Wisdom in Wit - Reading Post #5

    When I first began reading the Tales of Juha, I was not impressed.  They were an easy read and pretty entertaining, but they didn't do anything special for me.  I did not find myself laughing out loud or taking great interest in the short tales.  After the second reading though, I have found that I enjoy some of the stories much more than others.  The section titled "Social Satire" really impressed me.  I will repeat it again that jokes which I can relate to and that make a statement are more likely to make me laugh than some trick.  The first section we read was full of wit and outsmarting others, but this section really spoke to me because it pointed out things in reality. It's like comparing "Space Balls" to "South Park."  One engages in a slapstick sort of humor while the other commentates on issues in society in a negative but funny way.  

     The first story I really liked was the one that relates to the cover image.  As a FTDM major with a minor in Journalism and Art I am constantly surrounded by the idea that not everyone can be satisfied. All these subjects involve the creation of a "product" that many may love and others will hate.  It didn't matter what Juha and his son did, not everyone can be made happy, people will always find something to criticize.  

      I also really liked the story where Juha changes and gets a different reception from the same group of people who had ignored him earlier.  When he said "eat oh sleeve" I actually laughed at this great cognitive shift.  There is much truth in this idea.  I have definitely seen a difference in the way people I don't know interact with me when I am dressed up to go out in comparison to when I am in my athletic "comfort" gear.  The image of a man actually doing this at a party to make a point also seemed entertaining to me.  Too often people will "judge a book by its cover," myself included.  Just this summer I learned to scuba dive with a middle aged man.  He seemed confident and plain but at the end of it all I found out he is Jessica Biel's father.  This is just further proof that things are not always as they seem.

    

          There were two others I enjoyed from this section.  The first was the story about the man who was mourning his dog, who was near death because of hunger, but would not share his food with it.  The second was the one where Juha goes to visit a man who always spoke kindly to him but who then claimed not to be home even though he was. These both pointed out very human flaws that can be seen in society everywhere.  In a vague and general way they all call out the hypocrisy that plagues all of us.  Human nature is simply that way, everyone driving faster than you is crazy and everyone going slower than you is stupid.  It is critical and closed-minded, but everyone has moments like this.  Seeing this called out in these characters just brings it to light in a way that doesn't attack any one person, and so it becomes humorous.