Barrel of Laughs

Gonzalez, Enrico Daniel R. 3Lit Topic: Exploring the Scope of Philippine Humor Thesis Statement: The humor of Bob Ong spans the various aspects of Philippine Society, most notably the Political, Academic and Cultural Aspects. *“A Barrel of Laughs: A study of Philippine Humor through the Works of Bob Ong*” Introduction The wonders of our country’s humor never cease to amuse even the most restless individual. It’s rather comical wit, often delivered by those who practice the art of comedy, has somehow managed to put a smile on our faces. Whether it was poking fun at our culture, our politics, or our culture in particular, the laughter we bring about is a sign of a job well-done by our comedians and comediennes of our mother land. One such comedian, who took the path of writing to bring about his own brand of funny, is the rather infamous Bob Ong. Who Bob Ong really is actually quite an intriguing mystery, seeing as the short biography found at the end of all his books seems too mundane and surreal to be believable. There is even a theory that Bob Ong is not a real person, but a group of people writing about different experiences in life from a humorous standpoint. It can be said that the amount of anonymity The man behind Bob Ong uses is part of his mystique as a writer. The only thing we know for sure is that “Bob Ong” is actually a pseudonym that the writer uses, a persona that masks the writer’s true identity. One thing that cannot be denied, however, is that his brand of comedy is quite witty and downright laughable. He has produced great works such as “ABNKKBSNPLAko?!!!” which talks about his experiences in school both as a student and as a teacher through a humorous perspective, “Ang Alamat ng Gubat” a fable that seems to reflect our politics in a comical fashion, “Paboritong Libro ni Hudas”, which follows a main plot not unlike “Dante’s Inferno”, and “Stainless Longganisa”, a pseudo-autobiography which covers the finer details of writing.