As
I began the second day of reading from Tales of Juha, I was surprised by how
different the jokes were from the ones we read for Monday. The first section is
still probably my favorite because I enjoy wit, but these stories and jokes
were also humorous. Today, we had to read sections devoted to social satire,
cunning and resourcefulness, and naïveté and stupidity.
On
Monday, Dr. Williams asked us if any of the jokes were particularly based on
Arab culture, and while there were a few things that referenced Arab culture,
most of the humor was fully universal. The readings for today, however,
especially the social satire section, seemed supremely situated for study of
some society’s social standards. One of my favorites from this section was the
one about Juha and his son walking on the road with the donkey, and each time
someone passes, they make a comment about how strange it is that they don’t
ride the donkey, or that they do ride the donkey, or that one rides the donkey
while the other doesn’t (48-49). It all ends with Juha saying, “Let me tell you
something, son. You can never please everyone.” This short story made me think
of how peer pressure causes people to do things differently than they would in
the absence of that pressure. In this way, I could really relate to how Arabs
are sensitive to fit to social norms, even if they might do something different
when given the freedom.
I
really enjoyed the cunning and resourcefulness section, probably because it is
basically wit played out in real terms. I loved the story on page 67-68 about
the pots. When Juha returns an extra pot to the neighbor who loaned him the pot
in the first place, the neighbor doesn’t mind, and accepts it without
complaint. When Juha switches the tables so that his neighbor has no pot, the
neighbor suddenly is annoyed. Juha answers him by saying, “The one who reaps
the profit has to bear the loss too!” I really enjoyed this one because it has
a practical message about investment, but is also humorous because of Juha’s
ingenuity.
Finally,
the section of naivete and stupidity was unique because Juha finally is the
fool of the joke relatively consistently. In almost every story before this, he
has been the one who came out on top in every situation, but this section
showed that Juha is not impermeable to being a fool. My favorite of this
section was on pages 74-75. We’ve already read several jokes about women giving
birth after being married for only three months, but in this one, his wife
explains away the birth after 3 months by adding the number of months she had
been pregnant, the number of months her husband had been with her during that
time, and the number of months the baby has been developing, which adds up to
nine! Juha confesses to not counting straight, which I thought was funny. His
confession to being wrong puts a whole new light on Juha. He is clever
sometimes but dumb at others.
These
stories and jokes were great! Next up, we have jokes where Juha is the butt of
the joke. I wonder how this will differ from the stupidity section.
I completely agree that the story about riding the donkey was probably one of the most pertinent and relatable stories that we have read about Juha so far. It is a perfect commentary on society. No matter what you do, somebody is always going to criticize you or think you’re doing it the wrong way. You’re never going to please everyone so why bother. However, this is much easier said than done. It’s really interesting to me that universally this philosophy is accepted but that it continues to be human nature to care about what others think and to have a desire to please others. It makes me wonder if these are characteristics that have slowly been developed over the years or if humans have always cared so much about what others think.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Juha tale in the book is the one you mentioned from the social satire section, where Juha and his son are unable to please everyone. I agree that is one of the most relatable, which is a reason why I like it so much. It was able to take a prominent issue in society (fitting-in and pleasing people) and make it humorous to where it is an enjoyable tale, but also where the lesson is evident and causes you to ponder this idea.
ReplyDeleteAnd Nick, I like your thought and am curious too about
the idea of caring about what others and whether it is human nature or nurture. Regardless, I think now that this concept is prevalent worldwide and such a prominent concern, that it will always be a concern and something that cannot be changed. Even if we don’t necessarily care if we please people or live up to their standards, it is something that will still be in the back of our minds, because as humans, we are known to judge and cannot necessarily help that.