Introduction
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. 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 and purpose. These stories were entertaining and the manner that they were written in made them understandable to the entire class.
In class we read Data Set 3 together and we 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.
Research Question
My research question is: How do the features of Shaggy Dog Stories work together to make them understandable and entertaining to the reader/audience? During my research, I hope to discover that the punch line and development will work hand in hand with one another so the reader/audience will be able to understand and enjoy the story.
Codes and Categories
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)
· Transposed
· Violence (level of)
The codes for development include:
· Story based (beginning, middle and 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.
· Length (short or long)
· The conflict between the image and action, and the connection that the reader/audience has to the overall story.
I began conducting the study for Data Set 3in class, it was clear to me that the reader/audience (class members) 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. All of the stories were out loud as a class then, ranked by likeness. In the next few paragraphs I will explain how the punch line and development make the stories entertaining and understandable.
Story number one is Nate the snake. This story is a short, farfetched, funny tale. Its development is written like a story: beginning, middle and end. The first sentence: There was a snake named Nate, is a play on words; meaning that the quote is mangled. The last sentence: that is was better Nate then lever, is also a play on words, but it is written using transliteration; meaning that the first letters of the key nouns or names are switched to make the punch line funny and understandable to the reader. The class had a connection to this punch line because it relates to the saying, “It’s better late than never”. The story is ridiculous making it entertaining. The only conflict is that a snake is just a reptile and does not work. This would be the only disconnection that the reader would have. The class ranked this story low on the scale.
Story number two is the Friars. This story is the longest out of the five. Its development is written like a story: beginning, middle and end. It is a play on words; meaning that the quote is mangled. The ending or punch line of this story is where the reader/audience is able to understand the quote, or not understand the quote. The majority of the class did not make a connection to this story because they were unfamiliar with the punch line; “only Hugh can prevent florist friars”. The original saying is by Smokey the Bear, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” The class has a disconnection to the quote making it hard to understand. The class ranked this story low on the scale.
Story number three, the Giant Panda. This story is medium in length. Its development is written like a story: begging, middle and end. The punch line is transposed; meaning that the comma placement could change the entire understanding of the quote (Giant panda, lives in China, eats shoots, and leaves). The end or punch line was not easy to comprehend. The reader/audience had to understand the rules of grammar. For example, look at the comma placement before and after eats shoots. This quote right now means that the panda bear is eating his bamboo shoots. On the other hand, if a comma is added in between the words eats, shoots, the meaning is changed all together. It explains that the panda bear eats and then shoots the patrons. 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. The class has no connection to this story, only knowing it is about a panda bear. However, it is violent and the class said that they could imagine, in their minds, the panda bear doing this horrible act. This story is ridiculous and outrageous making it the punch line funny. The class ranked this story the highest. Why? 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?
Story number four is about Robinson Crusoe. It is a short story. The development of this is more of a conversation. The punch line is in the form of transliteration; meaning that the first letters of the key nouns or names are switched to make the punch line funny and understandable to the reader. The punch line is, “Thank Friday! It’s God!” The class has a connection to the quote, “Thank God! It’s Friday!”, making the punch line entertaining and understandable. However, there is a disconnection because the class is unfamiliar with who Robinson Crusoe is. The class ranked this story the second highest.
Story number five, the Chess Players. It is the shortest story. The development is in a story format: beginning, middle and end. It is a play on words; meaning that the quote is mangled. The punch line, “It’s chess nuts boasting by an open foyer” is funny. The class is able to make the connection to the holiday song, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”, making the quote entertaining and understandable. The class has a disconnection with chess. If it were not for the understanding of the holiday song, this quote would have been lost on the entire class. The class ranked this story the last.
Ranking Chart
Ranking goes from five being the most liked to one being the least liked. Each number represents the number of students who liked the story.
Ranking
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
Nate
|
1
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
Friars
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
Panda
|
7
|
4
|
---
|
1
|
2
|
Friday
|
5
|
3
|
---
|
2
|
4
|
Chess
|
---
|
2
|
4
|
5
|
3
|
Stories
|
Punch Line
|
Development
|
Connection to Audience (class)
|
Other
|
Nate
|
Play on words & Transliteration
|
Story (short)-beginning, middle and end.
|
Yes, the class can relate to the quote “Better late than never”.
|
Low ranking due to the ridiculousness of the story
|
Friars
|
Play on words
|
Story (long)-beginning, middle and end.
|
No, the class could not relate because they are not familiar with “Smokey the Bear”.
|
Age Gap, Low Ranking
|
Panda
|
Transposed
|
Story (long)-beginning, middle and end.
|
No, the class relates to panda bears and nothing else.
|
Highest ranking due to the ridiculousness of story and violence.
|
Friday
|
Transliteration
|
Story (short)-beginning, middle and end.
|
Yes, the class relates to the quote, “Thank God! It’s Friday!”
|
High ranking
|
Chess
|
Play on words
|
Story(short)-beginning, middle and end
|
No, the class did not relate to chess.
Yes, the class relates to the quote, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”.
|
Lowest ranking
|
The class ranked the stories using codes and categories. This is what they came up with:
· The actions of the characters (integrity of Nate, Hugh being violent, the panda bear being violent).
· The connection to the punch line or quote.
· The ridiculousness of the stories (transposed, transliteration, play on words).
· The sequence of the story (beginning, middle, end).
· The development of the stories (beginning, middle and end).
· The disconnection to the punch line or quote.
· Length of the stories (short or long).
Hypothesis
I have come to the conclusion that the features, punch line and development, in the Shaggy Dog stories must work together in order for the reader/audience (the class) to understand and enjoy it. The data suggests that the development of the stories, long or short, and story format (beginning, middle and end) do not impact the class’s understanding and over all enjoyment of the stories. It allows the class to read the story with the anticipation of the punch line at the end. The passages are structured, organized and formatted for comprehension.
However, the features of development that have the most impact on the class are the connection or disconnection to the story, the understanding and comprehension of the new quote or version of the quote, the displaying of mental images, and the conflict or overall reaction to the story. According to the findings in the charts above, the highest ranked story is the panda bear. Although it is evident that the class has no connection at all to the story, other than going to restaurants and knowing the animal (panda bear), it was ranked the favorite. The ridiculousness of the story and the punch line make it entertaining; “Giant panda, lives in China, eats shoots and leaves.” Then, looking at the story of Nate the snake, the class has a connection to the punch line, “that is was better Nate than lever”, but the overall ranking was low. Even though, the class did not have a connection to the panda story, the level of violence, mental images, format, reaction to the punch line are the developmental features that allows the class to find this story entertaining and comprehensible.
The punch line is used in different features in the five stories: play on words, transliteration and transposed. These features did not impact the comprehension level of the class, but these features did impact the level of entertainment to the class. Looking at the data, in the charts above, the class did not base their decisions on which feature of the punch line is used, but the connection or disconnection to the punch line. For example, the Frairs story, the class has a disconnection to this story because they do not know the punch line from Smokey the Bear. There is an age gap that prevents the majority of the class to find the story entertaining. It has nothing to do with the feature, play on words, but to the disconnection to the punch line.
In the story of Robinson Crusoe, the class had a connection to the punch line, “Thank Friday! It’s God!” Although, the class is not familiar with Robinson Crusoe, the connection between the class and the punch line make it entertaining and comprehensible. The class is thinking about the quote, “Thank God! It’s Friday!”. The class ranked this story the second favorite.
Theory
My overall theory is that people enjoy reading Shaggy Dog stories. The main features, punch line and development, are crucial to the level of entertainment and comprehension of the story. The developmental features provide enough information for the class to understand the “new” quote, the connection or disconnection the class has to the punch line, the mental images the class is able to create in their minds, and the overall reaction to the story. The features of the punch line provide the story with humor, play on words, transliteration, transposed, and level of violence to the story. They need to work hand in hand so the reader/audience (the class) can make a connection to the punch line in order to find the story entertaining and comprehensible. The connection and disconnection are the key components to the Shaggy Dog stories. If the class does not have a personal connection to the punch line, the meaning and level of entertainment and comprehension are nonexistent.
However, there is still more research that needs to be conducted. For example, does the level of violence play a role? Are people more inclined to like the violent stories over the nonviolent stories? Why? Does the generation gap between people interfere with the level of entertainment and comprehension? Does interest in a particular topic (chess) have an impact on the connection or disconnection of a story?
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