Question

McCourt uses humor in conversations, the narrator’s observations, and in the circumstances into which the family and, in particular, Frank are placed. Although many of the narrator’s experiences are genuinely pathetic, how does the humor add to the effectiveness of the text? Would you have liked the book better if the humor had been omitted? Why or why not?

Answer 1

This question is about the book "Angela's Ashes".

Answer and Explanation:

Humor increases the effectiveness of the text because it makes it lighter and more enjoyable. This is because even in the midst of pathetic situations, as shown in the question above, the book portrays very serious and uncomfortable elements such as hunger, disease, extreme poverty, death and hopelessness. McCourt's use of humps relieves this feeling of discomfort and makes the book more effective, as it can deliver a message.

I believe that I would have liked it less if the humor in the book was homitized, because it would take away that relief and let only all the obscurity of the story and all the discomfort consume me as a reader and leave a heavy, slow and demotivating reading.