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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 10 page research paper that analyzes the nature and function of humor, focusing specifically on "low brow" or working class humor. This examination of humor among working class people demonstrates that humor has been employed to deflect and soften the vicissitudes of economic, social, and political life, as well define and critique societal inequalities. Bibliography lists 9 sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khhumwcp.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Shakespeare always included a few jokes that were designed to appeal to working class people, even in his most serious plays. An examination of more contemporary uses of
humor among working people demonstrates that humor has been employed to deflect and soften the vicissitudes of economic, social, and political life, as well define and critique societal inequalities.
It is probable that as long a humans have laughed, they have periodically wondered why they do it. The medieval Church, for example, addressed this question, particularly in regards to
the contradictory statements of the Bible and Aristotle on the question of whether laughter is one of the primary features of humanity (Palmer 57). Modern speculation on the
function of human has tended to see humor as a species adaptation to the environment. For example, Jonathan Miller (noted doctor, producer and humorist) has argued since the human race
derives pleasure from humor, there must be a biological payoff inherent in the process (Palmer 57). He posits that the "payoff" comes from a change in perception. In
other words, humor allows people to "see things for the first time, to reconsider our categories and therefore to be a little bit more flexible versatile when we come to
dealing with the world in future" (Palmer 57). As this suggests, humor, at least temporarily, has the power to free perception from the rules that normally bind it, allowing
a "new" look at the world. In his discussion of British television sitcoms, Stephen Wagg makes the observation that humor is generally about the "forsaking of pretension and
the pursuit of pleasure, within respective class cultures (30). As this suggests, different classes tend to see humor from different perspectives that reflect the inequalities in their respective life styles.
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