Friday, August 1, 2008

Confessions

Today I want to make a confession here.
I feel so sorry to say but this is a truth that I fail to understand the Humor in English.
For that matter may be it is the literature or even a play.
I am writing these words out of my recent experiences on either of the criteria.
I finished reading the fourth part of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”. I was then in search of a new interesting book to read. The search was on and in the mean time, I heard a lot about a big name in English literature, P.G. Wodehouse, a comic novelist who sort of ruled the world for almost 70 years and was called “English literature's performing flea”. Not one or two, but almost 4-5 people told me about him in a very short span of time. And then it so happened that one my friend finished reading one of his storybook “Right ho, Jeeves”. I got drifted by the way he used to talk about the book and his singularly laughs thinking about some incident from the book. I asked him if I could borrow the book. He agreed and gave me the book.
I reached home and started reading books. The book has nearly 240 pages. I was reading it as if there is no tomorrow. Five pages finished, then ten pages. Slowly the count reached over thirty pages. And oh my god, I still haven’t laughed a single time. I called off for the day.
Next day I continued reading the book but had the experience similar to previous day. No humor encountered. Still with a small ray of hope I continued reading the book and soon realized that I have finished the book, but still I did not come across any incident that will make me laugh.
At the end of reading the whole book what all I could conclude was the story was more of a kind of a joke told to you by a three or year old kid, who keeps telling you the joke for almost half an hour and after that when he conclude the jokes (where you can not figure out the end of joke) you are supposed to laugh as if you have really enjoyed and the joke was really funny.
The story was so elaborate, so explanative, and so full of minute details that it just took away all the fun out of the incidents to be happened and is supposed to be funny. It just could not amuse me. So, my words to Mr. Wodehouse are “ Sorry Mr. Wodehouse you failed to make me laugh”.
Another experience is about this TV play, which is actually is very famous among youngs. It’s all about a bunch of friends with name of the serial also as “Friends”.


The serial does not have any storyline as such but instead have short stories with the humor hidden in the conversations made by the members of this friend circle that includes three boys and three girls, if I am not wrong on the count. And here is the problem with me. I just could not understand this humor in their conversation. I plainly went through the first four episodes. May be it is too early to make any comments on this, since I have hardly been through only four episodes of Season-I. Though these four episodes haven’t succeeded in bring up that one must needed smile (forget a big laugh) on my face, but still looking forward to other remaining episodes to make it happen.
Just wish me luck or better wish luck to these “Friends” to succeed in their expected task.

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