joke analysis essay

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Joke Analysis, Essay Example

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The man: “God, how long is a million years?” God: “To me, it’s about a minute.” The man: “God, how much is a million dollars?” God: “To me it’s a penny.” The man: “God, may I have a penny?” God: “Wait a minute.”

Freud distinguished between two types of jokes: tendentious and innocent. This joke is identified as innocent, since the content is not sexual or aggressive and the joke does not have much emotional impact. Of the two classifications of innocent jokes, verbal and conceptual, this joke qualifies as verbal. There is nothing more to infer from the dialogue before comprehending the punchline and the information doesn’t need to be re-imagined in a new framework. The comic device of juxtaposition is used in this joke to attain humor. In the beginning of the joke, the man is attempting to pull a fast one on God and trick God into giving the man a “penny”, which according to God’s own words would mean a million dollars given to the man. At the end of the joke God becomes the wise guy, thereby filling a role we do not expect to see God portrayed in. I guess it could also be a little taboo, since it portrays God giving such a fleshly response, as opposed to the dignified persona expected. The set-up portion is the first five lines, the punchline portion the very last line. This joke could be set up for two people, one having something the other wants, or for two people who want the same thing and are at competitive odds.

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Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception Essay

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Introduction

Joke classification, factors that determine the nature of the joke, symbolic interaction of jokes, works cited.

This paper is a sociological insight to the universality of jokes. It gives some jokes and looks at why they are considered funny by some people and not others. It borrows from Harold Kelly’s Attribution Theory in psychology and tries to explain jokes specific to a certain geographical region of which can only be understood by members of that culture. It also looks at ethnicity and the nature of jokes related to race is explored.

Lastly, we shall look at the sociological aspect with specific reference to symbolic interactionism theory of George Herbert Mead and that of implausibility of jokes by Harvey Sacks.

Below are some one-liners which may be considered universal due to the commonality of the content to people of different cultures while the more specific ones are explained in further detail:

• “Jack Kevorkian for White House Physician. This is an example of a joke that may not be funny to other people outside the USA because few people outside the USA know who Jack Kervokian is.
• I tried sniffing Coke once, but the ice cubes got stuck in my nose. This joke can only be understood by those who know the colloquial name for cocaine.
• A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. A witty spin on the nature of guilt.
• A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.
• Assassins do it from behind. This is a sexual joke that may be offensive to some people because of its nature. It may be inappropriate to use with people who we are not well acquainted with or at dinner tables.
• Auntie Em, Hate you, hate Kansas, taking the dog. Dorothy. It can be used with people who are familiar with the story of the Wizard of Oz. Otherwise, the audience may not get it.
• Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.
• Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. Vending machines everywhere often chew up our change and sometimes refuse to give the item selected. Everyone who has ever experienced this resonates with this joke.
• A day without sunshine is like, night. Obviously! This is one of those “duh” jokes that isn’t hilarious but will elicit a smile out of the audience.
• Don’t piss me off! I’m running out of places to hide the bodies. This may be inappropriate to an audience that has experienced a death in the lives through murder and may still be grieving. It can be lighthearted just to express a level of exasperation.
• I didn’t say it was your fault. I said I was going to blame you.
• If you choke a smurf, what color does it turn? Again, one must be familiar with the show The Smurfs.
• I am not a vegetarian because I love animals. I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.
• On the other hand, you have different fingers” (“What are funny jokes” n.p).

Another aspect of jokes is those that are based on stereotypes or race. To the person who is being made fun of in the joke, the following joke may be quite offensive.

There was an Englishman, a Cuban, a Japanese man and a Pakistani on a train. The Cuban throws a cigar out of the window, saying they are “ten-a-penny” in his country. The Japanese man throws a Nikon camera out, saying they are ten-a-penny in his country. Then the Englishman throws the Pakistani out the window (BBC par.4).

Some psychologists argue that this joke makes light of human life, therefore, has no iota of humor in it in fact the British MP, Ann Winterton who told the joke was sacked from the British shadow cabinet because of the distasteful nature of the joke regardless of the innocent motives which she had in telling it.

The following example was extracted from the Swap Meet Dave Website:

After working his farm every day, an old farmer rarely had time to enjoy the large pond in the back that he had fixed up years earlier with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and benches. So one evening he decided to go down and see how things were holding up. Much to his surprise, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer, he saw it was a group of young women skinny-dipping in his pond.

He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, “We’re not coming out until you leave.” The old farmer replied, “I didn’t come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond naked. I only came down to feed the alligator (Swap Meet Dave par.14).

The moral of the above joke is that old age and wisdom will always trounce over youth and adeptness. It makes lighthearted comments about age differences and asserts the adage, old is gold.

According to Kelly’s attribution theory, two factors determine certain behavior. The dispositional factors or internal factors which are the personal characteristics like the personality traits and attitudes of the individual. These determine what he called the distinctiveness of the behavior and the consistency of the behavior. These two concepts mean the uniqueness of the behavior and how one responds to different stimuli and how frequently someone responds to the same stimuli in the same way respectively.

In relation to jokes, these two concepts explain why people may crack up to this joke one time and after listening to it again, find it completely boring. It may also be because of their mood or their sense of humor. If someone is in a foul mood, a few things will cheer him/ her up.

The second factor is the situational or the external factors. These include the surroundings or current situation in which the joke is being told. For example, if someone is among a group of friends and someone tells a joke, there is an increased pressure for everyone to laugh or risk becoming part of the joke. This is because the person will be viewed as “slow” or as expressed in this joke: “there is a library but there are no books in it”.

In the sociological perspective, George Herbert Mead’s theory of symbolic interactionism also explains this phenomenon. Under his concept of the Looking Glass Self, the person is seen as a social actor on the theatre playing the different roles.

Also according to Mulkay, structural arrangement of jokes is a contributing factor to how a joke is accepted or understood. He argues that in a joke there are certain variables called implausibilties which are not overtly clear. This means the sequential delivery of the joke (Mulkay 12). He looks at the structural context of a joke presented by Sacks which explains a “dirty” joke involving a mother-in-law, her sons and her daughters-in-law at their honeymoon getaway. The mother-in-law suggests that the couples stay overnight before going on their honeymoon. She hears sounds coming from the rooms of the first and second daughters-in-law but hears no sounds from the third room. In the morning she asks her first and second daughters-in-law why they were wailing and gets the following responses.

“I yelled because it hurt!”

“I yelled because it tickled.”

She then asks the third why she didn’t make any sounds. She responds by saying that her mother-in-law had cautioned her against speaking with her mouthful. What is even more surprising and yet funny is that it was told by a 12-year-old girl! (Mulkay 13).

Mulkay quotes the works of Emerson and Walle in explaining sexual jokes and their significance in social life. He says that sexual jokes are used in the humorous mode instead of the serious mode in order to tackle this sensitive subject. The differences in age also account for humor in the contents of the sexual joke. For example, adolescent sexual jokes will be more centered on the sexual information because of inexperience but the adult jokes will be more centered on the punch line. This accounts for the snickering of adolescents at the slightest allusion to sexual humor while adult jokes tend to have underlying undertones of which the meanings are deep and not easily deciphered (Mulkay 54).

Gender also plays a role in which jokes someone thinks are funny. According to Legman, the main aim of men telling jokes is to achieve sexual congress. These jokes may be offensive to the women but they seem to work on girls who are being hit on just because of the audacity of it. Sexual jokes are not universal as they sometimes portray women in a bad light losing their appeal (Mulkay 54).

In conclusion, this paper postulates the different reasons that jokes are received in different ways such that some are more humorous than others. The theories of Mead of the looking glass self are explored in relation to dramaturgy and how we respond to jokes that we do not understand.

In addition, the theory of Sacks is introduced in relation to implausibility of jokes and how they are different from serious discourse i.e serious conversation.

The role of gender in the humor of jokes especially those of a sexual nature is also identified.

Various examples of jokes are also given showing how they may universal or specific to the ethnic group or race it relates. This includes stereotypical jokes and those related to race. Is it right to laugh at such jokes or to make such that jokes at all?

Lastly, this paper will summarize the whole argument with a clincher joke.

“A conclusion is a place where you got tired of thinking” (“What are some funny jokes” n.p).

Askville web pages. What Are some really funny jokes you can tell people you don’t know very well?,2008. Web.

BBC web pages . Why do people find racist jokes funny? , 2002. Web.

Mulkay, Michael. On Humor: Its Nature and Place in Modern Society,n.d.Web.

Swap Meet Dave web pages. Senior Citizen Merriment and Fun. n.d. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2022, February 5). Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception. https://ivypanda.com/essays/impact-of-jokes-on-people-and-their-perception/

"Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception." IvyPanda , 5 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/impact-of-jokes-on-people-and-their-perception/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception'. 5 February.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception." February 5, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/impact-of-jokes-on-people-and-their-perception/.

1. IvyPanda . "Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception." February 5, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/impact-of-jokes-on-people-and-their-perception/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Impact of Jokes on People and Their Perception." February 5, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/impact-of-jokes-on-people-and-their-perception/.

Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

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A humorous essay is a type of personal  or familiar essay that has the primary aim of amusing readers rather than informing or persuading them. Also called a comic essay or light essay .

Humorous essays often rely on narration and description as dominant rhetorical and  organizational strategies .

Notable writers of humorous essays in English include Dave Barry, Max Beerbohm, Robert Benchley, Ian Frazier, Garrison Keillor, Stephen Leacock, Fran Lebowitz, Dorothy Parker, David Sedaris, James Thurber, Mark Twain, and E.B. White—among countless others. (Many of these comic writers are represented in our collection of  Classic British and American Essays and Speeches .)

Observations

• "What makes the humorous essay different from other forms of essay writing is . . . well . . . it's the humor. There must be something in it that prompts the readers to smile, chuckle, guffaw, or choke on their own laughter. In addition to organizing your material, you must search out the fun in your topic." (Gene Perret, Damn! That's Funny!: Writing Humor You Can Sell . Quill Driver Books, 2005)
• "On the basis of a long view of the history of the humorous essay , one could, if reducing the form to its essentials, say that while it can be aphoristic , quick, and witty, it more often harks back to the 17th-century character 's slower, fuller descriptions of eccentricities and foibles—sometimes another's, sometimes the essayist 's, but usually both." (Ned Stuckey-French, "Humorous Essay." Encyclopedia of the Essay , ed. by Tracy Chevalier. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997)
• "Because of fewer constraints, humorous essays allow for genuine feelings of joy, anger, sorrow and delight to be expressed. In short, in Western literature the humorous essay is by and large the most ingenious type of literary essay. Every person who writes humorous essays, in addition to having a lively writing style , must first possess a unique understanding that comes from observing life." (Lin Yutang, "On Humour," 1932. Joseph C. Sample, "Contextualizing Lin Yutang's Essay 'On Humour': Introduction and Translation." Humour in Chinese Life and Letters , ed. by J.M. Davis and J. Chey. Hong Kong University Press, 2011)
• Three Quick Tips for Composing a Humorous Essay 1. You need a story, not just jokes. If your goal is to write compelling nonfiction , the story must always come first—what is it you are meaning to show us, and why should the reader care? It is when the humor takes a backseat to the story being told that the humorous essay is most effective and the finest writing is done. 2. The humorous essay is no place to be mean or spiteful. You can probably skewer a politician or personal injury lawyer with abandon, but you should be gentle when mocking the common man. If you seem mean-spirited, if you take cheap shots, we aren't so willing to laugh. 3. The funniest people don't guffaw at their own jokes or wave big "look at how funny I am" banners over their heads. Nothing kills a joke more than the joke teller slamming a bony elbow into your ribs, winking, and shouting, 'Was that funny, or what?' Subtlety is your most effective tool. (Dinty W. Moore, Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction . Writer's Digest Books, 2010)
• Finding a Title for a Humorous Essay "Whenever I've written, say, a humorous essay (or what I think passes as a humorous essay), and I can't come up with any title at all that seems to fit the piece, it usually means the piece hasn't really congealed as it should have. The more I unsuccessfully cast about for a title that speaks to the point of the piece, the more I realize that maybe, just maybe, the piece doesn't have a single, clear point. Maybe it's grown too diffuse, or it rambles around over too much ground. What did I think was so funny in the first place?" (Robert Masello, Robert's Rules of Writing . Writer's Digest Books, 2005)
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The Linguistic Analysis of Jokes

2005, Journal of Pragmatics

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Linguistically speaking, the concept of humor, which seems to be vast for people, has specific dimensions by which it is generated including: puns, irony, sarcasm, wittiness, and contrastive utterances in relation to the speakers of those utterances. It is about how the extra linguistics elements dominate the situation and the delivery of humor. The researchers of the present paper intend to show how the selected literary extract can be subjected to a linguistic pragmatic analysis and then be explained by applying the incongruity theory of humor by Kant (1790) in order to show the ways or the mechanisms that lead to the flouting, infringing and the violation of Gricean maxims can consequently lead to the creation of humor. Despite the fact that the present paper is qualitative in nature, some tables are provided by the researchers in order to reach into a better, deeper and more understandable analysis. Investigating the ways Gricean maxims are flouted, infringed and violated to create humor, and showing how the imperfect use of language sometimes create unintentional humor are the researchers' aims of this paper.

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• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 18, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/rhetorical-analysis/

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Part 7 summary: “ludvik, jaroslav, helena”.

On the day of the Ride of the Kings, the three narratives of Ludvik , Jaroslav , and Helena begin to overlap. After hearing about Lucie’s brutal past from Kostka and his failed tryst with Helena, Ludvik wants to return to Prague as quickly as possible. He wakes up too late for the morning train, however, and must wait until the afternoon. As he walks around the town, he begins to see his situation—and his entire life—as a “bad joke.” He realizes that the Ride of the Kings festival is taking place and moves through the crowds to the festival site. He has tried to avoid this kind of situation, but he finds himself caught up in the energy of the day.

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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Comparative Analysis — Han China and Rome: A Comparative Analysis

Han China and Rome: a Comparative Analysis

• Categories: Comparative Analysis

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

Words: 763 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Political structures, economic foundations, military strategies, cultural contributions.

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Growth and emissions.

Idrees Kahloon’s review of the economist Daniel Susskind’s new book, “Growth,” succinctly summarizes the debate about whether we can avert climate catastrophe while also pursuing economic growth (Books, June 3rd). However, Kahloon’s assertion that, in the U.S., “growth and carbon emissions have decoupled” is misleading. Although it’s true that the economies of the U.S. and many other developed nations have become more and more digital- and service-oriented, these nations and their residents still rely heavily on emissions-intensive, environment-degrading resource extraction and industry. Those activities just occur, increasingly, in the developing world (where they often drive economic growth).

Ted Lamm Associate Director, Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment University of California, Berkeley School of Law Berkeley, Calif.

Inciting Incident

I really enjoyed Kathryn Schulz’s witty and insightful essay about suspense (“Wait for It,” May 27th). I’ve been trying to trace the origins of the modern page-turner myself, and I think I can take us back a little further. Railway fiction comes from penny dreadfuls and sensation novels, which in turn owe a lot to “Frankenstein.” Mary Shelley wrote that book during a series of difficult pregnancies, so that’s a bit more evidence for pregnancy as the original suspense story. (Also, the year that she started writing it, 1816, the sun had been mysteriously blotted out from the sky, owing to a faraway volcanic eruption, and nobody knew when it would come back, a circumstance that must’ve set a worldwide record for suspense.)

Shelley, in turn, borrowed suspense techniques from her father, William Godwin. He wrote what I think is the first modern page-turner, “The Adventures of Caleb Williams,” which, along with Godwin’s preface to a later edition explaining how he’d written the book, was also a model for Poe and Dickens.

The only writings that Godwin cites by name are nonfiction. (They include a memoir by a fugitive Huguenot.) He gives the impression that he didn’t have a previous structural model in fiction, so this may be as far back as we can go.

Aaron Zinger Tarrytown, N.Y.

More “Mad Max”

I was intrigued by Justin Chang’s discussion of the influences that have shaped the “Mad Max” films, in his review of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (The Current Cinema, June 3rd). I wonder if one of them might be the literary theorist Northrop Frye’s idea of the “drama of the green world.” For Frye, the green world—especially in Shakespeare’s romantic comedies—represents “the triumph of life and love over the waste land.” In “Furiosa,” the eponymous protagonist begins in an Edenic landscape. She is soon taken to a barren wasteland, where the story unfolds. And, throughout, she is haunted by the hope of being able to return to the green world.

Allan Irving Swarthmore, Pa.

As a fan of the first two “Mad Max” movies, I was happy to read Chang’s extended take on the series. However, I was surprised that his list of George Miller’s other notable projects did not include “Babe,” a movie about a pig that wants to be a sheepdog. (Miller may not have directed it, but he co-wrote and co-produced it.) This is a movie that is both heartwarming and technically amazing. Yes, “Happy Feet” was sweet, but it was more of a one-use item than “Babe.” I don’t understand the omission.

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