Humors Role

Angela’s Ashes is a novel filled with sad events, yet the author’s style always adds a touch of humor. In the scene we read, the nurse from Kerry asks, “What is there to laugh about?” What is there to laugh about in this story? What role can humor play in a sad story? Look up the word “catharsis” and see if you can use it in your explanation.

The Lord created us with a wide array of emotions. Fear, unhappiness, and humor are just three of the many emotions we are designed to feel and carry during the correct circumstances. It seems pretty incongruous to place tragedy and humor together on the same page, and it is pretty obvious as to why this is. Humor is, however, used to express a number of tragic events both fiction and nonfiction. Shakespeare incorporated humorous characters in his tragedies, such as the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet and the "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern incident" in Hamlet (it's pretty dark humor, but humor nonetheless), and in Frank McCourt's memoir Angela's Ashes, subtle humor is also utilized.

A person may look back at a past hardship and tragedy with feelings of sorrow and depression, but may be able to notice some ironic or subtle humor that occurred during these events. In any
tragedy, whether it’s a national crisis or a broken heart, humor plays a vital
role in helping us keep our sanity and regain our perspective. Humor helps us
process painful events. It is important for us to process emotions of sadness and depression, and we need to psychologically resolve the tragedy and move beyond it. Humor allows us to overcome the stress that is associated with the event.

Catharsis is the purging of emotions. The act is a way of experiencing a strong emotion, then renewing the mind of the individual. The action of indulging in negative emotions can be a form of this, and humor (it could even be morbid humor) finishes off this process as the individual learns acceptance and is able to renew his or her mind.

The story contains some humor in juxtaposition with the tragedy that would have served as a form of escape or relief for Frank. The subtle remarks about the nuns, the characters' style of speech and the small humorous remarks the characters make all contribute to this. Examples include the imitation of the nuns' conservative habits and the mini-argument over poetry styles. As Mark Twain (I think it was Mark Twain) once said, "Humor is tragedy plus time." It helps us pass time, it helps us think past our states of misery, and it helps us anticipate a future with hope.