Erin Levin
ENGL 112B
Unit of Study
December 2, 2009
Humor
and Imagination: A Unit of Study
Humor and imagination are two vital components in a child's development. Children today experience much more guided and structured play than ever before, with the ubiquity of sports leagues, computer games, television, and video games. Even the concept of using toys to play is relatively recent, as Alix Spiegel writes in his review of Howard Chudacoff's book titled Children at Play: An American History. Spiegel explains that beginning in the 1950s, �instead of spending their time in autonomous shifting make-believe, children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts� (Spiegel). The results of this shift from fantasy play to more structured environments have been to diminish children's opportunity to learn important skills. �Essentially� writes Spiegel, �because children's play is so focused on lessons and leagues, and because kids' toys increasingly inhibit imaginative play, kids aren't getting a chance to practice policing themselves.� Engaging in fantasy play enables children to empathize with others, develop their intellect, and build self-discipline.
Humor plays an important role in the emotional and social development of children in much the same way that imagination does. In his article �How Humor Faciliates Children's Intellectual, Social and Emotional Development,� Dr. Paul McGhee describes the role of humor in three critical aspects of children's development. He describes children's natural inclination to play with words and ideas in a humorous way, and explains that, �Children who spend more time finding new and incongruous ways of making sense out of words develop a generalized skill of thinking in innovative ways in connection with other questions or problems� (McGhee). Not only are their intellects sharpened, but children also experience social and emotional benefits from using and enjoying humor, including improved communication skills, increased self-esteem, stronger anger management skills, and lower stress later in life. Dr. McGhee writes that, �There is a large body of research documenting humor�s power in helping adults and adolescents cope with life stress� (McGhee).
Because children spend so much of their time in the classroom, it is vital for their growth and development to be encouraged to use humor and imagination at school. Therefore, I suggest a curriculum that focuses on humorous stories with heavily imaginative aspects. Materials and activities in the unit are geared toward helping students understand and appreciate both classic and contemporary humor literature, as well as to encourage them to use their own wit and creativity to create original work.
The centerpiece work on the unit is James Thurber's short story, �The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.� Thurber narrates a humorous piece about the absent-minded Walter Mitty, who escapes from his dreary life into an imaginative world in which he is a heroic doctor, brash firearms expert, valiant fighter pilot, or proud and stoic martyr. The comparison of Mitty's real life with his imagined one provides much entertainment, as do the far-flung and invented details of Mitty's alternate personas. In one vignette, Mitty is a world-renowned doctor who comes to save the day in the operation that has gone awry on a millionair banker (and �close personal friend of Roosevelt�) (Thurber). The invented words of Mitty's daring and dramatic rescue are sure to entertain:
'We're
having the devil's own time with McMillan, the millionaire banker and close
personal friend of
Roosevelt. Obstreosis of the ductal tract. Tertiary. Wish you'd have a look at
him.'
'Glad
to,' said Mitty.
In
the operating room there were whispered introductions. 'Dr. Remington, Dr.
Mitty. Dr. Pritchard-Mitford,
Dr. Mitty.' 'I've read your book on streptothricosis,' said Pritchard-Mitford,
shaking
hands. 'A brilliant performance, sir.'
Mitty engages in many more of these exaggerated and incredulous stories, but throughout the story it is apparent that he is emboldened by his daydreams, and is able to both entertain himself and buoy his self-confidence by imagining these scenarios. Students reading the story and engaging in the activities and extensions of this unit will likewise understand the importance of humor and imagination in their own lives.
LAUNCHING THE UNIT
To introduce students to this curriculum, one or more of the following activities may be beneficial:
a. Gus: The Theatre Cat
T.S. Eliot
Gus is the Cat at the Theatre Door.
His name, as I ought to have told you before,
Is really Asparagus. That's such a fuss
To pronounce, that we usually call him just Gus.
His coat's very shabby, he's thin as a rake,
And he suffers from palsy that makes his paw shake.
Yet he was, in his youth, quite the smartest of Cats--
But no longer a terror to mice and to rats.
For he isn't the Cat that he was in his prime;
Though his name was quite famous, he says, in its time.
And whenever he joins his friends at their club
(Which takes place at the back of the neighbouring pub)
He loves to regale them, if someone else pays,
With anecdotes drawn from his palmiest days.
For he once was a Star of the highest degree--
He has acted with Irving, he's acted with Tree.
And he likes to relate his success on the Halls,
Where the Gallery once gave him seven cat-calls.
But his grandest creation, as he loves to tell,
Was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell.
"I have played," so he says, "every possible part,
And I used to know seventy speeches by heart.
I'd extemporize back-chat, I knew how to gag,
And I knew how to let the cat out of the bag.
I knew how to act with my back and my tail;
With an hour of rehearsal, I never could fail.
I'd a voice that would soften the hardest of hearts,
Whether I took the lead, or in character parts.
I have sat by the bedside of poor Little Nell;
When the Curfew was rung, then I swung on the bell.
In the Pantomime season I never fell flat,
And I once understudied Dick Whittington's Cat.
But my grandest creation, as history will tell,
Was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell."
Then, if someone will give him a toothful of gin,
He will tell how he once played a part in East Lynne.
At a Shakespeare performance he once walked on pat,
When some actor suggested the need for a cat.
He once played a Tiger--could do it again--
Which an Indian Colonel purused down a drain.
And he thinks that he still can, much better than most,
Produce blood-curdling noises to bring on the Ghost.
And he once crossed the stage on a telegraph wire,
To rescue a child when a house was on fire.
And he says: "Now then kittens, they do not get trained
As we did in the days when Victoria reigned.
They never get drilled in a regular troupe,
And they think they are smart, just to jump through a hoop."
And he'll say, as he scratches himself with his claws,
"Well, the Theatre's certainly not what it was.
These modern productions are all very well,
But there's nothing to equal, from what I hear tell,
That moment of mystery
When I made history
As Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell.
b. Stella's Birthday March 13,
1719
Jonathan
Swift
Stella this day is thirty-four,
(We shan't dispute a year or more:)
However, Stella, be not troubled,
Although thy size and years are doubled,
Since first I saw thee at sixteen,
The brightest virgin on the green;
So little is thy form declin'd;
Made up so largely in thy mind.
Oh, would it please the gods to split
Thy beauty, size, and years, and wit;
No age could furnish out a pair
Of nymphs so graceful, wise, and fair;
With half the lustre of your eyes,
With half your wit, your years, and size.
And then, before it grew too late,
How should I beg of gentle Fate,
(That either nymph might have her swain,)
To split my worship too in twain
c. Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer
Unknown
Eye
halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plain lee marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye
strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As
soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.
A
chequer is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme
It helps me right awl stiles two reed
And aides me when aye rime.
Each
frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule
The checker pours o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
Eye
have run this poem threw it
I am shore your please two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
d. The English Lesson
Unknown
We'll
begin with a box and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
The
one fowl is a goose but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You
may find a lone mouse or a whole set of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses not hice.
If
the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If
I speak of a foot and you show me your feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If
I speak of a foot and you show me your feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If
one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why should not the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then
one may be that and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural wouldn't be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats and not cose.
We
speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then
the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis and shim.
So
English, I fancy you will all agree,
Is the funniest language you ever did see.
CENTERPIECE WORK
Students should read �The Secret Life of Walter Mitty� first as homework, and come prepared to class to read it in a readers' theatre presentation. Options for this reading include splitting into groups to act out or read (with animated voices!) the various scenes, or simply calling on volunteers to read through the story out loud. After reading the story in class, students should answer the following questions in their journals:
1. What is Walter Mitty like? Why does he imagine so many scenarios?
2. How would you characterize the types of things he imagines? Is Mitty an expert in the topics he covers in his daydreams? Identify the clues in the story that show he is not.
3. What kinds of scenarios have you imagined yourself in? If you haven't done much of this type of daydreaming, what kinds of things would you like to imagine yourself doing?
EXTENDING THE UNIT
In addition to the centerpiece story, students should choose at least one other novel to read on their own. Activities to include with these novels might include book reports, dramatic presentations, or artistic interpretations. Following are a few suggestions, although students may get permission to choose a title not on the list.
The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian features
Junior (Arnold Spirit Jr., actually), born on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Junior was born with numerous medical problems, and relies on his best friend
Rowdy to keep him from being picked on and beat up (at least Rowdy helps keep
it to a minimum). In an effort to find hope and a better education, Junior
makes the difficult choice to transfer from the reservation school to a nearby
all-white school. He navigates the murky waters of being the only poor Indian
kid, trying to get a date to the dance, being on the basketball team, being branded
a traitor to the reservation, and tragic family loss. It's a rough road for
Junior, but from these trials and changes he finds strength, talent, and
friendships he never expected.
Holes
Louis Sachar
If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in
the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning
philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no
lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the
largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked
with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley
Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green
Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction
was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed
to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their
"no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite
his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine:
rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter;
learning how to get along with the Lord of the
Flies-styled pack of boys
in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake
venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build
character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets
as thick as the irony.
Good Omens (students may wish to select one of Pratchett's many novels; this title is suggested for its more adult content, as Pratchett's works vary in age range.)
Terry Pratchett
Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid
humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and
again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in
part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter
downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a
part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents
everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they
represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who
knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come
true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the
way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia
epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of
those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second
time, and the third time..
Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris
Sedaris's caustic gift has not deserted him in his fourth
book, which mines poignant comedy from his peculiar childhood in North
Carolina, his bizarre career path, and his move with his lover to France.
Though his anarchic inclination to digress is his glory, Sedaris does have a
theme in these reminiscences: the inability of humans to communicate. The title
is his rendition in transliterated English of how he and his fellow students of
French in Paris mangle the Gallic language. In the essay "Jesus
Shaves," he and his classmates from many nations try to convey the concept
of Easter to a Moroccan Muslim. "It is a party for the little boy of
God," says one. "Then he be die one day on two... morsels of...
lumber," says another. Sedaris muses on the disputes between his
Protestant mother and his father, a Greek Orthodox guy whose Easter fell on a
different day. Other essays explicate his deep kinship with his eccentric mom
and absurd alienation from his IBM-exec dad: "To me, the greatest mystery
of science continues to be that a man could father six children who shared
absolutely none of his interests."
All summaries are taken from the Amazon.com review pages for
the books.
CONCLUDING THE UNIT
After students have spent time working with contemporary young adult literature, the curriculum should conclude with activities that pull together classic and modern humor literature, as well as students' own creative work. As in-class activities, students should read Mark Twain's satirical piece, �At a Fire: From An Unifinished Burlesque on Books of Etiquette� and F. Scott Fitzgerald's tongue-in-cheek recipes from The Crack-Up.
Activities to include with the reading of these short pieces and the centerpiece work can include the following:
1. Write a creative story in the vein of �The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.� Students should create three to four imaginative scenarios within a unifying narrative.
2. Locate one or more aspects of our culture/society and create a satire similar to �At a Fire.� This can be a step-by-step guide, a description of proper etiquette, or some other format within which students may explore their imagination and wit to reflect on their world.
3. Students may create their own humorous recipes in the style of Fitzgerald. This activity would be great for use during holidays such as Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas, or they may simply relate to everyday cooking and eating.
4. Students may create an anthology of humorous stories from their own or their family's lives, similar to Me Talk Pretty One Day. This activity should involve in-class presentations so that students can realize the benefits of sharing their humor and imaginations.
Before ending the unit, students should return to their journals and choose a favorite activity to describe, and explain why they enjoyed it. Students should return to their initial journal entries and reflect on any changes or new understandings of humor and imagination. They may discuss the role of humor and imagination in their lives, or the importance of them for life in general, or different types of humor they can identify from the unit (satire, wit, the distinction Twain makes between �funny� and �humorous� writing, etc).
Works Cited