What is the most common perception held in this country concerning the people and the way they live in the South? The perception most of the country has about life down here in the South is one of slow-paced living, simple-minded people, and stubborn, unwarranted pride. One of the best ways to combat this perception is through the use of humor; Lewis Grizzard was one of the best at this, because he could take the experiences from his own life as well as the lives of others in the South and turn them into humorous semi-fictional stories. He was one of the preeminent fictional authors this country has ever seen because of his ability to connect with people and joke about everyday life in the south, without offending the subjects of those jokes, despite the popular opinion the rest of the country held.
The story of Lewis Grizzard began on the twentieth day of October Nineteen Hundred Forty Six in Columbus, Georgia. He was born to an Army soldier, Lewis Grizzard Sr., and a school teacher, Christine; they were later divorced and Lewis and his mother moved to Moreland, a small town near Newnan. Grizzard earned his B.A. in journalism in 1968, after which he went to work for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution as a sports writer. During his college years, at The University of Georgia he “shunned the school newspaper in favor of the independent Athens Daily News”, according to the biography written by his wife (D. Girzzard) . Sorrowfully, the literary world suffered a great loss as Grizzard passed away due to a congenital heart defect in March of Nineteen Ninety-four.
He began his career early in life by writing for the Newnan Times-Herald about his little league baseball team. After college, he moved around from paper to paper as...
... middle of paper ...
...ant issues facing our world today. At the end of the day, every one could learn much from a writer that was never afraid to share his opinion on any subject no matter what anyone else thought about it. This goes to show, no matter how much an opinion differs from the majority, or the popular opinion, everyone still has a right and responsibility to let it be known.
Works Cited
1. Staff Reporter. "(You Can't Put No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Ronk and Roll)." Tulsa World November 1991.
2. Applebome, Peter. "Is It True What He Says About Dixie?" The New York Times 8 April 1990.
3. Girzzard, Debra. Don't Fence Me In: An Anecdotal Biography of Lewis Grizzard. Longstreet Press, 1995.
4. Grizzard, Lewis. Haven't Understood Anything Since 1962 and Other Nekkid Truths. Ballantine Books, 1992.
5. Williams, Monte. "Diamond in THe Rough." People 04 April 1994: 86.
Literature is a powerful force, allowing the writer to express their opinions through their own perspective. In the source, “What I’ve Learned From Writing,” the author Shauna Singh Baldwin, portrays the idea of literature as a non-violent socially-acceptable weapon. Someone like this can influence the views and ideas of readers by conveying emotions. Personally as an athlete, I feel as though I can change the perspectives of individuals, and my interests give insight to others without any boundaries. Along with the author, I admire her courage from within, and we learn to pursue our passions and interests in what we believe and love in ways such as originality, hard work, and confidence.
Many writers begin writing and showing literary talent when they are young. Paul Laurence Dunbar, born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, was already editor of a newspaper and had had two of his poems published in the local newspaper before he’d graduated from high school. His classmate, Orville Wright, printed The Tattler which Dunbar edited and published for the local African American community. After graduating from high school, he was forced to get a job as an elevator operator which allowed him spare time for writing. He finally gained recognition outside of Dayton when, in 1892, he was invited to address the Western Association of Writers and met James Newton Matthews who praised his work in a letter to an Illinois newspaper. In 1892, he decided to publish his first book of poems entitled Oak and Ivy and four years later his second book of poems Majors and Minors was published. People began to see him as a symbol for his race, and he was thought of artistically as “a happy-go-lucky, singing, shuffling, banjo-picking being… in a log cabin amid fields of cotton” (Dunbar, AAW 2). Dunbar’s poems, written alternately in literary and dialect English, are about love, death, music, laughter, human frailty, and though Dunbar tried to mute themes of social protest, social commentary on racial themes is present in his poetry.
On December 10, 1950, in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the greatest literary minds of the twentieth century, William Faulkner, presented his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. If one reads in between the lines of this acceptance speech, they can detect a certain message – more of a cry or plead – aimed directly to adolescent authors and writers, and that message is to be the voice of your own generation; write about things with true importance. This also means that authors should include heart, soul, spirit, and raw, truthful emotion into their writing. “Love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice” (Faulkner) should all be frequently embraced – it is the duty of authors to do so. If these young and adolescent authors ignore this message and duty, the already endangered state of literature will continue to diminish until its unfortunate extinction.
Born in 1920, Ray Bradbury was influenced by Edgar Allen Poe during his early years, and he began writing horror stories when he was twelve. His family moved from Waukegan to Los Angeles in 1934 since his father found a job that paid enough money to support the family. He attributed to some incidents his lifelong habit of writing every day: “He began writing stories at the age of fifteen and in 1937 he joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction League. In 1938, he published his first short story, Hollerbochen's Dilemma” (Telgen 140). Later then, he wrote science fictions and that became his major writing style gradually. His works were highly recognized after his 1950 success: “When The Martian Chronicles was published in 1950, Bradbury was hailed as a sophisticated science fiction writer” (Telgen 140). His other work includes Dark Carnival, which was his first published work, included several stories. Another example work is Martian Chroniclesis, a fiction that talks about some experiences and weird thinking that immigrants bring from the Earth to the Mars. His mo...
Litz, A. Walton. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Supplement 2, Part 2. New York: Charles
All humans have different views on certain topics. It is one of the blessings of being individuals. The view one person has may not agree with the view the rest of society has. These are typically the people that lead revolutions, the people that start new ideas. Authors write individuals into their works to show a complexity of views on many variations of topics.
“Lee, Harper 1926-.” Concise Major 21 Century Writers. Ed. Tracey L. Matthews. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 2136-2140. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
... reflects the accomplishments made in four centuries. While man still does not have absolute free speech, he is not so suppressed that he must hide his feelings by literary means.
Examine fully the writers use of humour in The Opposite Sex by Laurie Lee This essay aims to examine the use of humour in Laurie Lee's short story 'The Opposite Sex'. It tells the story of a teenage boy who is led to his first sexual experience. As much of Laurie Lee's writing was autobiographical or loosely based upon his own life we may assume that this is the tale of Lee's first sexual encounter, yet there is no definite proof to support this argument. Lee was born in 1914 and raised in his birth-town of Slad, Gloucestershire where he later went on to set many of his novels, including 'The Opposite Sex'. His other works were set in countries in which he had spent a lot of time whilst travelling as a young man during and after the Second World War.
reputation as one of the finest American writers of all time. A man of towering
The spectrum of therapeutic techniques available within the health care continuum is very complex and varied. From traditional medicine, to holistic remedies, and anything in between, nurses have a rather large arsenal at their disposal when it comes to treating the patients that are under their care. Humor as an alternative therapy has long been understood as a proven means to aid in the recovery process. “With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health” (Smith & Segal, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to discuss situations in which humor would be a viable alternative therapy
Humor can come in many different forms. Many people are aware of the blatant humor of slapstick, but it takes a keener mind to notice the subtle detail in sarcasm or satire. In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift was able to create a piece of literature addressing the faults of the Irish culture while embedding in a humorous essay. Swift’s satire allows for the gravity of the Irish standings to be exploited under the disguise of a proposal for economic benefit.
Gwendolyn Brooks once said “I felt that I had to write. Even if I had never been published, I knew that I would go on writing, enjoying it, and experiencing the challenge”. For some, writing may not be enjoyable or easy, but for Brooks writing was her life. Gwendolyn Brooks not only won countless awards, but also influenced the lives of several African Americans.
Pattee, Fred Lewis. A History of American Literature Since 1870 . Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1992.
Humor is the tendency to look at things from the mirthful or incongruous side. It is the quality that makes something laughable or amusing. Humor is the ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is amusing or comical. It is the source of laughter and the catalyst of smiles. Humor is the spark that lights our eyes as well as the cause of tears that never grows old. Humor is a state of mind.