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Jorge Nazario

Dr. McLaughlin

Multimedia Writing & Rhetoric

28 October, 2015

Sedaris’s Approach to Humor

In the light of the definitions we’ve been drawing from this semester, I consider that

Sedaris’ humor is not precisely “rhetorical”. It is rhetorical in the sense that it uses rhetorical

devices to create funny moments and that there is skill in the effective use of speech. And yes, it

is also rhetorical in the sense that it is planned, adapted to an audience, and in many cases

responsive to a situation. However, in the light of Herrick’s work and what we have discussed in

class, the most important aspect about a rhetorical discourse is to inspire, persuade, or influence

the audience in some way (Herrick 7). After watching the show, I cannot say that I have been

influenced in any way at all; rather I was merely entertained and incited to laugh.

Even though his main focus was not to influence or bring about change in the audience,

he did use satire at one or two moments rhetorically to critique society. In one of the shorter

stories, he satirizes how it was okay to have sex with animals before the government passed a

law that banned the practice. He asks in a very surprised and funny tone, “So it was okay to have

sex with animals before the law was passed?” and his mother replies, “Well, one would at least

be frowned upon for doing so.” It is funny and alerting at the same time because of the indecency

of the comment and the unexpected reply of his mother. Sedaris with this humor does critique

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the fact that sometimes we do wrong and bad things just because there isn’t a law that prohibits

us from doing them.

I have already admitted that there is some rhetoric to Sedaris’ humor. However, I would

have to say that more than ninety percent of the humor in the show was not rhetorical in the

sense we have learned in class. Because of this I stand by my statement that Sedaris’ humor is

rhetorical in the sense that it is devised effectively to make the audience laugh, but is not

precisely rhetorical compared to how we have learned it in class.

In the light of the sources we’ve read this term, Sedaris does not have only one approach

to humor. He incorporates various approaches in his stories and basically “attacks” humor from

different angles. From what we read in the Types of Humor from Monro, I saw that Sedaris’

humor incorporated acts of indecency, small misfortunes, veiled insults, events breached by the

usual order, situations that belonged to another, and events where people lacked knowledge and

skill. For example, there was one part at the relative beginning where he commented on how a

person had triangular pieces of plywood, and thought it to be a drawing of a snowman talking to

an owl. This event is funny by itself for the absurdity of the idea, but Sedaris takes advantage of

the technique by using that situation to incorporate it later on in another joke. About 15 minutes

go by without mentioning anything about the plywood, and then when his father gets back home

one day he asks why triangular pieces of plywood are hanging from the walls. Immediately

Sedaris replies that his sister had put them up because they were pieces of art, more specifically,

a raccoon looking at a mirror. The father, in disbelief and denial replies: “Like heeeell it is!” In

my opinion this was one of the funniest parts for me because when I realized he had used an old

joke of another situation to present this new joke I was impressed on how brilliant and absurd the

joke had been. Here Sedaris incorporated two or three of the types of humor Monro mentions.

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A particular moment of the show that seemed to garner a big reaction from the audience

was a joke integrated in the gay marriage themed story, one of the first stories Sedaris had

presented that night. The story was long and was filled with many jokes; he was joking about

how he was gay himself, and how he wanted to marry someone just to be a widower. In addition,

he remarks how at least gay marriages don’t make people sit through their weddings. That was

yet another funny moment that helped build up to the last and funniest joke. He remarks that

while he was reading the New Yorker one day, he read that gay marriages would now be legal in

the United States, and after he read this, he paused and said to all the haters that didn’t support

gay marriages, “Take that you assholes.” I noticed that many people laughed at this joke in

particular. In light of Monro’s Types of Humor I can identify that the joke was particularly funny

because it was not only a breach of the usual order of events, but it was a veiled insult and a

moment of indecency. Sedaris incorporated three different types of humor in one joke alone, and

in addition built up to it by presenting other jokes in the way and by pausing right before

transmitting the joke. This joke is described my Monro as a “mental rebellion” which “gives rein

to a side of our nature that normally feels repressed.” (Monro 41) The rhetorical situation was

another aspect of the joke that made it funny. When I look back at the joke I notice how he being

in a bench by a street, reading the newspaper by himself adds to the humor when he says to

himself “Take that you assholes.” Yet, one of the biggest factors that helps the remark be

humorous is the way he delivers the content: he pauses and changes his tone of voice to a very

acute tone.

In general, I have to say that I liked the show a lot. It was my first time in a comedy

show, so not only was the show a new life experience, but I had a great time laughing at some of

his weird and unexpected jokes. Sedaris employs the art of rhetoric, to skillfully and effectively

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communicate jokes, but not to influence the audience with the exception of one or two times. He

has been doing humorous stories for years; he has gotten to a point he dominates the types of

humor and knows how to make the audience laugh as much as possible. I only hope that in the

future I can have the opportunity to see another of his shows, maybe in a more populated city, to

get to see his good, polished jokes.

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References:

Monro, D. H. "Types of Humour." Argument of Laughter. 1st ed. U of Notre Dame, 1963. 40-52. Print.

Herrick, James A. "An Overview of Rhetoric." The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Beacon, 2005. 1-25. Print.