyone picks on)

Ricky – (riding in on his bicycle) Hey, Joe, where’s you bike? I thought we would try to patch the tires today.

Joe – I’m sure you understand, Sue, some people wouldn’t feel comfortable around me if I drove up in my dad’s Mercedes.

Sue – (warming up) Oh, sure. I understand. Maybe you can give me a ride sometime.

Joe – On my bike? Oh, you mean the Mercedes. Oh, sure I would solve to have you show me around town.

Ricky - Wow, your Dad got a Mercedes, Joe? Can I ride in it, too? I thought he was taking the bus to work after the engine blew the last time.

Ricky – What garage? Your garage hasn’t been on the house since the wind story knocked it over five years ago. Aren’t you reminded of that every time you walk past that pile of rubble in your yard? (laughs)

Joe – It’s true, Sue. I was only trying to impress you. I am a pathetic loser just like Fred.

Sue – No, you won’t. Joe thanks for coming clean with me. Why don’t you just be yourself? If you really like me then you would know that its what’s inside that matters. I’m not a material girl.

Joe – Then Sue, how about going out with me and we can get to know each other better. I promise I won’t lie to you again.

The students will then break off into their flexible groups. Each group will be given a scene to act out. Again, the students will determine whether or not the scene fits into the comic structure and what comic type each character represents. They will be given 10 minutes to practice the scene for a presentation to the class. The non-performing groups, or in this case, the audience, will determine after the performance whether the scene represents the comic structure and identify the character types. The performing group, acting as teachers, will award group points to the audience group that is able to determine this information correctly. Depending on how many groups you have in the class will determine how long this part of the lesson will take.

Ms. Rumpleman – Sure, John. Let’s talk over here. What seems to be the problem?

John – I’m having trouble with Kadasha. He keeps threatening me and I really would like to move away from him.

Ms. Rumpleman - John, I understand but we have to learn to work with everyone. Try to solve the problem on your own by talking it out with him or I’ll have to give you a failing grade.

John – But Ms. Rumpleman, this is really serious. I can’t learn with him threatening me.

Ms. Rumpleman – I’m serious, too, John. Now, go back with the class and try to work it out.

John – All right. I’ll try. (enters class) Hey, Zahara, help me out. You get along with Kadisha, right?

John – I know. How about putting in a good word for me and telling him not to threaten me anymore?

Zahara – I’d really like to help you out but no way. I don’t want t be in the middle of this. (Walks away) Solve it yourself. Good luck.

John - 0h, man. I guess I’ll just have to face it alone. (He walks to his seat past Kadisha’s chair)

Ms. Rumpleman – Sure, John. Let’s tlak over here. What seems to be the problem?

John – I’m having trouble with Kadasha. He keeps threatening me and I really would like to move away from him.

Ms. Rumpleman – John, I understand but we have to learn to work with everyone. Try to solve the problem on you own by talking it out with him or I’ll have to give you a failing grade.

John – But Ms. Rumpleman, this is really serious. I can’t learn with him threatening me.

Ms. Rumpleman – I’m serious too, John. Now go back with the class and try to work it out.

John – All right. I’ll try. (enters class) hey Zahara, help me out. You get along with Kadisha, right?

John – I know. How about putting in a good work for me and telling him not to threaten me anymore?

Zahara – I’d like to help you out but I don’t think he’d listen to me. Hey, why don’t you pretend to be really tough and I’ll talk you up. He’ll think you’re the toughest kid in school.

Zahara – (loudly) John, that was great how you just slammed that tenth grader, and with only one arm, too. You were truly amazing. You must be the toughest guy in school. Do you think the guy will get out of the hospital soon?

John – (sounding tough) I don’t know Zahara. I pretty much annihilated him. That’s what you get for threatening me. I don’t put up with that sissy stuff. I mean action.

John – Yeah, you gotta do what you gotta do. (George comes in a falls over a chair) See, I just looked at George and he fell down. That’s what happens when you threaten me.

Kadisha – (a little scared) Well, you know I was just joking when I threatened you, right?

John – (moving closer to him in a threatening way) No, I thought you were serious.

Kadisha – (very scared now) Oh, John, buddy, that was just a joke. See, I smash chairs all the time. (Picks up his chair and smashes it.)

John – That’s a joke, is it? Well, so is this! (Smashes his chair, too.) Now we’re all tough guys. (laughing)Let’s be friends.

As an extension to this lesson, the students will be given scenes without endings. They will have to create the ending that follows the comic structure and make characters that could be serious into comic characters. This extension will take at least two class periods but will set up the lessons where the students have to solve problems in a comic way and see the ending of a potentially volatile situation end calmly and comically without escalation.

Lesson 5 – Journaling

This lesson can take place over several days or even during the whole week or two of the unit because it can be used as a warm-up for the lessons that follow.

The students will be given a situation on the board or overhead and take five minutes to write a comic ending for it in their journals. The only requirement is that the situation is solved peaceably and with humor if possible. They will be trying to make sure that the scenario ends with a rising action – their writing will show that someone learned something and is better for it in the end. Some of the situations will be able to be solved in one sentence others will take more explanations. The students may want to present their answer in dialogue form. The students should be able to explain in their answer, however, just what must go on in the scene for the situation to end calmly and not escalate into something more serious. This will bring up a discussion of how important it is to walk away from situations when they can’t be solved without violence until both parties involved have had a cool down period, and how sometimes situations need to be mediated by and outside, disinterested party.

I have written five journal entry starters but as many as ten may need to be incorporated to give the students enough practice in this type of problem solving.

After each journal writing, the students should share their answers with the class and discuss the merits of each solution in terms of comic structure. The students should be given an opportunity to change or add to their answer if they feel they have missed some aspect of comedy in their journal reply.

Lesson 6 – Write a persuasive essay

In this lesson the students will discover how humor can affect change. Change can occur only when the problem is faced head-on and when viable solutions are explored. The students will write a persuasive letter to the principal. They will discuss their displeasure with the cafeteria food and the cafeteria system that is used in the district. They will offer solutions. Because this subject is close to the students’ hearts, and one in which they all can relate, they can immediately put themselves in the other person’s shoes. The students must state the problem honestly but to the point where exaggeration will help to make the letter comic. They should utilize the comic structure and use repetition to stress their opinion. The solutions should directly relate to their exaggerated problem and not be too beyond the realm of possibility. The idea of this lesson is to get their opinions about an issue on the table without whining about it and without offending anyone.

Works Cited

Biehler, Robert, Jack Snowman. Psychology Applied to Teaching. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1982.

Corrigan, Robert Willoughby. The Art of the Theater, A Critical Anthology of Drama. San Francisco, Chandler Publishing Co., 1964.

John W. Santrock, Adolescence: An Introduction. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1987.

Reading List for Students

Lawson, Robert. Ben and Me: A New and Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin as Written by His Good Mouse, Amos, Lately Discovered, Edited and Illustrated by Robert Lawson. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951.

Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. NY: Aladin Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1972.

9. All students demonstrate their skills of communicating, negotiating and cooperating with others.

11. All students demonstrate the ability to resolve conflicts in peaceful ways, including, but not limited to, peer mediation, anger management, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving.

Table of Contents

Rationale

Lesson 2 – The Comic Character – Are You One?

Lesson 3 – Alexander’s Bad, Yet Funny Day

Lesson 5 – Journaling

Lesson 6 – Write a persuasive essay

Works Cited

Reading List for Students