Is humor important to travel writing? Use both pro and con examples to make your case.
I think humor is important in most situations in any type of writing. However, just like in life, one must be careful about who you might offend. There is a fine line between shedding new light on a horrible situation and going too far with jokes. For example, the other night I went to calling hours for my friends’ grandpa and was careful not to look too happy to see them, yet I tried to cheer them up a little bit; the same precautions must be taken with any type of writing, including travel writing. There are some serious subjects that may not require a humorous approach, but I think it is acceptable to add some humor or sarcasm to most situations. If my reader was too stupid or serious to handle or appreciate that humor, I’d rather they simply not read my pieces.
In my humble opinion, there are very few times that humor would be inappropriate in travel writing. An example would be if the author is describing an all-around horrible situation, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following: tragic death, mass destruction, starving children, and/or abuse of another human being. Even after describing these terrible situations, though, I think humor would be important (at least in some cases); it would just be common courtesy to cheer your reader up a little bit after making them sad.
Now that I think of it, I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a book that does not have some small trace of, or attempt at, humor in it. Of course, one might argue that literature is not necessarily meant to be enjoyed, but must make one think , learn, or become wiser. I, however, believe that literature, including travel writing, should be able to make me wiser while still giving me a good laugh here and there.
I agree with you that humor has a place in all different genres of writing. I feel as if humor has more to add to a story than it does to take away. That is not to say that mistimed, and poorly played humor can/will take away from a piece.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, great point! Treading lightly in every situation is a good rule of thumb to live by. I feel like constantly walking on egg shells to not offend anyone is exhausting though. I have lived my life trying to do that and have recently realized if you do not do what you want you people will walk all over you or ignore you all together.
ReplyDeleteIronically, this blog made me laugh. Humor is a great aspect of writing because it pulls in the reader and grabs our attention. I would have to agree that I always enjoy books that have some aspect of humor in them or else I fall asleep. I like the analogy you use at the beginning of your blog though, that you have to be careful where you use humor like you couldn't show happiness at a funeral. Maybe a place where humor would not be appropriate would be when talking about a religion, culture, or group of people? A writer would not want to defame the reader by making humor of their beliefs or way of life.
ReplyDeleteNice catch...
DeleteI thought your example about using humor in the appropriate setting was spot on. It is true you want the family to feel better or cheer them up but cracking jokes probably isn't in your best interest.
ReplyDelete"If my reader was too stupid or serious to handle or appreciate that humor, I’d rather they simply not read my pieces."
ReplyDeleteI really like that you looked at this journal from the point of view of the writer. When I was thinking about this, I focused a lot more of how I perceive things as a reader. You make a good point though! It is YOUR writing, so you can put your own sense of humor into it.
I like the comparisons you draw on between humour in writing and in everyday life. This is something I have thought about when writing; the correlation between everyday speech and the written word. It is interesting how, when writing, we rarely sound like ourselves, making it almost impossible to put together the person with their work. I feel that humour is a good way of bridging this gap because it allows the writer to come to the forefront, exposing more of themselves through their own sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you brought in an everyday life example to show that not all situations can appropriately be tied in with humor. It made your pieces much stronger. Overall, I could not agree with your opinion more. You made excellent points and brought readers to consider the prompt in many other ways.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about humor in travel writing. I also feel that there are very few times that humor wouldn't be important. I feel as if humor would help bring the travel experiences to life for the readers. Using humor would allow them to make a stronger connection to the reading and it would help to demonstrate the series of events in a much better way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you opinion on humor being mostly a good thing with few inappropriate moments. I also like what you said about it being common courtesy to cheer the reader up after saddening them. That's a nice way to think about it. I also agree with the statement about trying to make light about a serious situation as long as you don't joke too far. Overall, I enjoyed your work.
ReplyDeleteHumor has a place and a time and I feel that understanding this position is vital to retaining respect when dealing with travel writing. Some people might feel offended by more dark humor but that does not mean it is wrong, simply that it pushed people to think about what was said. Even in that negative light, it may have a positive effect by causing people to dwell on ideas expressed in travel writing. Well put.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with the comments you made on humor and how it is mostly all good in travel writing, except for the times when a person is offended by a joke that was not intended to be perceived the way that the reader perceived it. I especially liked what you said in your last paragraph "Now that I think of it, I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a book that does not have some small trace of, or attempt at, humor in it." I was really able to resonate with this statement that you made. I am not a very big reader, but when i do choose to read, i need some sort of aspect of humor to keep me interested. If there is no attempt at humor made, at least in the slightest bit, i lose interest. Great journal.
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