UPDATE: THE ONION

UPDATE: The Onion Names Kim Jong Un the “Sexiest Man Alive 2012”

And guess what? The satire didn’t translate well, and now many Korean and Chinese newspapers are really excited about it!

 

 

Women of the Juha Stories

There is one overall theme I repeatedly noticed while reading the many sections of Tales of Juha. There is a very negative view of women in general. Now, many of these stories I see as very gentle “poking fun” at women, such as jokes about women drivers are used here in the United States. However, even though I know that there are very different gender roles here than in Arabic countries, it was something different to experience it in Tales of Juha.

One of the first stories that presented a negative view of women was the story about the necklace. A man buys each of his wives a necklace, and gives them to each woman in secret. One day, when the women are fighting over whom he loves more, he replies, “The one I gave the necklace to,” and each woman is satisfied, thinking he loves her more than the other.

This story seems to imply that women are not only fickle and easily swayed, but are childish and petty. These are not endearing qualities a woman would want her husband to think of her, and because it is presented in this book, it can be guessed that this is a common theme throughout Arab culture.

Then we reach the fact that this man has two wives in the first place, which is also a reoccurring theme throughout Tales of Juha. This is a definitely one of the topics in the collection of stories that is harder to understand, mostly because we are unable to really experience this situation in the U.S., and we are never really exposed to polygamy, unless, of course, one is a fan of the television series Sister Wives. It is a topic that is Americans really lack understanding about, and I feel like many of the stories in this book that would be hilarious to a Middle Easterner are not as funny to us as a result.

Another example of the stories’ view on women is the story where a widowing man’s donkey dies. His friends are shocked, because when the man’s wife died, he was not sad at all, but when his donkey died, he wept. He claims that people paid him attention and offered their sisters or daughters for marriage when his wife died, but when his donkey died he got no consolation.

This actually tells us a few things about their viewpoint on women. Firstly, the man does not cry when his wife dies, but weeps when his donkey passes. This shows us, perhaps exaggeratedly, perhaps not, that the donkey was more important to him. This can be taken to show that women in this society are thought of as less than animals, although that is probably generalizing too much. This still shows us though, that it would not be ridiculous for someone to say such a statement. Secondly, his friends off him women, as if they may be traded. This is kind of insulting on two levels, because women can be given freely and that women are replaceable. Women are shown to be more as objects than people, and so the connection that they may be replaced by “someone’s sister” is not too hard to believe given that thought.

There is also a story in which Juha is asked if a man over a hundred years old who marries a young girl can father a child. Juha’s response is, “Yes, if he has a neighbor who is twenty or thirty.”

This one is a little more humorous than the last, but it also builds upon the stereotype that women are promiscuous and unfaithful. This is hardly a fair stereotype, (especially considering men are allowed multiple wives), and is very one-sided. It is also comparable to jokes about young “gold-diggers” who marry rich older guys in the United States. This is a stereotype that exists in many cultures, but once again, we’re faced with the knowledge that not all stereotypes are really true, and that it may even be a little offensive.

The last story that stood out with its gender differences was one where a man came to Juha for advice about his headstrong daughter. Juha replies that he should look for a man for her husband and wise man, and that “once she has children, she’ll be wise and obedient.”

This might be funnier to a man, but in particular, I did not like that it implied that a woman must be taught by a man, or that her rightful place is to be obedient. I do live in a country where gender differences are less clear now, (although, as a future STEM woman, I am aware I will make 20-30% less than any man with the same qualifications), and so this difference in gender roles is the opposite of the spectrum of what I’m used to. I understand the believe that a woman’s primary purpose is to raise children, (I mean, evolutionally, there’s no denying it), but in this modern world it’s hard to acknowledge the fact that, in other parts of the world, that’s the only role a women is allowed to play.

These stories did not seem as funny to me, but perhaps that is because I am a woman. Perhaps, also, it is because of the stereotype that Americans think of when they think of treatment of women. I for one, have not experience what the gender differences really are, only what the media portrays. Because of this, perhaps I have a negative perception of what treatment of women is like, and so am a bit more touchy than, say, a Middle Eastern woman might be. Perhaps this is more exaggerated than it seems, and that these gender differences are not as harsh in real life.

JuHa Ha

For the most part, for this section, I am going to focus on the Social Satire section of Tales of Juha, because I came upon many interesting finds while reading.

One passage that stood out to me:

“How long,” Someone asked him, “will people go on being born and dying?”

“Until Hell is full,” Juha replied.

This was relatable and humorous, but I felt like this demonstrated a very negative view on the nature of humanity. This was perhaps more dark than I had e

JuHaHa

For the most part, for this section, I am going to focus on the Social Satire section of Tales of Juha, because I came upon many interesting finds while reading.

One passage that stood out to me:

“How long,” Someone asked him, “will people go on being born and dying?”

“Until Hell is full,” Juha replied.

This was relatable and humorous, but I felt like this demonstrated a very negative view on the nature of humanity. This was perhaps more dark than I had expected, as it implies that people are inherently bad. While this is a typical Christian viewpoint as well, I thought that just the bluntness of this statement was what perhaps made it the most ironic. I felt that this type of joke in the United States might not be received well, because here it seems that although there is a belief in the negative nature of man, there is also a large hope for him as well. Perhaps it is the influence of the American Dream, following into our beliefs about afterlife and mankind’s potential, but it was something that sort of struck a nerve for me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been feeling more philosophical lately, but it made me think about how we view man in general, and how that could be different from the Arab viewpoint. This isn’t something I am very familiar with, but it was interesting none the less.

Perhaps my favorite story in Tales of Juha so far a social satire about people’s judgement and treatment of others based on their looks. Juha goes to a banquet dressed in poor commoner garb, and is ignored. He goes home to change into fine clothes, and when he returns he is received well and people give him plenty of respect and attention. When the food is served to him, he hold out his arm over the disk and exclaims, “Eat, oh Sleeve!” and when people look upon him confused, he replies, “All the consideration you paid me was for my sleeve, not for me as a person. So, the sleeve has a better right to the food than I do.”

This story was particularly humorous to me, because of its blatant sincerity and wit. After thinking more in depth from a literary perspective, I can think of a few reasons why this is so intriguing. For one, Juha shocks those around him by doing something outrageous, that turns out to be a very reasonable action with his explanation. This serves as a kind of paradox. Another part that makes this particularly amusing is that Juha chooses the word “sleeve” instead of “shirt” or “clothing”, which seems to understate what actually got him the attention. His use of “sleeve” makes it seem even more ridiculous, because how insignificant is a sleeve to a piece of clothing, let alone a sleeve to a person? Using just this part of his clothing to represent his appearance to them serves as a synechdoche, and this device allows him to even further juxtapose his treatment by showing that a small change on his part created a huge change on their opinion of him as a person.

This is a classic tale of “don’t judge a book by its cover” or don’t judge people before you get to know them. It is a classic tale about stereotypes, and it is presented in a very effective manner so as to make as strong of a statement as possible. I enjoyed this story, with its simple, yet very clever approach to a particularly common situation.

The last favorite of mine for this section was the story where the man and his wife are sitting down to dinner, and he claims the meal would be much tastier “without the crowd.” His wife is startled because they are the only ones around. The husband responds, “It used to be just me and the pot.”

I thought this was a very direct, funny story that could be compared to a simple “punchline” joke one might use here in the United States. This is perhaps the reason it is so effective, because it is presented in a format many people here would be able to understand. I believe this type of humor would go over very easily with other Americans. This theme of a husband being annoyed by his wife’s presence is something that is repeatedly used on sitcoms throughout the U.S., and I wouldn’t doubt it if there were many English versions of this joke already in existence.

Overall, the social satire was a very enjoyable section of this book, and it was very relatable. Perhaps this is because it touches on parts of human nature, which could be present in any culture, not just from this particular region.

Wit and Wisdom of Juha

My first impression upon picking up Tales of Juha was that I was worried I would be unable to connect with classic Arab folk humor. Arab nations are not only very geographically separated from what I am used to, but they are also very far separated in terms of culture. This is even seen in many of the different conflicts that erupt between Arabic nations and the United States just based on cultural differences. The lifestyle difference are tremendous, and for this reason I was worried that the stories of Juha would not apply to me in the slightest.

However, I believe I’ve enjoyed the stories in Juha more than any other collection the rest of the semester. Looking at this first “Wit and Wisdom” section of the collection, I realized that there are many similarities in the wit of Arab folk humor and that of modern day American wit.

For instance, there is a story in Tales of Juha where a man’s house is robbed, and everyone begins to tell him all the things he did wrong, and the ways he could have prevented it. The man exclaims, “Isn’t it the thief who should get the blame? Or do you think maybe he isn’t to blame at all?” This was humorous to me, because I can see many similarities to situations here in the United States where people are blames for other people’s actions or mistakes. A more crude example is the issues that have been brought up in the government about rape, like when a police officer in Canada blamed a woman’s rape for her promiscuity.

This leads me to another observation of my reactions to Tales of Juha. The reason most of the stories are humorous aren’t because we like what they talk about, but because they tell the truth. One thing I have noticed during this course is that most of the things we find humorous are those that have some element of truth under them, even if it’s not something people are happy with or proud of. Juha very much exemplifies this, as almost every story has an heir of truth about it, usually trying to convey a message.

In one story, Juha is asked where one should walk in a funeral procession, before or after the coffin. Juha replied that as long as one isn’t in the coffin, it doesn’t matter. This is humorous to us because it is true. It reminds us of the common message that it is a waste of time to worry about all the small things, and that we should be thankful to be alive.

Another comparison I saw in these stories to our own humor is laughing at the stupidity or arrogance of others. One story in particular that was very relatable was one where Juha claims he consulted with a donkey. A man is shocked, asking since when could a donkey talk and express its opinion. Juha responds, “You see and hear it all the time. Aren’t there any number of two-legged donkeys who talk?” This is easily translatable to our humor, as a donkey is used as a metaphor for someone who is seen as an arrogant but ignorant person.

I found it interesting that I could relate to almost every story in the first section of Tales of Juha, and that I could find so many more commonalities in the stories than differences between Arab humor and Americans’. There were a few differences in lifestyle, (I mean, not everyone has a donkey here like they seem to there), but for the most part, all of the differences were at least understandable. There really seemed to be no real barrier preventing comparison between classic Arab with and the modern wit we use in our country today. Perhaps in the next few sections of Tales of Juha, I might be able to find some distinct differences in the humor I am used to in the United States and those within Juha.