Laughter The Mysterious Stranger And Other Curious Tales

Laughter is powerful. In fact, it was Mark Twain who once said, â€Å"Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand† (Twain, â€Å"The Mysterious Stranger and Other Curious Tales†). Be it a frown, hesitation, or a person’s dignity, the human desire to be liked and express emotion in such a form permeates almost every aspect of our daily life. In literature specifically, laughter plays an essential role in expressing characters’ emotions, illuminating the tensions between characters, and even advancing the plot. Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment in particular poses an interesting challenge: examining the ways that various dimensions of laughter affect a scene as complex as Raskolnikov’s first encounter with Marmeladov. Through examining laughter†¦show more content†¦Heh, heh, heh† and laughs, both to alleviate his own internal tension, as well as express the ironic reversed nature of this exchange with his child, where he r equests money, instead of vice versa. By laughing, whether nervously for fear of judgement, out of self-pity, or even in recognizing the fragmented state of his family, the text suggests that Marmeladov releases some of this internal tension by laughing not once, but twice. This dimension of laughter is significant to the scene, as it gives insight to Marmeladov’s emotional state, which is essential for determining how the subsequent laughter from the outside community will affect him. As laughter begins to spread to others in the tavern, it spurs a greater reaction from Marmeladov. As the narrator notes in describing the exchanges, men like Marmeladov (alcoholics) â€Å"always seem eager to solicit justification for themselves, and even respect as well† (14). This further solidifies the idea that laughter, particularly in the form of attention from the community directed towards Marmeladov, acts as a mechanism by which to control Marmeladov himself. In this case, laughter initially leads Marmeladov to â€Å"wait sedately and this time with greater dignity for the renewed sniggering in the room to die down,† though as the laughing increases, he â€Å"†¦repeat[s] it withoutShow MoreRelatedwisdom,humor and faith19596 Words   |  79 Pages34 Copyright  © 2011 by Walter G. Moss WISDOM, HUMOR, AND FAITH: A HISTORICAL VIEW â€Å"And frame your mind to mirth and merriment, / Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.† Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Induction, Scene 2. â€Å"Laughter without a tinge of philosophy is but a sneeze of humor. Genuine humor is replete with wisdom.† Mark Twain, quoted in Opie Percival Read, Mark Twain and I (1940), 17. â€Å"Humor offers both a form of wisdom and a means of survival in a threateningRead MoreMario and the Magician18314 Words   |  74 Pagesfull-throated southern voice. Such was the scene that greeted our arrival in Torre: pleasant enough, but after all, we thought, we had come too soon. It was the middle of August, the Italian season was still at its height, scarcely the moment for strangers to learn to love the special charms of the place. What an afternoon crowd in the cafà ©s on the front! For instance, in the Esquisito, where we sometimes sat and were served by Mario, that very Mario of whom I shall have presently to tell. It isRead MoreThe Epithet in the Novel Jane Eyre18849 Words   |  76 Pagesform, without communication with others arts, without communication with the aesthetics. Style is substantial, and it gives to the facts semantic coloring. The reader whoÐ ¾ does not notice the style, difficultly perceives images and ideas, does not feel colours of a picture, does not see it completely and in effect does not understand. The word Style is derived from the Latin word stilus which meant a short stick sharp at one end and flat at the other used by the Romans for writing onRead MoreMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 Pagesprinting of this volume, have become obsolete and no longer correspond to the present state of my investigations.** Thus, in the case of partial changes in my orientation, or simply of new developments, or even when recent contributions to the field by other authors had to be accounted for, I have preferred toupdate merely by adding notes (rather long ones when necessary) instead of modifying the original texts. †  * Originally published in French under the title Essais sur la signification au cinema—TRANSLATORRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pageswas mistyped from the ms. the global conversion occasionally produced eccentric results. I have checked this as far as possible against the photocopy, but some inconsistencies between photocopy and electronic file may remain. I have also corrected other obvious errors, checked and updated scientific names and reformatted the headings. I have added additional etymologies where they were known to me and substituted updated scientific names. One orthographic change is the substitution of the more easily