Second Time Around

Blog 7

In class yesterday we talked about how to think of Juha. The first time I was reading the book I really did not think of Juha as funny at all. I will admit that there were a few instances in a few tales that I found funny and may have even chuckled at. But overall, no I did not find them especially humorous. I could have chalked it up to cultural differences or certain humor aspects lost in translation, but that was before we discussed how to think of Juha. For a bit in class we noted the similarity between Juha and the idea of a trickster. I had never put the two together but I can see now how that is. A trickster is similar to the actions that Juha takes and the verbal remarks that he makes. I think what was throwing me off was that I was always taught that a trickster had to be an animal whereas Juha is a person. But apparently a trickster can be a human.

So I went back and looked at the first section of reading where it talks about the history of Juha and some of the other names he is known for. The section I thought was particularly interesting was the paragraph right before the title heading of “Juha: The balance of opposites”. In that last paragraph the author mentions that this a character who is breaking boundaries and crossing lines. It made me rethink how I depict Juha. Since he is a person I was taking a literal look at all of the tales instead of being in the mindset of a trickster character or one who is breaking boundaries. This is mind frame that I tried to put myself into as I was reading the next section of this book.

The tale about the matchmaker finding Juha and ugly woman was the first tale that stuck in my mind. I tried to look for the humor in it but only cam across the misogynistic aspects. He doesn’t want to look at his wife because she is ugly. Poor girl! Beauty is not everything; personality and love should mean more. I get where the humor is trying to come in to play but personally I don’t really like humor where someone makes fun of someone else. I do not think it is kind. This world has too much hatred and is already so superficial that we do not need to be surrounded by it is folklore. Folklore should go beyond the typical and be used for good.

One folk lore that I did find incredibly funny was the one about Juha and his son riding the donkey. Every time they come across a new group of people they judge him for the way he is riding or walking with the donkey and his son. It really does shows how you can never please people. There will always be someone how will be ungrateful or will criticize what you do. This story depicts how we as humans are always trying to please others and make people happy by changing our behaviors. Unlike the other stories in this book that are mean and hurtful this tale seem true because it applies to everyone and no one is getting hurt. Also it applies to all people, of all sizes, shape, color, wealth, and status. I think it is effective in sending it’s message.

Another story that I thought was funny one the one about Juha telling his son to always do two things when he asks for one, so when he asks his son to get the doctor his son also brings the grave digger. I found this story funny because it shows how words can come back to bite you. It is the classic saying ‘be careful what you wish for’ in the format of a folk lore. Plus it has a bit of cognitive shift at the end because you wouldn’t expect a son to get a grave digger for his father. I would have though he could have had two doctors come instead of just one as a way of obeying his father.

The chapter entitled “Naivete and stupidity” was quite promising! When people are dumb or act dumb at least it can cause for a few good laughs. As I was reading this section some of the tales were actually funny. I was a bit nervous that it would just be stupid jokes but instead it was tales about out smarting others. I also liked how at some points Juha was the one being the smart character and at other times he was out smarted. The variation in stories made for an interesting read.