I have decided to do my short analysis on Data Set 3: Shaggy Dog Stories. My main focus will be on the features of Shaggy Dog Stories: punch line and level of development. The research question is: What features of the Shaggy Dog Stories are the most important or has the most significance to the reader/audience? During my research, I hope to discover that if you do not have one feature without the other will the reader/audience be able to understand it.
Before coming to English 3029, I had no clue of what Shaggy Dog stories were. Do not get me wrong, I have read them before, but I never knew that they had a specific name. I thought they were riddles. In class we read Data Set 3 together and I made a list of the features that are the most important: punch line and development. A punch line is defined as the climatic phrase or sentence in a joke, speech, advertisement, or humorous story that produces the desired effect. Development does not have a formal definition, in the sense of the Shaggy Dog Stories, but it is the connection that the reader/audience has to the ridiculous use of the punch line.
I have discovered that there are codes/categories that are associated with the Shaggy Dog Stories. The codes for the punch line include: humor, jokes, play on words (mangling of the quotes), transliteration or the switching of the first letter of key names (names in the quote), punch line (end), and violence. The codes for development include: story based (beginning, middle, end), provides enough information to the reader/audience to explain the “new” version of the quote, the connection that the reader/audience has to the quote (identifies as an insider-understands and comprehends the joke), displays a visual image inside of the mind of the reader/audience, there is a conflict between the image and action, and the connection that the reader/audience has to the overall story.
While I was conducting the study for Data Set 3in class, it was clear to me that the reader/audience (class members and me) were able to understand and comprehend the first data set. This set includes: Nate the snake story, the friars story, the panda story, the Robinson Crusoe story, and the chess players story. For Nate the snake it was a farfetched story that used transliteration and play on words. For the first quote (There was a snake named Nate) and last quote (that is was better Nate then lever) the first letter of the key nouns were switched to make the punch line funny. I had a personal connection to this story which made it easy for me to understand the punch line. The second story, friars, was a play on words. If I did not know the saying, “Only you can prevent forest fires”, by Smokey the Bear, there was no way that I would have understood it. In this case the reader/audience needs to have a connection and understanding of the quote. The third story, the giant panda, the punch line was transposed (Giant panda, lives in China, eats shoots, and leaves). Although the story has the panda committing an act of violence by shooting the customers inside of a restaurant, the punch line does not suggest that the panda bear does the act. However, it explains what the panda bear does in China. This story seemed to get the highest votes for the best overall story, it was my personal favorite too. Does it have something to do with violence? Are violent stories more entertaining? Since it was a fictional story, was the level of violence more entertaining?
The fourth story, Robinson Crusoe, was a play on words. This story I had to read twice to understand the meaning of the punch line (Thank Friday!, It’s God). It is not like all of the other stories where the punch line was understood immediately. I do not know why I could not connect with this punch line because I am familiar with and have seen television programs based on Robinson Crusoe. The fifth and final story, the chess players, was a play on words. Again, if I did not know the punch line (“it’s chess nuts boasting on an open foyer”), I would not have understood it. I have a connection to this quote because it is a famous holiday song that I have heard throughout all of my years growing up.
I have come to the conclusion that all of the features of Shaggy Dog stories must work together in order for the reader/audience to understand the punch line and development. The reader/audience has to have a personal connection, know the quote, and understand that it is a joke and humorous. The reader/audience has to understand the developmental features as well. They need to know and understand play on words, transliteration, punch line-end quote, and that it is story based (beginning, middle, end).
My overall theory is that people enjoy reading Shaggy Dog stories. They are humorous and get people to laugh. The main features, punch line and development, are crucial to the understanding and comprehension of the quote and/or story. These features need to work hand in hand so the reader/audience can make a personal connection to them. However, there is still more research that needs to be conducted. For instance, does the length of the story pose a problem? Will the reader/audience want to read a long passage, or do they prefer a shorter passage? Another example, does the level of violence play a role? Are people more inclined to like the violent stories over the nonviolent stories? Why?
I enjoyed reading and researching Data Set 3: Shaggy Dog stories. My findings suggest that the main features, punch line and development, need to work side by side for the reader/audience to understand and comprehend the quote.
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