HUMOR VS HUMOUR

The book Cold Comfort Farm really didn't intrigue much however our class discussion on humor and Stella's sassy character certainly intrigued me. I'm going to consider humor, irony and the difference between British humour and American humor. Humor is dependent on many things; where you’re from, religion, culture, education and overall a person's situatedness. This explains why different countries have different humor. There are aspects of humor that all countries utilize such as stereotypes, observations and practical jokes. An article in The Times, “The difference between American and British Humour" Ricky Gervais emphasis the use of irony in British humour and analyzes why. Gervais states, "Failure and disappointment lurk around every corner. This is due to our upbringing. Americans are brought up to believe they can be the next president of the United States." This is an excellent point that shows that culture effects humor it also explains the British's use of irony. Since they are socialized toward failure and realistic aspirations they are able to use this in a witty way hence the use of irony.  This slightly pessimistic, by American standards, upbringing attributes to the underlying humorous tone of the idea of failure. Stella and Ms. Smiling do this witty pessimistic tone quite well. In the book Stella has a matter of fact tone which for me insinuates that she is serious by for the British can be humour. When Stella says, "Well, when I am fifty-three or so I would like to write a novel as good as “Persuasion”, but with a modern setting, of course. For the next thirty years or so I shall be collecting material for it. If anyone asks me what I work at, I shall say, “Collecting material, “even though Stella is being serious it's humorous because she is so straight-forward, this is irony.(Gibbons, Chapter 2)  Irony as defined by Wikipedia is "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect." Irony is the basis for a lot of the humor in Cold Comfort Farm and I think that is why it does not appeal because were some see irony, I see pessimism and take it seriously. Unfortunately, British humour does not resonate with me but now I know why. So when it comes to British humour is it humor or merely irony? P.S British spell humor as humour so that is why it is spelled different throughout this paragraph.