Out of today's readings, my favorite was definitely Nora Ephron's "A Few Words about Breasts." I predict that the majority of the class will have the same thoughts as me because Ephron's story is easy to relate to. We're all young college kids who somewhat recently went through the awkward stages of "development." Though I didn't necessarily have to deal with "cramps," I was somewhat similar to Ephron in high school considering she was younger than everyone. I have a late August birthday, and most of my friends were at least 8 or 9 months older than me. Combining this with my braces, fairly short stature, and friends that already had full beards, my high school life was fairly interesting. Reading this story brought me back to the days of sophomore year when there was never a time I wasn't asked for an ID at a PG-13 movie. Many people shared these same experiences, and that's what makes Ephron's story so easy to laugh at. Past times may have been slightly uncomfortable, but looking back at them now can be very amusing.
My next favorite reading was Donald Barthelme's "In the Morning Post." Barthelme seems very quick and witty, and I loved his sarcastic answers and analysis of certain questions from the Writers Digest questionnaire. His humor reminded me a lot of my dad's growing up.Like my dad, Barthelme never really me burst out laughing, but his comments about drinking with Thomas Aquinas definitely made me smile. He kept a playful, amusing style throughout the short reading that really made it enjoyable for me.
I didn't like Blount's or Ivin's stories as much as the previous two. They both played off stereotypes that were amusing, but just not as funny to me. However, I can see my friends and family back in Nebraska enjoying Ivin's remarks on Texas drawls because they make fun of me every time I say "y'all." Stories like Ivin's and Ephron's make me think that past experiences and cultural background play a big role on what makes people laugh.
I really enjoyed reading a male's perspective on "A Few Words about Breasts" because I wondered if a male would be able to enjoy this story as much as a female. My favorite part of your post was how you managed to relate to the story on such a fundamental level by explaining how you had an awkward stage too. Overall a fantastic post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post about Ephron’s short story and relate to your experience of being a late bloomer. I also found this story to be hilarious. Being able to relate to something definitely makes it that much more funny. I am really close to my sister, so I related to the story that way. However, I agree that anyone can relate to the themes of this story, regardless of their gender. Good post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you John. The story seems taboo on the surface, but I believe it is really is relatable to both genders. The story seemed to be catered specifically to women and girls, but was applicable to us guys too, which was interesting. We all (had?) that awkward stage, and this story was a perfect explanation of it.
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