In “How Monkey Got Married, Bought a House and Found Happiness in Orlando,” Chuck Palahniuk applies his original simultaneously sinister humour to satirize contemporary cultural affections. This Palahniuk work reminded me of his stylistic set-up, apparent from precedents like the “Fight Club” and “Choke,” in the comedic overtones.
Palahniuk uses comedy to pervade the short story, subverting our conception of success and happiness. The protagonist embarks on the absurdities of life in Orlando, from marriage to home ownership. The path he takes becomes a satirical comment on society’s expectations. The humour is biting and dark, reflecting as one reads it, putting us reflect on the absurdity of their pursuits.
For instance, joking about marriage: ” Marriage is like a deck of cards. At the start, all you need is two hearts and a diamond. By the end, you are looking for a club and a spade.” It will be fair to call this quote tragicomic because, on the one hand, it is funny, and on the other hand, it is full of sadness.
The text further takes a satirical take on the American Dream, particularly about the pursuit of owning a home, as the protagonist deals with a series of challenges regarding owning a house in Orlando. Palahniuk adds a touch of sarcasm to his suburban-trivialities commentary in the line: “In the kingdom of glass, everything is transparent, and there is nowhere to hide a dark heart.”
My reaction to the readings is a mix of amusement and self-reflection. The comedic take of Palahniuk is nothing less than a reality-checking mirror towards most of society’s norms that incites the readers to who they are and what makes them happy in life. The ability of the author to mix quite a serious subject with dark humour underlines how much power satire has to break down established concepts.
In preparation for the end of the course project fruition, there is a sense of waiting for what utilization can be made to Palahniuk in looking at comedy and social commentary. The excerpts and notes taken offer substance to interpret how rhetoric techniques affect the building of the comic tenor.
The Wives Are Turning into Animals
Author: Amber Sparks
Comedy is a unique use of rhetoric, as is seen from the readings, especially from Amber Sparks’ “The Wives Are Turning into Animals”. The author allegorizes the silliness of societal expectations with remarkable dexterity and that of gender roles through transformation.
Amber Sparks humorously inverts commonplace expectations just to be able to comment intelligently on the foolhardiness of social norms. This text takes a humorous tone that introduces absurd scenes through which text after text challenges readers to question the seriousness with which societies view its institutions. For instance, as this hero turns into a woman and decides to study a dress code, the humour adds stress to just how surrealist gender expectations have gotten. Sparks humorously exposes just how ridiculous conformity is through his craftily constructed lens of transformation: “My wife became a giraffe last Tuesday. It was a surprise to both of us.”
Another vivid type of humour in the text is satire, which helps give a harsh estimate of moral standards. Through the implementation of satirical devices, Sparks tries to reflect on unrealistic ideals of women. In this case, the text shows a satiric representation of conforming to societal pressure through absurd translations as a metaphor to represent the pressure to conform: “Her neck stretched long and elegant, conforming to society’s expectations, yet absurdly exaggerated.”
Tragicomedy surfaces in those times; the text balances its humour with a touch of sadness. The absurdity of the transitions takes on poignancy, laying bare the inner struggles that the characters are facing poignantly. This tragic/comedic mix perfectly exemplifies the difficulty within societal expectation: ” In her new form, my wife laughed, a sound that echoed the tragedy of our shared predicament.”
In general, “The Wives Are Turning into the Animals” makes us admire Sparks, a talented satirist and jester who skillfully uses these means to transmit a powerful message about society. The work speaks adroitly, balancing on that verge from comedy to sublimity, forcing a reader to think over common truths powerfully set across by the plot.
Works Cited
Amber Sparks. “The Wives Are Turning into Animals.” As It Ought to Be, 23 Sept. 2013, asitoughttobemagazine.com/2013/09/23/the-wives-are-turning-into-animals/.
Palahniuk, Chuck. Make Something Up: Stories You Cannot Unread. Anchor Books, 2016.
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