"Dead Man Laughing" by Zadie Smith is about comedy, mainly comedy that focuses on things that people normally don't find funny.
The author jokes about her father's death a lot, which, I think, shows that is how she deals with tough situations. To me, this seemed kind of odd. If I put my father's ashes in a tupperware container, I would not be laughing about it. Especially if I ate my own father's ashes-- I thought that was pretty strange. I don't really understand the humor the author seems to appreciate,which is probably why I didn't really find this essay that funny or interesting.
Throughout the essay, the author made many references to different comedic acts, but since I know nothing about comedy, I had no idea what she was referring to. Because of this, it made the essay a hard read for me.
I thought the author's take on death was interesting. That death is just a place maker, a symbol. In death, one person goes into a room, and none come out. She gives humor to death, which then gives death very little meaning. Her humor of her father's death seems to be a way to escape the pain. Because I know she cares, I know she's not really laughing at her dad in a tupperware container, but at the absurdity of it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yeah. I feel the same way about mixing ashes with tupperware. I also feel the same way about the ashes. I would not be laughing either. I wouldn't laugh if I ingested any form of ash, let alone the cremated ash of a human being. I also agree that you know nothing about comedy.
ReplyDeleteUm yea...the whole "eating the ashes" thing was definitely strange. But there definitely is a sort of examination into serious life issues through humor, and what I also found it interesting that the essay, itself, was pretty much humorless; perhaps the way they would actually look in reality, but would take a certain perspective to discover the humor within them (which I failed to find..)
ReplyDeleteAnd additionally...I agree wholeheartedly with everything Keith said, haha
hahahaha. i agree the humor is hard to see.
ReplyDeleteThe "eating the ashes" thing was strange? I thought it was CREEPY. Although I do agree that if you hadn't seen/heard of any of the acts she was talking about in the essay, it would be really difficult to read.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really think this essay was all that funny either. Just because someone appreciates comedy doesn't mean they are funny. Eating your father, in some countries, warrants psychiatric evaluation.
ReplyDeleteHumor is something you can't understand. If something doesn't make you laugh it's not in your right genre. See i however, found the tupperware container HILARIOUS!!! Sometimes, especially when dealing with death, humans do the strangest things to honor a memory. Why do we bury our dogs, our gold fish? I mean cmon' burying a gold fish when you think about it is really fairly ridiculous. Wouldn't a gold fish want to be in the water? You are right it's all about the absurdity that makes us laugh. Grief is so much easier understand when it's spun in a funny fashion. I don't think you didn't get the essay. I just think you can't relate which is perfectly understandable.
ReplyDelete