Conscience

A conscience is one of the most difficult opinions to deal with because it is your own.  It is the voice that starts quiet and then grows louder and louder.  I believe that we all try to ignore our conscience from time to time, however, only those that are truly evil are consistently successful at it.  The rest of us have momentary successes at ignoring our conscience which lead to momentary failures in our lifelong goal to be seen as a good and wholesome person. 

Mark Twain had many thoughts on the mysterious voice in his head.  Twain said “The uneasy conscience is a hair in the mouth.”  This quote (although the least philosophical of his quotes regarding the conscience) is possibly the most accurate.    Nothing is more aggravating than the uninvited, contradicting voice popping into your head telling you what you are doing is bad.  If I could compare it to anything it would be the hair in the mouth.  You know the hair is there, you don’t want it to be there, but usually it is too elusive to remove.  In most cases, by the time you have removed the hair, you have lost all desire to continue what you were doing before the hair caught your attention. 

Twain also said “It takes up more room than all the rest of a person’s insides” referring to his conscience.  This comment is so true.  It is the only part of your body that acts entirely independently of your desire.  While it has no physical mass, it is the part of your body that is most noticeable—both to you and to others.  You internally can hear the voice and act (or don’t act) accordingly.  Externally, people see your actions which are often the result of your conscience.  The kind and decent person is the person that listens to his conscience most readily.  Every person has the internal struggle with the conscience the person who is the winner in life is the loser to his conscience. 

The Golden Rule

On page 116 of Tales of Juha, a story is told about Juha and his experience in a confectioners shop.  Juha strolls into the store, exclaims “In the name of God.” then begins eating everything.  The store owner is incredibly perplexed by his actions and commands Juha to stop.  When Juha doesn’t stop, the store owner begins to beat Juha.  Juha then replies to the beating by saying “God bless you people… You actually beat your guests, to force them to eat your sweets.”

Over the history of the world, people of all races, religions, and ethnicities have acted in ways that are truly unacceptable.  What is worse is that these people have done these actions in the name of their god.  Events like the Spanish Inquisition, the crusades, and the attacks of September 11^th have left the survivors questioning a god and humanity.  Why is it that an institution such as religion that was intended to be a light of hope to its people has gone (on occasion) so wrong? 

While Juha’s tale is more lighthearted than the events listed above, it brings about the same issue.  What god would want people to be so harmful to its neighbors?  My hope for humanity is that people can see religion for what it is, flawed.  Like all men and manmade things, religion has its issues.  The only hope for a peaceful future is for each person to live by a simple mantra that transcends all religions: treat others as you would be treated.  If we all could live by this ideal, everyone, from every religion, would be able to peacefully live together. 

Juha would never have stolen from the storeowner if he first considered how he would have wanted to be treated.  I think by taking a step back and considering others first we all are better off.  In the future, I challenge everyone to consider others first.

Juha- Wit and Wisdom

In the Wit and Wisdom section of Tales of Juha, one story covers the theme of blame.  The story picks up when Juha has his donkey stolen.  When Juha tells his friends what terrible fortune has befallen him, he receives no sympathy.  Juha’s friends immediately begin telling Juha that it is his fault his donkey was stolen.  One friend tells Juha that the wall around his house was too low.  Another friend tells Juha that it is fate; Juha is being punished for the past.  Another friend claims that Juha must have left the gate unlocked.  No one says sorry or gives any condolences. 

I believe that this same reaction can be seen in our culture today.  There are many instances where a person befalls some misfortune and we try to blame everything else around the issue.  An unemployed person is given the excuse that the economy is bad or the job market is no good.  It must be Wall Street’s fault or the government.  In some cases this can be true.  There are fewer jobs in a bad economy and there are fewer opportunities.  Sometimes though, an individual is to blame.  Some people have not looked for a job and that is why they cannot find one. 

For a less controversial example, let’s consider my grades.  Overall, I have excellent grades.  I am in the Honors College, a Neeley Fellow, on the Dean’s List.  With this in mind, I once told my mom that I made a fifty-one on a test.  She immediately spouted off numerous reasons why it wasn’t my fault.  I, her baby, could never be wrong.  It must have been the professor’s fault.  His test was too hard.  He didn’t teach well.  Maybe it was my roommate’s fault.  He had kept me up too late.  No, those were incorrect.  Sometimes the blame needs to be placed on the obvious point.  I didn’t prepare for that test properly. 

This story of Juha and his friends made me smile because it is a phenomenon that I see regularly.  People sometimes just don’t accept the obvious.   

Wit

Over the course of this class, we have used the term wit over and over again.  In a presentation over British comedy, one aspect that was common was wit.  But what is wit?  We threw the word around frequently this semester, but did we actually know what it meant?  Could we put it in words? I would have said that wit is intellectual comedy.  It is a higher level of laughter or amusement.  Anyone can take a pie to the face and make a group laugh, but wit requires some substance.  Some people might have said that wit is a sort of cunning or wordplay.  Although I frequently use the word, I do not think I could have articulated its meaning.  Mark Twain had no problem articulating wit.  “Wit” Twain said, “ is the sudden marriage of ideas which , before their union, were not perceived to have and relation.” 

By Twain’s definition, I think we were on the right track.  We used it in the proper grammatical form and in the proper context.  We understood its meaning, but, we did miss one thing—its purpose.  Twain felt like wit in and of itself was of little substance.  It was able to make someone smile or chuckle but had nothing to it.  Twain said “Wit, by itself, is of little account.  It becomes of moment only when grounded on wisdom.”  The title of the compilation of Twain’s quotes is The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain.  He seems to be the authority on wit and wisdom and based on the words that fill the pages of this book, he had enough of both wit and wisdom to go around.

Strangely, the word “wisdom” was not one of the many words that received its own section in the compilation of quotes.  It seems that Twain was full of wisdom, but never directly addressed the topic.  Regardless, Twain’s one liners espouse moral and ethical wisdom.  Lines such as “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” or “Always do right.  This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.” inspire the reader to be as better person while at the same time allowing them to laugh at the simplicity and ease of living an upright and moral life. 

Adam

The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain is without a doubt my favorite read so far this semester.  It is a shame that we will be spending such little time on this text.  While this book is a great compilation, I believe that Twain as a man deserves several class discussions.  When writers such as Hemmingway and Vonnegut laud a man with such praise as is seen on the book’s cover, it seems wrong to not dive in and learn more about a great comic and writer. 

You gather a sense of Twain’s wit and comedy from the very first page.  Never before have I taken the time to think about what it would be like to be Adam.  Adam was the first person to do so many things.  He must have been terribly curious and at the same time scared.  When any small thing happened, say his stomach grumbled, he had nobody to consult with.  He could not turn to his mother or father and ask if the noise was normal. 

While being the first man to do nearly everything had its challenges, it had a great upside.  Twain noted “[Adam] knew when he said a good thing, nobody has said it before.”  This is quite the interesting quote for several reasons.  First, it is so true.  Every person aspires to say and do things that are profound and original.  For Adam, originality was innate.  The second reason this quote is so interesting is because Twain scribbles this quote out to himself in his personal journal.  Obviously the aspiration of profoundness and originality was a personal vice or desire of Twain.  Why else would he enviously write this line out in his journal? 

When I graduate, I am going to work for Alvarez and Marsal Consulting.  As a future consultant, I laughed almost audibly at Twain calling Satan the first consultant.  Twain did not mean consultant in the business sense, but the line still gave me a chuckle.  I have found his quotes not only comical, but also wise and thought provoking.  The “Wit and Wisdom” aspect of the title is spot on, Twain was blessed with both.

Comic Relief

John Morreal has interesting perspectives and commentary on the topic of comedy and its purpose and fit in the world.  His 150 page book goes into great detail on everything from historical views to theories of what makes us laugh.  Below are three things I found memorable.

The Incongruity Theory is the comic theory that has been most widely adopted.  The theory was first noted by psychologists and philosophers such as Beattie, Kant, and Schopenhauer.  The theory gained popularity from of the years.  At its core, the theory suggests that laughter is caused by incongruous acts.  The reason we laugh is because we expect one thing and hear, see, experience another.  The show Wipeout is an example of this.  The contestants run through a gauntlet of moving parts expecting to arrive on the other side of the course unscathed.  The reality, however, is incongruous with their expectations.  Along the way the contestants are beaten spilled on and humiliated by the course and left in a mental state of incongruity.  We laugh. 

A second point that Morreal makes that I found worth remembering was the distinction between laughter and humor.  He points out that many animals and even children laugh but may not understand humor.  He points out how gorillas and chimps make laughing like sounds when playing, tickling, etc.  Just like these animals, babies laugh when they are exposed to false aggressive behaviors such as being tossed in the air and then caught or playing peek-a-boo. In both cases a somewhat aggressive move is made at the child who is silent.  The child only laughs when they realize that the aggression is false.  While this action causes laughter, it is not humor.  Morreal notes that humor requires "the play of thought."  He claims that in order for something to be humorous there must be some aspect of intellect.  A thought must occur that triggers a smile, grin, or laughter.

A final point is that humor can help us cope and get through very difficult and trying situations.  Morreal's example is the Holocaust.  He asserts that humor during the Holocaust helped accomplish three things. 1) It brought attention to the wrongs of the situation.  By joking about the oppression and ways of the Germans, they were able to identify and remind each other that the trial they were experiencing was not the norm.  Humor reinforced that their situation was incongruous with the normal way of civilization.  2) It helped to unite the oppressed.  By laughing together at the same things, a bond was formed.  They were able to become a cohesive unit that could more easily handle the trying experience.  3) Humor was a coping mechanism.  If all the oppressed peoples did was focus on the miserable fortune that were experiencing, they would have had no hope.  Humor helped them escape the reality for a while and gave hope.

What is literature and civilization?

What do literature and civilization mean and why would a class intertwine the two? I asked several people their thoughts on the topic. The results follow:

"Literature ugh they effect each other...symbiosis...ugh. They are a mutually beneficial and necessary relationship." -Will Hopper

He needed a few ughs to gather his thoughts but he came out with a great string of coherent words at the end. Good answer.

For diversity's sake I asked the older generation. Jim Lucas TCU class of 1948.

"Civilization and literature? What does it mean to me? I have never had to think about that in eighty something years. Well, civilization has to do with our life, and literature would be a reflection of that life. I don't have a clue. Give me a hint. You know my major at TCU was campusology and horizontal strategies and that question was never covered."

I believe that civilization is specific to the accomplishments of a society or group. Civilization denotes a group’s thoughts, technologies, and accomplishments that separate them from a barbaric state of hunting and gathering. That is why people will use the term civilized to describe a proper acting person and barbaric to describe the opposite. Therefore, literature would be something that separates a society from barbarism. By having literature in a society it becomes a civilization. I believe there can be no literature without civilization and no civilization without literature. My uncle hit on a similar thought in his answer below.

"Civilization, to me, began when people left the hunter gatherer lifestyle and became agrarian. We needed literature to pass along stories and history to maintain a consistent culture. “-Jaime Lucas TCU class of 1973.