Blog 4: Analysis of Shaggy Dog stories

1.  What types of language strategies make a Shaggy Dog story effective?


I enjoy a good joke.  I am analyzing the giant panda story because I believe that usage of skilled rhetorical language would make the joke as effective as possible. For Shaggy Dog story to be effective, the joke teller must incorporate various techniques to make it effective.



Social language

For the giant panda joke story to be effective it must connect to the audience and this is achieved through highly skilled usage of rhetorical language as the joker keeps the audience in mind.  For example:  fast pace speaking should be used in conjunction of body language on the very start of the story to immediatelly grab the audience attention.  The audience attention should be maintained though other language techniques such as rise and pitch of the voice.  For instance,  the word "the maitre d' on the second line if high pitched and told in a comical way, would make the audience giggle a little.  This also opens right way the anticipation of the audience and their expections of what follows.

Intertextuality

The information given revealing that the maitre d' is a native New Yorker who seen it all, is an anticipation that prepares the audience for the punch line.  This information is a great example of intertextuality as it serve several purposes: prepares the audience's anticipation and highlights in the punch line for how wrong he has been to believe he had seen it all.  This is further reflected through the end revelation of the hiden definition of the word "giant panda.  As explained in Gee's building tools, we built thing through language.

Social language/Identity

Last, the setting must be right for this joke.  A moment of laughter when the companions are in a joke telling mood. The panda joke can also be told as a contrast to the an apposite event to lighten up the mood.  A good joke teller will know when is the right moment for a certain type of joke and when is not.  A joke at a wrong time can be a disastrous rather than a pleasure when it results unwelcome or even offensive. On the other hand, it can also be a positive image of oneselves if the punch line and all other component were effective.  The environment and audience must be part of the rhetorical analysis prior to the joke telling.