Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 250 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by 10pm on the day PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading
I can’t believe I am saying this. For the first time in this class I did not enjoy reading an essay. Dinty’s chapter was fine. The points that he made were simple but agreeable. Patricia Marx essay on the other hand I just couldn’t figure out. Despite reading the essay twice I still couldn’t determine if she was trying to be funny or intentionally unfunny. Mrs. Marx would write a lot of references which if you know the joke could be funny, but I didn’t seem to laugh. I first read the story alone in my head like I always do when it comes to the readings and afterwards I became very confused. I should have laughed. Why didn’t I laugh? Did I not get the joke? Is there something wrong with me? Am I sick? Do I not have a sense of humor? I was truly flabbergasted. Because of my confusion I decided to read it again. This time out loud and with a funny voice in the dialogue. Thank god I was alone because when I heard myself make the voice it sounded like a bad squidward impersonation mixed with a Jewish mother. Despite the funny voice I didn’t laugh at the writing. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying that this piece should have had me dying of laughter and wetting my pants but I should have at least gotten a chuckle out of the experience and I got nothing. No chuckle. No laugh. Nothing! I decided to read Dinty’s chapter again so I can make sense of the unfunny essay. Dinty’s points started resonating like a bell inside my head. He explains that it’s very difficult to be funny. When you try to write a humorous essay what you need is a blend of real life experiences with your own mix of humor. You have to be able to amuse yourself first and have an honest look at your own personal amusement. You might laugh at a situation and think it’s really funny, but the majority of the world might find it rude or offensive for even laughing at it. There’s no guarantee that the readers will laugh with you. Making someone laugh is something that has to be brought naturally. Some people are born witty. If they can write their wit in an essay than they can use that to their advantage. Other people tend to be very awkward. So writing your awkward experiences on paper could be something that the majority of readers might relate too and laugh at, and some are just naturally funny. They know what to say and how to act. They know when someone needs a laugh and they deliver. The one’s that can bring a smile for just looking at you. Those people however become comedians. I think where Mrs. Marx lost me is that to me it felt like there was no story. I didn’t see the point of the essay. It was also very long and after a page or two my attention just wondered off. I am interested to see what the class response is on this piece. I want to see if the majority agrees with me or disagrees. At the same time maybe someone can clue me in on what the joke was because I’m still trying to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteWord Count: 558
Juan Garcia Jr
I must admit that like Juan, I too, did not enjoy the essay “A Tale of Tub,” by Marx at all. This story was perhaps one of the most boring and difficult stories to read through. I found myself literally wanting to just throw my book down and do almost any other tedious chore awaiting me. I could not relate to this story nor could I find any real humor within it. I do agree that the author did put in some effort to show the research they did into the lingo used on a ship as well as the inner workings of the crew but other than that it was horribly hard to finish. Thank goodness this was not a very long essay. However, in Moore’s “Writing the Humorous Essay,” I think I found more humor and entertainment in the story about the couple in search of a comfortable chair who end up buying way more than intended. I think this essay managed to hold my attention because it seems more relatable. I mean who hasn’t gone to buy something and felt baffled by the salesman and how to manage them. I also agree with Moore when he says that the humor should be subtle and the jokes should never be spiteful. As in our previous essay "Tales of the Trash,” Hessler seems to be spot on with his humor and doesn’t seem to go overboard. My favorite part being the line when he describes how Sayyid would always carry his trash home when he left because he knew he’d be picking it up in the morning either way (Hessler, 130). I just feel as if Marx tried to be funny throughout the entire essay and it fell flat.
ReplyDeleteSheryl (Lena) Cavazos
I had never thought about writing a funny essay before. It just never interested me. I am more of a depressing writer. Lol. But I really liked how Moore gave us some ideas on how to write a funny story if we ever considered to write one. I honestly had no idea whatsoever on how I would write about something funny. I like how in the story Moore used about the furniture store, he limited the amount of dialogue he used. This gives us, the apprentices, the idea that not only can a story be humorous by using dialogue but it can also be funny by using imagery and as well as description. I like how Moore used imagery and somehow it made me feel as if I had been at the furniture store with him and I, too, had met Howie. What I most liked and what for some reason made me really picture Mr. Howie was when the author said that if Howie was his grandpa he would probably give him a butterscotch candy that was ten years old but he would still love him. The fact that the writer only had a 700 budget and spent 1800 actually told me a lot about Howie. Many of us have a tendency of thinking that being mean to someone else might be funny, I like how Moore reminds us that no one wants to read about that. Another think that I had not thought through was that trying to write a funny essay was not just about saying random jokes but about actually writing a story.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Millan
Word Count 273
I thought that the readings weren't as rewarding as usual. Moore's chapter was very short but I did enjoy his anecdote about the salesman. For some time I've had a notable fondness for comedians and a respect for their abilities as writers. I enjoy watching/listening to stand-up comedy very much. Often, I do my best to analyze comics and their sets to try to understand the unique perspectives in which they view reality, in hopes of becoming a better comedy writer. However this has been to utterly zero success as I still don't know how to write funny. I hoped that Moore's chapter would gift me some insight that would unveil the secrets of comedy and render them to my mastery but there was no such gift. His advice was pretty obvious-- don't try too hard, and don't gloat if you are funny. There was a morsel of wisdom in his idea of placing humor in the backseat in relation to one's story, though. As for Marx's essay, I do believe her story took up all the seats. While I did find the essay to be of interest it was a dull sort of interesting, similar to when you are catching up with an acquaintance, you're listening and engaging but you'd rather be doing not that. I chuckled a few times but the essay is not something I would consider to be funny. I think it is a perfect example of not trying hard enough to include humor.
ReplyDeleteAndres Trevino
After reading “A Tales of a Tub” I, like most of us, was bored to death by it. I was expecting a different kind of humor from the essay but it honestly felt quite dry. I did recognize the effort nonetheless. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I couldn’t get into the mindset of the author. The story itself was also a really boring one. I did recognize that the author did their research and gave meaning to their experience. On the other hand I thorough enjoyed Moore’s chapter about writing a humorous essay because it’s not something I’ve done consciously. I am used to writing about real events or writing stories that derived from real events. In this chapter Moore talks about ways to make your writing funny such as making your humor honest. Make sure you are writing about something that honestly amused you. Writing a humorous essay isn’t about writing jokes, the humor is embedded in a story. Stray was from being mean or spiteful in a humors essay, people don’t usually laugh at a cheap shot. As I said earlier I have written essays about something funny but I never used these types of strategies to make sure my audience laugh as well. One thing I’m taking away from this chapter is the first tip Moore gives. “Think of someone that makes you laugh.” When I am focusing on a thought or memory of a specific person I’ll be able to remember what funny things we’ve done together that I could incorporate.
ReplyDelete-Olivia Hinojosa
I have till this point enjoyed all the readings that have been assigned to us until the “a Tale of a Tub” by Marx. I found myself literally going back and rereading the sentences since they were so difficult to understand. I strongly felt that the essay was all over the place and quite dull. I could actually imagine some of the things that were explained but most of the time I was just trying to understand what point the author was trying to get across to the reader. The author, in my opinion, is very knowledgeable but the story was not written in a way that the reader would enjoy it. Chapter 14 on Moore’s book was a lot more interesting even though it was a short reading. I am not a funny guy what so ever. I have a weird sense of humor that includes sarcasm and things that people might not relate to which is why only my closest friends can relate. With that being said I do not see myself writing about something funny that the reader can actually have a giggle. Moore talks about the charming guy at the furniture store that made him buy a bunch of furniture. He makes him seem like a man that one cannot simply dislike. I started to like him myself and I have no clue who he is. Moore gives out a couple of tips on how to write a humorous essay and I could mostly relate to number 7 on the list. I once tried to cook rice for me and my mother and turned out to be a complete disaster. I overcooked it, not burned it, so it was fairly dry. Long story short, my white Labrador male dog ended up with a stomach full of dry rice.
ReplyDelete-Lucio Vasquez
After reading Patricia Marx’s “Tale of a Tub”, I am still not entirely sure how the hell the essay is supposed to be related to the title. It could be because the ship was like a tub, or it could be that she just wanted to name it after the tub that she liked in the infirmary. I digress, the essay in and of itself was fairly interesting, however this could be because I have never been on a boat ride that went out to deep sea for more than a few hours. This essay, while informative of what traveling on a cargo ship would be like, I feel is more aimed at an audience that has some knowledge of what it is like to travel by ship. As a reader with no knowledge of what long journey’s on ships are like, I felt as though I was not able to truly connect to the author’s point of view. I was however, able to connect to the plight of the sailors and their families. This is because, growing up my father would be going out of town a lot for work. Now, he was not gone for months at a time, except for that one time he went to Spain for a month or two, but I am still able to relate to having that want for a family member to come home, that I am sure that the families of the sailors want as well. Overall the essay was interesting though, however I believe that it would have been more interesting had it been about the sailors rather than the author’s journey.
ReplyDeleteKarina Gonzalez
Reading “A tale of a tub” was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to push myself to do. And because I found it so uninteresting and boring I don’t even think I took anything out of it, let alone understood any of it. I retained nothing. And as I tried to reread it a second time to hopefully understand the material better, I sort of gave up. I dont know if the essay was just hard to read, or I’m being a lazy reader and not wanting to think so much. Reading Moores “Writing a humorous essay” was a blessing after trying to read “A tale of a tub”. Before this chapter I guess you could say it had honestly never occurred to me that you could write a humorous essay. I mean why not, right? And out of all the Moore chapters we read, I think this one is my favorite. Because the story he tells is simple, and funny. And I don’t take his humor as him trying to hard. Which is something Moore actually advises to avoid when writing a humorous essay. The fastest way to run a joke, is by asking things like “that was funny, right?” or boasting yourself by saying things like “sometimes I can’t handle myself. Too funny”. He also advises to avoid being spiteful or mean, you dont have to tear anyone down in a cruel way, you can just playfully mock someone and it’ll be more effective.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Victoria Ramirez~
"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous." These are the words of Robert Benchley. An impactful statement if you were to ask me. Benchley is possibly stating that maybe he himself didn't believe his work was up to par in the ways others believed him to be. He's assuming that after fifteen years he must be doing something right since he and his work are pretty well known. I believe he's coming from a place where in relation to Howie the salesman, he too is on the top of his game. Maybe in the ways of the traditional writer but always in a way that's genuine and true to their craft. Benchley stated that after fifteen years he realized that he had no talent but he was famous for his work, how so? This is stemming from the notion that this individual carries certain qualities that elevated him past those that were in his way in the field that he thrived in. Howie for example did not come off as the empowering body of a well-established, financially excelled individual but what he did radiate was a calming and nurturing presence that was true to his style. He carried this persona of a trusted man, even stating that he was like a grandfather he never had. So remind me again how one can be famous and have "no talent in writing"? Maybe the talent is not in the writing but rather in the presentation. Howie, the salesman, was persistent in his efforts to accomplish the goal of getting this gentleman into a comfortable chair of his liking. He showed real care for the person he was attending. He was already on top of his region in sales, he must be something right and that's his people skills. What our stories tell us today, is that us as people should be prepared and encouraged to present ourselves as true beings. Our most rewarding and fulfilling moments is when we are genuine and kind and being funny will take you a long way. Not forcefully but a smile that's soft and subtle can carry a beautiful aura that attracts good fortune.
ReplyDeleteRuben Loa Jr
While not the worst sounding thing in the world I do not think I could go on a long journey as Marx did in “A Tale of A Tub” unless like the crew members it was my job. It sounds incredibly dull, and likely it was, but Marx makes takes a seemingly dull experience and turns it into something worth reading. You get to know a little about the job the crew members have and overall the tone is not dull and boring. Even normal sights aboard the ship Marx describes well and with detail, and although the outside is just blue ocean for miles it does not seem lonely. Actually being there in person it might be lonely but the way Marx describes everything gives the ship life. It was a really interesting essay for a few reasons. One of those reasons is definitely the question of whether or not the reader could make a journey like this and in my case it is a resounding no. I like land and being able to at least have the illusion that I can go where I please.
ReplyDeleteThe essay about writing with humor said a few interesting things. One of those is that you cannot force a joke and you cannot pretend to be funny. We’ve all had at least second hand experience from this. When someone is trying really hard to be funny and it falls flat. If you want to be genuinely funny then like Moore says you have to amuse yourself. If you are not taking enjoyment from your own humor then it is likely that no one else will either.
-Jesus Alexis Prado
I have always enjoyed comedy, and the comedy I seem to write about is always laughing at myself and my terrible decisions that clearly are humorous to readers. I do enjoy making people laugh but I also know my jokes are bad puns and corny children jokes, which evidently don't get you many dates or friends. It's taking a normal person and finding the best qualities about them to make them the pick of the litter and we find it amusing. It's the captivation of something you can't necessarily pick up right away, but you know there is just something about them that makes you want to keep studying them and observing them until you find the correct answer. With "A Tale of A Tub" I concluded that I had no idea what was going on. I couldn't focus so much on what was going on but I think if maybe I read it 6 or more times, who knows, I could have maybe found some idea of what happened. I get the idea of traveling by ship which seems like it could be fun but I have not seen much excitement in ships besides from movies. I thought it was more of one of those punny things or you kind of hate your life so you just say things that try to make people uncomfortable and get some sort of entertainment off of that. But really in all essence I think I need a couple more reads of this essay to figure out exactly what is happening here and why can't I be interested in this. Either way in the end I want to add humor to most of my stories because writing needs some light if it's all dark. It's the comedic relief to make you think that life isn't entirely depressing like mine. That's my goal. So that i don't end up with a story with cheap jokes and think I created some comedic gold mine which is painted yellow rocks. See what I mean by bad jokes? Maybe taking Moore's tips will get me a little better at getting a hold of humor in an essay
ReplyDelete-Victoria Benavidez
Like most of my classmates, I found “Tales of the Tub” to be rather boring and extremely dull. I am sort of wondering if I did not read the essay correctly. After reading Moore’s chapter on “Writing the Humorous Essay” I figured the story assigned would contain a lot of humor, but I found myself frowning and rereading sentences more often than not. I liked all the descriptions Marx included in her piece, there was more than enough detail to imagine the ship and the people onboard inside my head, but I felt so uninterested during the entire essay that I do not understand if it was meant to be funny at all? To be quite honest, once I reached the end, I had no clue as to how this essay had any humor incorporated into it. I honestly enjoyed reading Moore’s chapter much more. I loved his short snippet of Howie, and the interesting little quirks that he was able to analyze while looking for a chair with himself and his wife. The way Moore relayed this character to us, the readers, makes us snicker and imagine Howie in our own minds, even though the man himself is not the main point of the humor. Before today, I had never really given much thought to writing a humorous essay. This mostly due to the fact that the chance has not presented itself and also because I am not funny. I do not consider myself a funny person at all, so I figure it would be too difficult for me to incorporate humor into my writing. Although, after reading Moore’s piece, I would not be opposed to giving it a try.
ReplyDelete-Jennifer Gutierrez
How dare Moore predict I have an older sister to tell me about the stupid things I have done. Just kidding. So, Moor has some good ideas into getting the facts of a character’s humor we’d like to implement in our essay’s (if ever). With his example on the salesman, I didn’t find humorous but I did think the feel sarcasm going on in Moore’s mind was humorous because sometimes I have those thoughts when I’m in an obvious situation stated by en employee or family member. I felt Marx’s essay had a lot of potential but all the details could get a reader lost. I did find some humor here and again, but then it was lost in all the rubble. Moore stated not to try to hard and to let the character unfold in it’s natural ways or humor and that humor takes a back seat since the story comes first. I guess the main story was important (thought I fell it way too much details) and some humor found its way around, but I also felt that she tried to implement the certain speech these mates had to add to her “humor” due to confusion from the speech of the crew. I could see she tried, but it felt neutral...like words you would expect from someone on s hip which I guess made it a bit natural.
ReplyDeleteLisa Marie Serna
I am not sure if Moore’s chapter and the essay were supposed to coincide but in my opinion I did not see any comparison. Moore goes on with his usual banter and didn’t really bring anything new or thought provoking, mainly because humor to me is not something I would necessarily write about. Yes, he brings up many obvious points that should be followed when going for this type of essay but in all honesty I didn’t care much for it. On the other end though this essay was just boring to me. For one I didn’t find any humor in it aside from a couple of jokes you know were placed to add a little of life to it, but nonetheless it was a drag to get through it. Compared to the last story we read, this one was a downgrade and although it was written well, at least for me it just didn’t grab my attention long enough to care. The aspect of it is interesting learning about life at sea but it sounded more like he wanted to educate us on what it was he did at some points. No offense to the author but this wasn’t too great of a read.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if Moore’s chapter and the essay were supposed to coincide but in my opinion I did not see any comparison. Moore goes on with his usual banter and didn’t really bring anything new or thought provoking, mainly because humor to me is not something I would necessarily write about. Yes, he brings up many obvious points that should be followed when going for this type of essay but in all honesty I didn’t care much for it. On the other end though this essay was just boring to me. For one I didn’t find any humor in it aside from a couple of jokes you know were placed to add a little of life to it, but nonetheless it was a drag to get through it. Compared to the last story we read, this one was a downgrade and although it was written well, at least for me it just didn’t grab my attention long enough to care. The aspect of it is interesting learning about life at sea but it sounded more like he wanted to educate us on what it was he did at some points. No offense to the author but this wasn’t too great of a read.
DeleteAmaury Cabrera
I think I read first page of "A Tale of a Tub" about three times before I decided to move along to the next page. I kept reading hoping the story would take a turn of events and catch my interest, but it didn't. I read it a second time in hopes of understanding it better, but that was a fail. All I was able to pick up on was that the author is on a ship and there are a lot of rules. Perhaps the story is so boring because the author had such a boring time on the ship. Once I started reading "Writing the Humorous Essay" I was hooked by the end of the first page. I found this chapter to be very helpful and full of great ideas. I tend to laugh at my own jokes a lot, so now I'll be extra careful to make sure I don't show that in my writing.
ReplyDeleteMayela Montenegro
Adding humor into an essay is a good way to relax the reader, as I felt it while reading both Dinty W. Moore and Marx’s A Tale of a Tub. I agree with Dinty W. Moore when he says the “story must always come first (Moore 162).” For his piece, although the humor through the use of the hyperbole seemed at time overused, they still pertain to the main conflict: Dinty W. Moore is not keen on buying any furniture while the salesman needs to sell some furniture. With Patricia Marx, the conflict, or rather say travel essay takes aboard a freighter. Here use of humor through sarcasm such as “feeling as neglected as a stowed anchor (McCarthy 155),” help apply a comical tone to what could have been a negative critique of her trip. Of most particular importance, I find Dinty W. Moore claim that it could be used to prevent been spiteful (Moore 162). I see myself using humor in my essay especially to provide a social critique.
ReplyDeleteAlejandro Sanchez
After I reading Moore's chapter on writing humorous essays, I was looking forward to reading A Tale of a Tub. I like funny things, I like to be entertained, and bonus points to things that make me laugh and learn at the same time. But Marx's essay is not funny. Sometimes I felt that maybe I might be able to laugh, but only if the joke had been told by someone else. I had a hard time warming up to the essay because, for me, Marx started off badly. She books passage on a freighter instead of a cruise ship and is, not only, disappointed with her experience, but she also mocks her surroundings and the people she meets. (Although, I will admit that being on a ship whose medical officer doesn't actually have credible medical training is cause for concern.) When she first meets members of the crew, she describes one as looking like a Teletubbie. I thought that was very mean. The man was friendly with her and even laughed with her, and she was thinking very rude things. She does this throughout the whole essay. By this I mean, she mocks the ship, the crew, and the journey. She presents the information as humorous, but it comes across as spoiled considering that she took a trip on a working vessel, not a cruise ship. She complains about the lack of wi-fi, the bumpy waves, and the meals. If you want go to sea for pleasure and expect top notch service, buy a cruise ticket.
ReplyDeleteDoris Tolar
I remember reading both A Tale of a Tub and Dinty Moore's chapter on Writing the Humorous Essay but I'm not sure why I didn't do the blog response. As I revisited Marx's A Tale of a Tub I was reminded of how dry the chapter was. Which really is not anything surprising since not a lot of books can really make me laugh. Although I'm sure someone somewhere thought the chapter was funny, I think I can speak for the entire class when I say that the style she used was inefficient and the details given did not really add to the story.
ReplyDeleteAs I scanned through Dinty Moore's chapter I was reminded of the points he made that could be used as great advice for Marx. The story comes first. Before trying to write "funny" details or dialogue the author must make sure the story line is solid. Also, you should respect your own sense of humor and not try to be anyone else's type of funny. Being yourself is always important. I feel that if Marx would have added a little of her own voice to the chapter it would have appealed to a lot more people.
M. Sarah Sanchez
I find it interesting to read these reviews; the very same journey was written up by another passenger, who sailed at the same time as the writer of 'A Tale of a Tub'. The style is quite different (Part 10, of 11): http://www.andrewneaum.com/articles/87-%20Down%20to%20the%20Sea%20in%20Ships%20to%20the%20Haven%20Where%20they%20Would%20be%2010.pdf
ReplyDelete