Second Juha Readings

         I really enjoyed the next to readings in the Tales of Juha, as I expected after the first 40 pages. Juha is a very versatile character, and he really can be whatever the storyteller wants him to be; this is really evident in today's reading. The first section was titled "Social Satire." Juha was his usually witty self in this chapter, using his clever wording to poke fun on a lot of social issues and common issues. I really liked this chapter because, as many people mentioned in class, it's easy to relate to. For example, Juha's story about how there are a total of four people in bed at night with his wife. Past relationships often come back and affect current relationships. Most people have had this type of experience. Another story that I found amusing was the story of Juha and his son at the funeral procession. The mourning widow told the deceased husband that the funeral procession was taking him somewhere with no bed, cover, carpet, food or water. Juha's son then exclaims that they're taking him to Juha's house. This short story wasn't the most satirical or clever of the chapter, but it definitely provided a good laugh.
         My favorite story from this chapter was the one with Juha, his son, and the donkey. In this story, Juha and his son can't decide whether to ride the donkey together or have one of them walking. No matter what they're doing, people passing by comment on how they're doing something wrong. Eventually, Juha and his son start carrying the donkey and then just walking aside the donkey. They continue to get upsetting comments from people passing by. At the end or the story, Juha comments that it's impossible to please everyone. This situation is easy to relate to for almost everyone. People in society often judge people no matter what they do. I think society in general is the target of the satire here.
         The next chapter is titled "Cunning and Resource." Juha is quite the trickster in this section. My favorite story would have to be the story about Juha and the 1000 dinars. Juha tricks his neighbor into giving him 999 dinars, a new donkey, and new clothes. Juha's clever trick in court was very amusing, and definitely fits the cunning trickster role he often plays. These first two sections of the reading were very similar to what we've seen of Juha so far. He's clever and smart, but in the next chapter he is much of the opposite.
          The last chapter was titled Naivete and Stupidity. Juha seems to be a totally different character from previous stories. Here he is a lot less clever, often at a loss for words, and is at the butt end of most jokes. However, I still found these stories entertaining. My favorite story from this section was when Juha sat at the preacher chair in the mosque. He was going to deliver a sermon, but he couldn't find anything to say. Usually I would expect Juha to think of something clever to say on the spot, but instead he just admits that his mind is blank. This kind of cognitive shift made this short story pretty amusing. This chapter definitely shows how versatile a character Juha. It reinforces the idea that Juha can be any type of character the story teller wants him to be.