The Link Between Happiness and a Sense of Humor

I denne study guide finder du hjælp til at analysere Arthur C. Brooks’ artikel “The Link Between Happiness and a Sense of Humor”. Teksten har været anvendt ved den skriftlige eksamen i Engelsk B på STX den 25. maj 2022. Udover hjælp til analyse får du også et summary af teksten og ideer til diskussion af teksten.

Hvis du har brug for hjælp til Assignment 1-4 fra den skriftlig eksamen på STX B den 25. maj 2022, kan du finde vores vejledning her.

Arthur C. Brooks (f. 1964) er en amerikansk forfatter, sociolog, musiker og professor. Brooks har forsket i happiness og udgav i 2008 resultaterne af et studie, hvor han analyserede amerikaneres personlige lykke, og hvordan det afspejler sig i national lykkefølelse. Artiklen “The Link Between Happiness and a Sense of Humor” blev udgivet i 2021 i The Atlantic i Brooks’ klumme, som håndterer emner som det at finde mening og lykke.

Uddrag

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Pathos

Brooks appeals to pathos when he inserts several personal anecdotes in his article. For example, he appeals to readers’ emotions when he talks about his late mother:

My late mother loved jokes, but she couldn’t repeat them. Whenever she started telling one, before she even got to the end, she would be laughing so hard that no one had any idea what the punch line was. While her joke technique wasn’t so hot, she had inadvertently found one of the secrets to happiness: It’s better to consume humor than to supply it. (ll. 63-66)

The story engages readers and makes them feel equally amused and sympathetic at the thought that Brooks has lost his mother. The description of his mother’s failure to retell jokes is also very relatable; many readers will most likely know someone like that.

Another personal story is briefly mentioned when Brooks says “Some of the best eulogies I have ever heard were also the most hilarious” (l. 57). Here, readers are entertained at the thought that talking about death can be amusing.