Bring out the element of humour in Gardiner's essays.

Bring out the element of humour in Gardiner’s essays.

Ans.

Gardiner is one of those remarkable essayists who expresses serious thought in a light way filling the narration with humour. In his essays all the popular varieties of humour can be traced.

Humour of Character

Gardiner writes his essays in a narrative style giving them the treatment of short stories. It enables him to introduce characters. Mostly characters create humour in his essays. In the essay “On Saying Please’ the humour of character is at its best and is created by the bus conductor. The conductor came in and took the fares as an ordinary action. Then he looked at the dog with ill feeling. It is a paradox for the dog is small, harmless and lovely. Gardiner remarks that causes of big troubles are always unimportant. The conductor waited for the situation in which he could trouble the passenger and he intended to take advantage of the situation. According to H. G. Wells such employees are angry by nature. They are disappointed with everything and jealous of passengers who sit comfortably while he has to stand at the door facing shivering cold.

“You must take that dog out”, he said with sour venom.

“I shall certainly do nothing of the kind. You can take my name and address”, said the woman, who had evidently expected the challenge and knew the reply.

“You must take that dog out-that’s my orders.”

“I won’t go on the top in such weather. It would kill me”, said the woman.

“Certainly not”, said her lady companion. “You’ve got a cough as it is.” “It’s nonsense”, said her male companion.

In a bitter tone the conductor asked the lady to take out the dog. The lady refused to do that and suggested him to take her name and address to register a F.I.R. against her. She had accepted the challenge with a rude reply. The conductor ordered to take out the dog. The lady expressed her inability in travelling at the top of the bus in bitter cold with the dog. The lady’s female and male companions supported the lady.

Humour of Situation

How situation becomes source of humour is exposed in the essay ‘On Saying Please’. The essay opens with a quarrel between a lift-man and a passenger. The passenger asks the lift-man to move the lift to top. The lift-man asks him to speak politely adding ‘please’ with ‘top’. The passenger refuses to do so and the lift-man throws the passenger out of it.

Humour of Narration

Without showing a general disrespect to all conductors, the essayist praises one conductor in particular. He realized his politeness one day when by chance he entered the bus without any money in his pocket. It is a very common mistake done by almost everybody at one time or the other. The essayist suffered from a complex emotion of anger and shame. He feared, perhaps the conductor might not believe in his story and asked him immediately to get off or if he was good fellow and asked him to get off quite politely, he would find himself in a great difficulty caused by missing of train or an important appointment. On account of his good behaviour the bus conductor performed his duty without tension. His good behaviour inspired his passengers to behave well. If we face bad behaviour, we also feel inclined to be uncivil just as good weather makes a favourable effect on us, polite behaviour, makes a good effect. The conductor’s good nature and joyful behaviour resulted in good behaviour by his passengers.

Humour of Description

Gardiner creates humour of description in the essay On Smiles’. In politics it is defamed that common people are befooled by smiles on the faces of politicians. Mr. Llyod George, British Prime Minister (1916-22) according to a calculation, used his talent of smiling that made him successful. In reaching the high place, the main part is played by smiles. His smile was joyful, naughty, clear and secretly planned. His smiling photographs earned popular support for him Mr. Asquith, Herbert Henry who was British Prime Minister (1908-16) had learned how to smile at a particular moment. He had perfected the variety of smiles used according to the subject, but Mr. Asquith’s smile was private and intellectual but he never laughed loudly. Laughing is an essential quality for a politician in democracy. Theodore Roosevelt, President of America (1901-08) was popular on account of his smile. Smiles made him popular. His popularity was ever increasing and endless. It impressed people of all states of America. It was effective enough to unite all. Woodrow Wilson was President of America (1912-1920). His smile was thoughtful and reflective. It was different from the smile of Roosevelt. It was intellectual and controlled. It was a serious smile, while Roosevelt’s smile was naughty and full of enjoyment.

Humour of Imagination

Gardiner imagines that the passenger who behaved rudely with the lift-man was angry because his employer did not respond to his bidding of good wishes. The employer was not in good mood because his wife had rebuked him at breakfast. The wife was irritated because the cook had replied, insultingly and the cause of the cook’s insulting behaviour was hidden in the rough behaviour of the house maid. Thus, bad manners and tempers run fast and wide. They pollute the general atmosphere of social life more disastrously than all serious crimes recorded so far. How so comprehensive laws may be but the wide variety of such crimes can’t be covered by them. No law can govern our social civilities, way of speaking, movement of our eyes and all our moods and manners.