Discussion 2 – Comedy

 

For comedy, you will read Sharon E. Cooper’s Mistaken Identity: A Ten Minute Play. Just as tragedy has conflict in it, so does comedy. In fact, comedies can get very funny with lots of mistaken identities and missed rendezvous and chases and falling down and the like. If you are familiar with romantic comedies at the movies, comedies writtenas plays were in existence long before films and formed the basis for our modern film comedies today.  

 

Just as with the Discussion on tragedy, you will choose one question and will need to “provide specific textual references to illustrate your ideas.”  

 

	Prepare: In order to complete this discussion, you will need to read Sharon E. Cooper’s Mistaken Identity: A Ten Minute Playfrom Chapter 14 of Journey into Literature.
	Reflect: In the “Tragedy” discussion this week, you explored the function of conflict in a tragedy and how the conflict is enhanced by certain literary elements and techniques. In this discussion activity, you will focus on comedy. Reflect onMistaken Identity: A Ten Minute Play. This is a modern comedy that centers on the quest for love and understanding. Consider whether/how the function of the conflict in this play and the way the literary elements and techniques enhance the conflict is different from what we studied in Macbeth.
	Write: The initial post must be 200 to 300 words in length and posted by Day 3. In your initial post: Identify a conflict that you see present in Mistaken Identity: A Ten Minute Play (please refer to the list of conflicts) Respond to one of the following, providing examples or quotations from the play to illustrate your ideas: Describe a key conflict in the play and how it corresponds to a character’s development. Describe two key literary techniques and elements and techniques of drama that aid in developing the conflict. Explain how and why the conflict in this comedy is different from and/or similar to the conflict explored in tragedy.

 

 

 

 Types of Conflicts Found in Literature

 

Below is a list of possible conflicts found in literature. Select each conflict to learn more. To help you better understand each conflict and how it might be apparent, examples from popular culture have been provided. Please also note that it is possible for a text to have more than one conflict at work. The repeated references to conflicts in The Simpsons provide further context on how multiple conflicts might be present in a single work. Other examples of conflict are also provided.

 

Click on each type of conflict to learn more.

 

Individual versus Individual

 

Individual versus Nature

 

Individual versus Society

 

Individual versus Technology

 

Individual versus Self

 

Individual versus Individual (Kahn vs. Captain Kirk, Tom vs. Jerry) Return

 

 Example: Homer Simpson’s profound dislike of Ned Flanders in The Simpsons is unavoidably obvious. The two men are as different as night and day. Though Ned Flanders seems unaware that he is Homer Simpson’s antagonist, to everyone who watches, it is obvious that Ned plays this role.

 

 Example: One of the funniest movies about individuals opposing each other is called The Ref, where a cat burglar gets caught in a house with a warring husband and wife. Other members of this dysfunctional family also add to the conflict. View The Ref (1994) fan trailer or explore the film on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

 

ENG125: Introduction to Literature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Individual versus Nature Return

 

 Example: One of the first episodes of The Simpsons features a hilarious scenario in which Homer takes the family camping in the woods. Things end disastrously for Homer and Bart, while Marge, Lisa, and Maggie successfully brave the wild. This episode has an interesting underlying argument at work about the relationship between humans today and nature.

 

 

 

 Example: Several books and movies show mountain climbers daring to scale the most formidable and highest mountains on earth where they face extremely difficult climates and terrain. These accounts are usually full of adventure, action, and hardship. Here is an example of human versus mountain in the video Touching the Void Atheism. You may also explore the article “Mt. Everest: Why do people keep climbing it?”

 

 

 

 Example: Many horror films feature scary and dangerous animals. One of the most popular movies of all time is Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Watch Crows Attack the Students - The Birds (6/11) Movie CLIP (1963) HD.

 

 

 

 Example: One of the most famous American novels, Moby Dick, features Captain Ahab determined to kill the large white whale that took his leg.

 

 

 

Individual versus Society (V for Vendetta, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1984) Return

 

 Example: In The Simpsons, Homer has had infamously hilarious interactions with politicians. Mayor Quimby comes across as less than effective in his work. As a figure who represents the political system in The Simpsons universe, Quimby’s portrayal makes an argument about the conflict between the individual and society. Additionally, the economics of the working-class Simpson family is often framed against the wealth of Mr. Burns, McBain, and other affluent figures.

 

 

 

 Example: A recent movie, Belle, is about a black woman brought up free in an aristocratic home during the years of slavery in England. The story features Belle, the protagonist, and a young lawyer engaged in challenging and ending the slave trade. Belle’s struggle also involves challenging social conceptions of race. Watch the Belle Trailer to explore further.

 

ENG125: Introduction to Literature

 

 

 

Individual versus Technology (2001: A Space Odyssey, Modern Times, The Fly) Return

 

 Example: In The Simpsons, Homer is the safety technician at a nuclear power plant, but he is perpetually doing extremely dangerous things. The technology itself is portrayed as immensely complicated. Even in an animated sitcom like The Simpsons, the message about technology and the human being in our current era is multi-layered and complicated.

 

 Example: The best man versus technology movie ever (according to many) is The Terminator, which tells the story of a lethal robot sent back in time to murder the mother of the human army’s leader. View the trailer Terminator 1 Trailer 1984 or explore the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

 

 Example: The novel Frankenstein can fit in this category since the monster is man-made and seeks to destroy its creator.

 

 

 

Individual versus Self (John Nash in A Beautiful Mind, Gregory House in House, Homer Simpson inThe Simpsons, Hamlet in Hamlet) Return

 

 Example: In The Simpsons, Homer Simpson is perpetually at battle with himself—his eating habits, his drinking habits, his tendency toward laziness—you name it. He always acts against his own best interests.

 

 Example: In the movie American History X, Edward Norton plays a man who must confront his prejudices, which he does when he is sent to prison for murdering another man. The trailer, American History X - Trailer - (1998) - HQ, shows the character’s personal transformation. You may also explore this further on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB

 

 

 

 

 

List of Literary TechniquesTechnique	Description
Allusion	A reference to a recognized literary work, person, historic event, artistic achievement, etc. that enhances the meaning of a detail in a literary work.
Climax	The crisis or high point of tension that becomes the story’s turning point—the point at which the outcome of the conflict is determined.
Conflict	The struggle that shapes the plot in a story.
Dramatic irony	When the reader or audience knows more about the action than the character involved.
Epiphany	A profound and sudden personal discovery.
Exposition	Setting and essential background information presented at the beginning of a story or play.
Falling action	A reduction in intensity following the climaxin a story or play, allowing the various complications to be worked out.
Fate	An outside source that determines human events.
Figurative language	Language used in a non-literal way to convey images and ideas.
Figures of speech	The main tools of figurative language; include similes and metaphors..
First-person point of view	Occurs when the narrator is a character in the story and tells the story from his or her perspective.
Flashback	The description of an event that occurred prior to the action in the story.
Foreshadowing	A technique a writer uses to hint or suggest what the outcome of an important conflict or situation in a narrative will be.
will be.
Imagery		A distinct representation of something that can be experienced and understood through the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste), or the representation of an idea.
Irony		A contradiction in words or actions. There are three types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic.
Limited omniscient point of view		Occurs when a narrator has access to the thoughts and feelings of only one character in a story.
Metaphor		A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between one object and another that is different from it.
Objective point of view		A detached point of view, evident when an external narrator does not enter into the mind of any character in a story but takes an objective stance, often to create a dramatic effect.
Omniscient point of view		An all-knowing point of view, evident when an external narrator has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in a story.
Persona		Literally, in Latin, “a mask.”
Plot		A connecting element in fiction; a sequence of interrelated, conflicting actions and events that typically build to a climax and bring about a resolution
Point of view		The perspective of the narrator who will present the action to the reader.
Resolution		The outcome of the action in a story or play.
Rising action		Conflicts and circumstances that build to a high point of tension in a story or play.

 

 

 

Situational irony	When the outcome in a situation is the opposite of what is expected.
Simile	A figure of speech that compares two objects or ideas that are not ordinarily considered to be similar, linked by using like or as.
Song	A lyrical musical expression, a source of emotional outlet common in ancient communities and still influential in contemporary culture.
Symbol	An object, person, or action that conveys two meanings: its literal meaning and something it stands for.
Third-person point of view	Occurs when the narrator tells the story using third-person pronouns (he, she, they) to refer to the characters.
Tone	In a literary work, the speaker’s attitude toward the reader or the subject.
Verbal irony	When words are used to convey a meaning that is opposite of their literal meaning.