One of the ways in which Irving described Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was when Ichabod was mounting the farmer’s horse, Gunpowder. The two are a sore sight for any eyes. The horse was described as, “gaunt and shagged, with a ewe neck, and a head like a hammer; his rusty many and tail were tangled and knotted with burs; one eye had lost its pupil, and was glaring and spectral, but the other had the gleam of a genuine devil in it.” Gunpowder is a very run-down, second-hand horse. Ichabod is also described as awkward and ungainly when Irving wrote, “He rode with short stirrups, which brought his knees nearly up to the pommel of the saddle; his sharp elbows stuck out like grasshopper’s; he carried his whip perpendicularly in his hand, like a scepter, and as his horse jogged on, the motion of his arms was not unlike the flapping of a pair of wings.” Later in the story, after Ichabod heads home from the party at Van Tassel’s mansion on the back of Gunpowder, he encounters the headless horseman who pursues him in a wild chase through the woods. This part of the story is intended to be fearsome, with the horrible, headless creature tearing after poor Ichabod. But all I could think about during this part of the story was the image of Ichabod on the dilapidated horse, lumbering through the forest. It’s quite an awkward and humorous scene. Humor goes hand-in-hand with terror in this part of the story.
I also noticed humor tied to scary elements in the “Christmas Banquet.” During the annual Christmas banquet there are ten guests invited to the table. They all gather around the food like civilized, mannered people. However, at the head of the table sits a skeleton, described as, “Such a fearful guest, shrouded in a black mantle […].” The skeleton is used as a horrifying image, meant to inflict fear and wariness among readers. In my opinion the image of ten civilized people sitting down to dinner with a skeleton at the head of the table is funny. I also thought that three of the mournful, depressed dinner guests were comical. I found it hilarious that one man, described as, “[…] a certain Mr. Smith, who had evidently the fat of many a rich feast within him, and the habitual twinkle of whose eye betrayed a disposition to break forth into uproarious laughter for little cause or none,” died because his heart condition wouldn’t allow him to laugh, yet he did. I also found it funny that two of the most miserable people seated at the table were married to each other, and the chief cause of each other’s grief. Often this is the common and unfortunate case with many married couples. These three guests were meant to symbolize grief, despair and unhappiness, but to me they were funny.
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6 comments:
The sight of Ichabod on his horse is definitely one of the more humorous images in the story. It's interesting to see that the horses seeemed to represent their riders. Like you said,Gundpowder was a "run down, second-hand horse" which seems relevant to Ichabod's bizarre physical appearance and when they mention the African American on his horse both are portrayed as being very drabby.
I also found it interesting how you picked the married couple as one of the more humorous guests at the Christmas banquet. Initally I probably wouldn't have pointed them out but when I actually envisioned this couple simply disgusted by each other at the dinner table it is rather amusing, especially being that the other guests around them are ranting on about their grief and hardships.
Although the use of humor wasn't as obvious in "The Christmas Banquet," it was definitely present. I completely forgot about the married couple when writing this blog, but I can remember laughing to myself when I read that they caused eachother to be two of the most miserable people around. And the cause of death of Mr. Smith was so ridiculous it was laughable...no pun intended.
As for the skeleton dining with these guests year after year for 80 years...how can that NOT be funny? I commented on someone else's blog that the true irony is that this group of people are trying to dicover some deeper meaning to their misery and these annual banquets when they have their skeletal answer sitting at the head of the table: "Life's a bitch and then you die."
I actually commented about the exact same scene in "Sleepy Hollow." I think that it is the perfect example of a scary scene being manipulated to show how ludicrous Ichabod Crane really is. I liked how you zoned in on a specific scene in "The Christmas Banquet." I had trouble finding one specific one to write about, but I did get an overall sense of hilarity. I do remember that while reading the story, I laughed about the married couple's relationship and even commented on it in class. I agree that this is a very humorous situation. I also liked how you talked about how the skeleton was meant to be scary, but actually was funny to you.
Irving's description of Ichabod riding the old, run-down horse to the party is definitely an element of humor. Also, I had never thought of how funny a scene it must have been for Ichabod to be fleeing from the Headless Horsemen until you pointed it out. I saw humor in that situation in that Ichabod suddenly leaves town. I think he might have been scared straight out of town because someone threw a pumpkin at him. It is a rather funny situation if you think about it.
I never saw much humor in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Christmas Banquet" because it was such a dark story. Unless the whole thing was meant to be ridiculous (which it kind of is) humor was not an element I picked up on while reading the story. I must admit though having a skeleton sitting at a banquet feast with 10 living guests is an absurd scene that does have a humorous element. I, however, did not find humor in much else of his story.
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