I enjoyed writing a small essay over the cartoon so much last time that I decided to do it all again. This cartoon is near and dear to my heart -- and despite being a student at a major public university, I witness this mistake far too often.
What makes this cartoon funny? First of all, the inclusion of an elderly couple in any subject immediately makes it a little funnier and a little more adorable. There is something about old people that makes them hilarious. They don't hold back thoughts, and they have enough experience with this mortal realm that makes their responses completely palpable. Now to dive in to the cartoon itself. The conversation begins with an innocent question: Are you making a New Year's Resolution? This response in itself is plain, and doesn't appear to be loaded whatsoever. Next, Opal reveals that she often finds herself criticizing her husband. It is not disclosed what the husband's resolution was, but I like to think it was something about dieting or physical health.
The following sequence is where the grammar travesty is committed. Either he says "your" in such a way that it could never be understood as "you're", or the Opal in the cartoon just knows he is missspelling and misusing the word in his head. My girlfriend and I actually argued over this for a few minutes, whether part of the point of this cartoon was to show the woman's flaw in assuming her husband would use the incorrect word or if it was to solely show the irony in her original resolution.
The cartoon finishes with a little more of its adorable charm, with the old man quirkily responding, "We're both great." This is a nice ending in which he continues on his path of blissful ignorance.
So I was trying to decide on a post to comment on this week since I have seen your introduction already and I thought this one was a great post. I like how you were able to break down this cartoon and mention all its elements. I am on the fence about how the ending is supposed to be taken as well but either way, the elderly couple makes the cartoon cute and funny regardless. I think it would have been funny if the husband left out the ' in we're and spelled it were, making him wrong again. But then again, that might be confusing as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Jeremy! I was really excited to see your cartoon post, I immediately knew it would be interesting to read your thoughts on it. I love that you just broke it down and wrote about what each part consists of and its meaning. I didn't choose this option for my assignments this week, so I have really enjoyed reading what other people have done with it. Great job!
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