In THREE MEN IN A BOAT, the author, Jerome K. Jerome, recalls many funny memories during his boat trip. While the three men were discussing plans for the boat trip, they encountered the ‘weather forecast problem’. Jerome says that once, he and his friends were reading the weather forecast, which forecasted that it would rain that day. However, others pass the house, jolly and merry. Jerome and his friends mock the people as they hid in their homes, but the day turns out to be great. The next day, the weather forecast said that it would be a warm day, so the group set out. And half an hour after they did, it started pouring and the men caught colds and went to bed. This memory is one of the funniest during Jerome’s boat trip.
In this memory, the day does not go very smoothly; a character finds himself or herself in trouble. To make a story funny, that day would go differently; if everything was just as normal as before, it wouldn’t be funny anymore. In the story, Jerome and his friends do not experience a good day. While other people experience a great picnic the day before, Jerome and his group set out on a so-called “lovely day”, but end up getting soaked by showers of rain. If Jerome and his friends also have a great picnic and happily come home, the story wouldn’t be funny. A funny story always talks about an abnormal day, where trouble occurs. If a story just talked about a happy day where everyone does their daily routine and everything is normal, it wouldn’t be funny at all - it wouldn’t even be an interesting story. For example, in one story, George wakes up and thinks he is late for work; he runs to work but finds out that it is only 3 AM and his watch is broken. If George has a normal day and wakes up and does his morning routine and walks to work, the story wouldn’t be interesting or amusing. That would not make up a funny story. In a funny story, there must be a different situation where a character meets an unusual circumstance.
In this story, everything is unexpected, how it would be a lovely day during a “rainy day” and raining during a “ lovely day”. The more unexpected, the more funny; in a funny story, the main problem is unexpected. In the story, Jerome and his friends meet some very unexpected problems. When the weather forecast said that it would be raining, it turned out to be a lovely day. When the weather forecast said that it would be a lovely day, it turned out to be raining cats and dogs. That occurrence is very unexpected: we wouldn’t expect the day to be the exact opposite of what the weather forecast says. But, if the problem is expected, or happens often, the story wouldn’t be so funny. For example, a story about people stuck in a traffic jam wouldn’t be funny, as traffic jams are normal and happen often. It would be the same for a person failing a test because they didn’t study. However, if it was a story about a boat going off with an aunt in it while two people were towing the boat, it would be hilarious, as the problem and the instant shock are very unexpected. In the weather-forecast story, when the weather forecast said that it would be a lovely day but straight off it starts raining, it would be very unexpected, making the story funny. The unexpected problem and the instant shock and realization are what make a story funny.
This story contains an excellent key sentence as the introduction, which makes the story even funnier. A hilarious introduction sentence or conclusion sentence always spices the story up, making it more exciting and humorous. In the story, Jerome uses a superb and hilarious introduction sentence that acts as his main claim and overall theme of the incoming story. He states: “It “forecasts” precisely what happened yesterday or the day before, and precisely the opposite of what is going to happen today.” A good key sentence in a funny story must be short (one or two sentences long) and accurate. To make it accurate, it could be the author’s main claim and theme of the story. This funny key sentence is normally at either the beginning or the end of the story. In the weather forecast story, Jerome uses a humorous sentence that meets all the requirements. This is the biggest feature and the funniest part of this story. Other stories might not have a good sentence for the funny story. To make a story the most hilarious as it can be, this key sentence is very important. This story states a hilarious sentence that not only is short, brief, and accurate but also provides a clear theory or claim.
In THREE MEN IN A BOAT, Jerome recalls a ton of funny memories throughout his boat trip. The funniest one is the story of the weather forecast. When the weather forecast says it is raining and Jerome’s group stays home, it turns out to be a great day; when it says that it is a lovely day and Jerome’s group sets out, they get soaking wet just after they started their journey. In this story, the day does not go well, the trouble they meet is unexpected, and the story states a funny and excellent key sentence to top it all off. Every funny story talks about a day that doesn’t go smoothly, and the trouble that the character meets is very unexpected. The funniest and most important feature in this weather forecast story is the introduction sentence: “It “forecasts” precisely what happened yesterday or the day before, and precisely the opposite of what is going to happen today.”
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