Due:Thursday, November 4, turned in by blackboard.
Length: 4-5 pp. Should be plenty
The Problem:
We’ve examined five character types so far, drawing largely on analysis by Constance Rourke (American Humor: A Study of National Character) and Joseph Boskin (African-American Humor: Resistance and Retaliation in The Humor Prism in 20th Century America). We’ve seen examples of these in materials from Baker’s Book of American Humor and Watkins’ African American Humor, as well as materials I’ve provided on the class website.
These types are
The Yankee (Rourke 1)
The Frontiersman (Rourke 2)
The Minstrel (Rourke 3)
Black folk humor upon which the Minstrel built (Rourke, Boskin, Watkins)
The Strollers (Rourke 4). (Including descendants, burlesque and vaudeville).
Chooseone of these types, explain it, analyze it in terms of what it tells us about American character and illustrate your explanation with examples from the readings and visual materials (including O Brother Where Art Thou).
Remember that the type may persist even though the times and environment change (Lucy was a Yankee Peddler). Remember, too, that there may be subtypes within the main type–Ransy Sniffle was a Frontiersman as much as the two fighters were, and of course, we’ve been looking at numskulls and tricksters the past week. Remember that the types aren’t mutually exclusive–a person can have elements of more than one type in his/her character.
