Tales of Juha Part 1

When I looked at the assignment sheet and saw that Tales of Juha was next and that we would be reading basically the entire book, I thought to myself “come on. WE just got done with Hokum which I thought was going to be hilarious but wasn’t and now we’re reading Arab Folk Humor?! There’s no way that this is going to be funny or even enjoyable.”

Low and behold, finally something truly humorous! And full of endless cognitive shifts! I expected Tales of Juha to be similar to Hokum but that is far from the case. The first section of Tales of Juha far exceeded my expectations. I love dry and witty humor so I was entertained throughout the entire section. And it wasn’t just entertaining, it was enjoyable. Not every story/joke ended with a chuckle, even though many of them did, but there was not a single story that had me bored while there were a few that had me cracking up. I find it very interesting that I didn’t find African American humor to be very funny but that so far I have found Arab Folk Humor hilarious. I figured that the differences in culture would be much more prevalent in the Arab Folk Humor and would prevent me from enjoying the stories.

However, even though Arab culture was prevalent throughout the first section, it was very relatable. As they said in the introduction, “there are certain comic personalities that cross the boundaries with ease and weave their way into a different culture. I think Juha is one such personality.” While reading this in the introduction, I was extremely skeptical. I found it hard to believe that you could translate Arab folk humor for different cultures and have Juha still be a comic character. Clearly, I was wrong.

I find the fact that it was possible for Juha to weave his way into our culture and still be a comic personality. I’m sure Juha is an even funnier character to Arabs but the fact that he is funny to us also really amazes me. It was also very interesting that although there were many aspects of Arab culture in the Tales of Juha, they didn’t prevent people who aren’t familiar with the culture from enjoying the stories. Even though donkeys were mentioned in the stories numerous times and I’ve never owned a donkey, I still found the stories quite humorous. Also, a few of the stories discussed having multiple wives which has never been a part of American culture (to my knowledge) and I was still able to find the stories funny.

I don’t want to say that the stories were dumbed down because that would be inaccurate but there was definitely a sense of universal understanding present in Tales of Juha that wasn’t present in any of our previous novels. Even in 50 Funniest American Writers, some of the stories were way over my head. I think it is a true testament to the genius of Juha that people are able to find the character funny across very different cultures and I don’t think I’ve ever had a chance to examine a character who has been so successful at this. Usually, when people try to translate things that were successful in other cultures into American culture, the movie, novel, song or whatever it may be flops.

 I also feel that it is a testament to the changing times of American culture that a book of Arab Folk Humor is even published let alone widely read. People might and still do (just as I did) have their own individual prejudices, but as a whole, I feel like at least on the outside, America has become much more accepting of other cultures. Like I said, I was very skeptical at first, but I am now truly amazed that “the humor [of Juha] transcends national and cultural boundaries to achieve a university that is instantly recognizable and accessible today.”