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Is Wolfe’s book funny so far? Why or why not?
Wolfe’s book is not funny so far. People consider something funny or hilarious when it causes them to laugh. Therefore, being funny is subjective because people tend to have different tastes in everything, including moments of laughter. Wolfe‘s book contains numerous details, and he dwells extensively on a single subject. Although this is noteworthy because it helps the readers know more about his topic of discussion, the many details can somehow be uninteresting since the author seems to revolve around the same topic. Different instances can reduce any hilarious moments in a story. Wolfe’s book is not funny because of the seriousness of the issues being discussed, and the many details he uses to describe one particular issue, which derails the reader from the initial point of discussion.
In the beginning, Wolfe talks a lot about how the wives of the men serving under different capacities wait around for the news. In this case, he is giving the story of Jane, whose husband has died. However, he takes such a long time doing so that a person forgets the point he had made initially, and the reader have to go back to the beginning so that he can connect all the points made. The reader learns so much about the protocols that the wives use, and about how they make calls to each other. Wolfe notes that none of the women is supposed to give the news about the death of another wife’s husband. However, the women end up giving clues about whose husband has died through the telephone calls they make to each other. Jane is able to deduce that her husband might be dead from the reports given by other women. The author might have used some of the instances within the first chapter to present something funny, but he took a long time giving other descriptions to the point that he missed it.
There are instances of horror and other misfortunes presented in the book to the extent that the reader ends up missing any funny episodes that are in the book. For instance, reading about the amputated language might have been funny in another instance, but this is not the case in Wolfe’s book. This is because Wolfe chooses to use such vivid descriptions when giving details about a person’s death. The author compares a person’s dead body to that of a fowl. He describes how the bodies are blistered, greasy, and burned into rigid angles. The vivid details about Bud Jennings’ death, including how his head was smashed like a melon and how the others could see his brains are too sensitive to describe in any humorous way. Talking about a person’s death should not present any moments of laughter, especially in a seemingly real situation. Death is a grave topic, and a person looking for areas to where he can put in jokes lacks sensitivity to the topic. Wolfe is adept at presenting details in such a way that a person can relate to them, and he makes the reader feels as if he is part of the story. Thus, a reader can relate to Jane’s anxiety as she slowly realizes that her husband might be dead, and he can relate to Pete as he reaches the crash site and begins examining it. Therefore, most of the readers would fail to appreciate any instance of humor when the topic in discussion is so grave and serious.
Too many sad and serious details in a story limit any chance of the story being funny. Wolfe has presented many sad details in the book, and this has lessened any moments that the reader has of finding something hilarious in it. The book discusses many serious issues concerning the soldiers’ life in service, and the anxiety that their families have to live with, to the extent that the reader misses any funny moments. He has given the descriptions in such a vivid way that makes the reader relate to the people in the story, to the extent that the reader does not appreciate any seemingly funny situation since doing so would make the reader appear insensitive to the situation. Wolfe spends much time describing one situation, and he gives so many details about a specific situation, to the point that the reader fails to follow the initial concept, and, consequently, ends up missing any hilarious moments that might have been there in the story.