Tales of Juha

Tales of Juha is based on classic Arab folk humor and is focused on the central character Juha. Juha takes on a variety of forms, but one characteristic stands out throughout this section, which is his unbelievable wit. He is never fazed and instead he always manages to respond brilliantly, which made this reading quite pleasurable.

            Juha’s seemed to have a response for everything, and all of Juha’s responses were unexpected; therefore, the tales were enjoyable on account of this quick wit. When monks ask Juha how many stars are in the sky, Juha does not miss a beat and replies that there are as many stars as there are hairs on his donkey, and he challenges the monks to “count the stars and then the number of hairs on [his] donkey” if they do not believe him (28). When they ask how one could count how many hairs are on Juha’s donkey, Juha questions the monks by asking how “can you count the number of stars in the sky” (28). This is one of my favorite tales in the whole section because the normal person would have just guessed how many stars there were or simply said that he or she did not know, but not Juha. Juha is very bold and thinks in ways different than the average person, which causes me to admire him.

            Juha’s quick wit also allowed him to be able to successfully criticize people, but instead of being offended, they just laugh. When Juha is asked to count the mad men in the town, Juha claims that this is impossible, but he could count the sane people because “there aren’t too many of them” (32). Juha also refuses to lend someone his donkey because the donkey “told” Juha that it refuses to go. The man then tells Juha the donkeys cannot speak, and Juha says that there are any number of [two-legged] donkeys who talk” (41). Although some people might view Juha as an arrogant character because of these insults, I personally perceive him as being brilliant. He has the ability to outsmart and outthink anyone, and his ability to create incredible comebacks. These are truly abilities that I wish I possessed.

            When I first started reading Tales of Juha I was slightly hesitant because I was unsure about how much I would enjoy it. However, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the book when I got into the tales. In fact, I found myself admiring Juha for his clever and bold ways and even envying him a little bit. Overall, I really am enjoying Tales of Juha so far.

Simply not Funny

If anyone asked me to describe Hokum, a lot of words would come to mind. Confusing and sad are just a few; however, humor is not one of them. In fact, I would not even know that the book was supposed to be humorous if it was not for the fact that “an anthology of African-American humor” was written on the cover. I never laugh while reading Hokum because it deals with issues that are simply not funny.

Adventure by Hughes deals with the issue of segregation, and that if one wants adventure they should go to Alabama or Mississippi to “battle with the White Skins” (169). Hughes even compares the situation in the south to that of a battle between the Indians and Whites; however, Hughes believes that the “Savage South has got the Wild West beat a mile” (170).  I understand the piece was a satire and contained a lot of sarcasm, but to me it was not funny even in the slightest.

The Lesson by Bambara also presented humor, which I did not entirely understand. In fact, I felt depressed while reading the piece because it reflected the unnecessary extravagance of the wealthy while others have so little. One of the stores had a paperweight that cost $480; when Miss Moore asked Junebug if they had “a calendar and a pencil case and a blotter and a letter opener on [his] desk at home,” Junebug simply replied that he does not even have a desk” (104). The extravagance simply continues with toy sailboats costing $195, and $35 for a toy clown. Suddenly, the five dollars that the children had originally received seems insignificant. One of the darkest ideas in the story is when Sugar questions what kind of society spends as much on a toy as “it would cost to feed a family of six or seven” (197). Clearly, this question is rhetorical.

Personally, I do not find Hokum funny or enjoyable to read; in fact, it is rather uncomfortable to read. The novel is a darker humor that addresses many serious issues that is designed to make the reader stop and question what they had just read. Simply put, it is not the humor I was anticipating.

Forth Conversation with Mehran

This week was Halloween, and I could not resist asking Mehran how his first Halloween went. He said that he hung out with his friends, but he could not remember what he dressed up as. Therefore, I forced him to try and describe his costume to me, and he said, “It was that guy from that one movie. He had a knife.” Well needless to say, I failed at guessing what his costume was, but this did not stop me from trying. I spent practically half of our conversation guessing a variety of different things; however, I eventually gave up and accepted defeat.

            Staying on the holiday topic, I then asked Mehran if he was excited for Thanksgiving. He said yes, but he said that he did not know what happened on Thanksgiving or understand why we celebrated it. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, however, I really struggled when I was trying to describe it to him. All I could say is that it was about family and food. I probably repeated the word turkey one hundred times in that minute alone. I found it extremely difficult to explain Thanksgiving to someone because I have never had to before; everyone I have meet in my life has simply just known. Thinking back, I did not do a good job describing it to Mehran at all.

            Mehran also mentioned that his birthday was November 5^th and that he would be turning 22. I asked him if he was excited for his birthday, and he said that he didn’t know what he was going to do yet; after all, twenty-two is not the most exciting birthday in the world. He then asked me what the big birthdays were here, and I told him sixteen, eighteen, and twenty-one. These are the most exciting because sixteen is when you can drive, eighteen is when you are considered an adult, and twenty-one because that is when you can drink.

            Mehran and my conversation focused on a wide variety of holidays, which is always a fun topic. I really enjoyed our conversation this week, but I find it odd that this week marked the halfway point of conversations. I feel as though there is so much to get to know about Mehran, yet so little time.

Third Conversation with Mehran

Mehran and I met again for the third time at our usual location of 1873. Every time we meet I am always nervous that I will not be able to think of things to talk about, but that is never the case.

            We began our conversation talking about how our fall breaks were. He said that he just stayed here, and that he attended the TCU and Iowa State football game. However, he did not stay at the game long because TCU was losing by so much. He literally left as soon as he saw the scoreboard and was there for only five minutes. I agreed that the TCU football game was disappointing, and I told him that it was just a bad weekend for football because my beloved Broncos also lost. I then asked Mehran what his plans were for the upcoming weekend, and he mentioned that he was going to going to the Fort Worth Zoo and to a haunted house for a fieldtrip. I told him that I was insanely jealous because I have not had opportunity to go on a fieldtrip since eighth grade. My school life now consists of lectures and books. Mehran laughed a little bit at this comment, and invited me to come to the zoo with his class on Friday. I told him that I unfortunately had class, but I was beyond tempted to skip my classes and go.

            Mehran then mentioned a program that he is involved with called Toastmasters and was shocked when I said that I had never heard of it before. Mehran told me about all of the activities the Toastmasters does, which includes discussion circles and presentations. He even told me a story about how he had to give a presentation the other day when his friend came into the meeting and started making funny faces at him. Mehran said he could not refrain from laughing and had to excuse himself in order to tell his friend to stop. I found this story humorous because everyone has at least one goofy friend. Mehran then showed me where Toastmasters meet, which is on the third floor of the BLUU. He also said that I should attend one of the meetings, which are every Wednesday from 12:00 to 12:50.

            I always enjoy our conversations because he always has such interesting stories to share. He is always so energetic about everything we talk about, and I cannot wait until we meet again.

Second Conversation with Mehran

Once again I met with Mehran at 1873; however, this time the conversation was primarily focused on Fall Break and dogs. We also exchanged funny stories, and many laughs. After all, it is hard to talk about school and work during midterms week.

            The conversation started with us talking about our Fall Break plans. Mehran said that he was planning on going to Las Vegas for Fall Break; however, he was not quite sure yet. I asked him if he was driving there, but then he looked at me as though I was crazy for even asking and explained that he would fly if anything. I then told him that I was planning on going home to see my family during in Colorado and then ranted about how amazing Colorado was for the next several minutes. I explained how it would actually look like fall in Colorado unlike in Texas because in Colorado the trees’ leaves turn orange and red, while in Texas the leaves just turn burn and fall off. I found it refreshing being able to explain Texas to someone else because usually Texans have to explain that sort of knowledge with me.

            I then mentioned how the thing that I was looking forward to the most by going home is seeing my dachshund puppies to save them from the horrendous costumes that my mother dresses them up in. To prove my point I showed him a picture of my two dogs dressed up as frogs with a TCU banner in the background. Mehran found this picture hilarious, and then mentioned how he had a German Shepard. He then pulled out his phone and showed me a video of his German Shepard and its white German Shepard friend playing on a bed. They were absolutely adorable, which made me laugh. I suppose animals are considered universally funny because the humor associated with them is so simple.

            I thoroughly enjoyed Mehran and my conversation this week because it was so laid back and easy to talk to him. I cannot wait until our next conversation, so I have the opportunity to get to know him better and catch-up with him after Fall Break.