The past two readings for Literature and Civilizations II have consisted of chapters from Comic Relief. This book is certainly not one that I particularly enjoy. It can be repetitive, full of many cyclical arguments, and generally dry. Although the presentation of the material is not something I particularly enjoy, this book is full of all sorts of interesting facts and humorous examples. I definitely got a "jolt" when I was reading along about why some theory about laughter is wrong and then all of a sudden there is a comment about someone masturbating to the Venus de Milo.
For as much as I like to complain about this book though, there are interesting and influential points made in the text. I always knew that laughing was supposedly good for you, but I never really considered why and where it came from. It really caught my interest that laughter renders you essentially incapable of doing anything else, releasing the person laughing from stress, anger, fear, and other physical activity. This book is essentially a constant reminder that I need to laugh more! I find that I am incredibly susceptible to stress, which according to the book is the offspring of anger and fear. Stress is also incredibly unhealthy, something that I have lived because I most often get sick when I am stressed, resulting in only more stress. Having read about all this I feel much more encouraged to try and incorporate laughter into my life as part of an every day necessity. I have found that now if I randomly laugh I stop and think afterwards, why was I just laughing? I have not decided yet whether this is a good thing or not but it is certainly an unusual train of thought.
One thing I really appreciate about this book though is its seeming commitment to the arts, especially in The Aesthetics of Humor chapter. I am so much more encouraged to appreciate the goofy and "less educated" things in life having read about the authors argument for comedy over tragedy. I agree that there may have been a time when such things were beneficial but in today's times I would much rather be gaining happiness and a break from my worries. I feel that many people admire sad stories, and incredibly deep literature while more simple things are looked down upon as uneducated and dumb, even the word "simple" can be seen as having a bad connotation. This book has only encouraged my once guilty pleasure of constantly being immersed in the arts and appreciating more easily grasped concepts.
In final consideration I believe that although this book's criticism, philosophy, and analysis of amusement is perhaps a bit too thorough and specific for me, there are things to be gained from the text. One of my own personal beliefs is that one never stops learning. Good learning encompasses growth, both in thought and in understanding of one's self. Although I may not enjoy reading this book, it has contributed to my learning. Thus I feel more equipped to argue in support of humor and the arts. I also feel as though I have gained knowledge about myself and my opinion of laughter. As a result I hope that I have gained lasting motivation to find more reasons to laugh and be positive for my own sake, and to hopefully encourage those around me.
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