Preview

Summary Of Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
299 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton
Alain de Botton argues in his book, Status Anxiety, that the chief aim of humorists is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that be dangerous or impossible to say directly”. Because of this, he says that humorists play a vital role in society since society allows humorists to communicate things that other people cannot or will not say. I disagree with Alain de Botton’s argument that humorists convey impunity messages because of comedians George Carlin and Lenny Bruce. George Carlin was an extremely influential comedian that got arrested for doing one of his most famous skits, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”. After doing the skit at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, he was arrested for breaking obscenity laws.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of How To Fight Presidents 'By O' Brien
    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rhetorical Analysis Of How To Fight Presidents 'By O' Brien

    When O’Brien was being detained by the secret service for an article he wrote entitled “How to Fight Presidents”. He pondered on the implications of satire and how they also related to being a comedian. To ponder a statement like this O’Brien decided that it was best to use pathos to rhetorically appeal to an emotion in order to connect his words together. Logically, he knew that because he was talking to a secret service member the seemingly egotistical statement did not make it out of his mouth. Rather thought this statement as result of the joy he felt at the moment where he thought he might have got away easy. “Ah, the life of a joke smith, I mused internally, the burden and joy of making the world a more magical place, one laugh at a time.…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary Of Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton
    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton

    The general argument made by author Alain de Botton in her book, Status anxiety, is that comedians are able to talk about controversial or offending messages, but get away with it because they are humorist. More specifically, Botton argues that humorists serve a vital function in society because they can say things that others cannot or will not say. She writes “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” In this passage, Botton is suggesting that we need humorists to say the offensive things in a humorous way so it is acceptable. In conclusions, Botton’s belief is that we need comedians to say the things that aren’t okay to be said by others.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Joseph Baskin Outsiders Analysis
    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page

    Joseph Baskin Outsiders Analysis

    1. In the essay, Outsiders/Insiders, Joseph Boskin, history professor who taught 30 years at Boston University African American studies, director of Urban Studies and Public Program and whose devoted his time and research on the study of American Humor and its relationship to social change and historical events and author of many books of humor's peculiar lies claims that jokes have been greatly influenced by people's personal experiences in American society.…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton Rhetorical Analysis
    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton Rhetorical Analysis

    In Alain de Botton’s 2004 book, Status Anxiety, he claimed that the chief aim of humorists is not to just entertain, but also to “convey impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” This statement is true because comedians, cartoonists, and other humarists can change the world with messages that they portray through their works. By using their different techniques, humorists can effectively get a message out to the public that would typically get a person in trouble. Such an example of this would be political cartoonists who, through their works, can show representations of political corruption throughout the government without being target by the mentioned politicians. Political cartoonists have always delivered their messages to the public despite the dangers they may face for it, such as the political cartoonists…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    AP Free Response 2
    • 688 Words
    • 1 Page

    AP Free Response 2

    impossible to state directly.” He proposes that humorists are allowed by society to say things an…

    • 688 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jon Lovett The Culture Of Shut Up Analysis
    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jon Lovett The Culture Of Shut Up Analysis

    In the article “The Culture of Shut Up,” author Jon Lovett ponders the current state of public dialogue in the age of the Internet. Lovett is a Los Angeles based writer and a former speech writer for President Barack Obama (13). The author suggests that the internet, which provides for exceptional access to diverse public speech, will inevitably include speech that is offensive. Lovett’s opinion is that people must resist the urge to punish such speech, if people want to allow a range of voices to be heard and makes his argument majorly effective by using humor and providing popular examples of where people have been told “to shut up”.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    He Looked Into The Reaper's Eyes And Nervously Spirits
    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages

    He Looked Into The Reaper's Eyes And Nervously Spirits

    In Jeffrey Klassen's essay, “He Looked Into the Grim Reaper’s Eyes and Nervously Laughed,” he describes Henri Bergson's theory on comedy and applies it to the movie Office Space. Bergson's take on humor presents three key ideas. The first of these is that comedy is purely intellectual and not emotional. When we laugh at something that happens to someone else or anything we see on screen, we are able to take emotion out of the equation just for a moment and only focus on what is funny about what we see and hear--whether we understand why we find this funny or not. The second theory offered is that laughter can be used to correct society's behavior. One example of this can be better explained by thinking about how you may feel when someone laughs at you for doing something in a particular way. The feeling that comes with being the target of a…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Botton's Arguments
    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Botton's Arguments

    Humorists are people who are skillful in using humor for writing, talking, or acting. Their works bring laughter and elation to people. In Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he believes that humorists not only entertain audience, but also convey important messages that cannot be said directly. Thus, he argues that humorists play a vital role in the society. In most cases, Botton’s claim is justified in that since the early nineteenth century, humorists express their thoughts about the society through humor. Some of these humorists do play important roles in the society by revealing crisis or events happening during that time period to bring awareness from the society.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis
    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis

    Humorists are entertainers; even before written history they have always been essential to society. Comedians such as Chris Rock, have never been and are praised for their entertainment. Humanity has standers, where a person with high expectations in society cannot say personal comments due to their status in the social order. Nevertheless, humorists are allow to say anything they can and without any consequences. This idea allows comedians to speak out and say what they please with impunity messages. These comedians who speak their word are found hilarious since they speak truth that we as a society can not say or we would be shun by our classes. Furthermore, humorist’s shows such as Tosh.0 or even Silent Library aren’t a threat to civilization or any political figure. They are the jesters of society. These shows help alleviate the amount of stress an individual contains from their hassles in life. They also help to maintain balance in society by providing decent enjoyment and relaxation. Humorist’s impunity messages are not always sympathetic but they still catch the audience attention by providing unnecessary attention to themselves and others as entertainment.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Alan De Botton Humorists
    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Alan De Botton Humorists

    Alan de Botton’s views on the vital role of humorists in conveying unpopular or difficult to say perspectives is mostly incorrect. While it is undeniable that humorists are allowed to say some things other people normally can’t, the role of humorists in society is not vital because of these messages, nor is this immunity all-powerful in protecting these humorists from backlash. The vital function of humorists in society is not to be some sort of activist (society has enough of those already), but rather to be funny—to pursue their chief aim of entertainment, and to make people laugh.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Popular Satire
    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Popular Satire

    “Most people under the age of twenty-five get their news from shows like mine,” Stephen Colbert stated on his former late night show The Colbert Report. His program, along with other popular Comedy Central news shows such as The Daily Show and The Nightly Show provide factual national and international current events, with entertaining satirical commentary. In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he claims that humorists are vital to society because they say things that others cannot and will not say. Humorists are important in any society because they are given the duty of speaking up through challenging authority, making people think, and voicing their opinions.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Caitlin Flanagan That's Not Funny Analysis
    • 164 Words
    • 1 Page

    Caitlin Flanagan That's Not Funny Analysis

    The author of “That’s Not Funny!”, Caitlin Flanagan, attempts to communicate to the general public about the harsh ramifications a comedian can face if she is not careful with her choice of words while performing. Particularly, with college students when it comes to subjects concerning things such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender roles.…

    • 164 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Alain De Botton Humorists
    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Alain De Botton Humorists

    Alain de Botton claimed that humorists entertain, but can also say things without punishment. I agree with him because we have freedom of speech in America. Even though, everyone might not agree with what’s being said, it is good to voice your own opinion and not just follow the crowd. Humorists can sometimes say some bad jokes. It is best to ignore these jokes if you don’t agree with them. For example, Saturday Night Live gets away with saying stuff about our government or our media. The humor on that show has sometimes gone a little too far. I am personally surprised that show hasn’t gotten in trouble more. But, it isn’t meant to offend someone. They only use that sense of humor to try and be funny. I believe it is true that we allow humorists…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Humorists
    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Humorists

    In his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, Alain De Botton argues that the chief aim of humorists is not merely to entertain but to convey with impunity, messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly. He believes humorists are allowed by society to say things that others won’t or do not want to express, thus serving a vital role in a functioning society.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Appling
    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Appling

    In the article by Marta Dynel, verbal humor was divided into the categories of canned jokes and conversational humor. Conversational humor is the term used for verbal humor that are spontaneously fashioned. The different types of conversational humor are: lexemes and phrasemes, witticism, retorts, teasing, banter, put downs, self-denigrating humor, and anecdotes. Lexemes and phrasemes are the shortest kind of conversational humor and they deliver humor by juxtaposing their components and their new semantic meaning. Retorts overlap with witticism and its humor originates from its objective to amuse the third party audience at the expense of the addressee through aggressive humor. Teasing also utilizes aggressive humor, but it is used in a playful manner under a humorous frame. Banter involves the exchange of humorous remarks between parties that build upon each other. Although put downs may seem similar to aggressive teasing, it produces a type of humor that is meant to mainly ridicule its target. In self-denigrating humor, speakers are able to present their positive side by mocking themselves to a certain extent that is not fully degrading. Anecdotes are delivered through humorous narratives that are centered on a person’s experience. Witticism, which is further expanded in the article by Norrick, are humorous remarks that do not necessarily occur in humorous conversational situations. The types of Stock conversational witticism (SCWs) are comparisons, retorts, quips, allusions and register clash. The humor in SCWs is manifested through their schema of conflicts that tells the unexpected and irrelevant things. Although verbal humor is a powerful way of showcasing an individual’s intelligence and wit, the speaker need to take into account of where they are generated for they can be impolite and offensive at…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics