How Does The Author Use Humour In Out Island Doctor?
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How does the author use humour in Out Island Doctor?
In the autobiography, Out-Island Doctor, Evans W. Cottman has a dream of exploring the Bahamas. He contacts a commissioner in the Bahamas and soon makes plans to visit. Cottman arrives in the Bahamas and endures a very difficult sail to Mangrove Cay where he meets a man who influences him throughout the autobiography, Percy Cavill. Cottman then has to adapt to a more primitive lifestyle compared to Indiana. After his visits to the Bahamas, he decides to move to Crooked Island. Soon after, he becomes an “unqualified practitioner” and begins to travel the islands of the Bahamas treating people. Along the way, he meets his wife, Viola Sawyer, who he then has a daughter named Gayle with in Marsh Harbour, Abaco. Throughout his journeys, many humorous events occurred. The humorous occasions all varied in the type of humour. The main types of humour evident are situational, cultural differences, and irony. Humour is very apparent in this book because Evans himself is very witty and light-hearted.
There are many instances where situational humour is present. Situational humour is when the circumstances themselves are humorous. Evans often uses this humour because many of the situations that he experienced were rather funny. One memorable example of situational humour is Cottmans first sailing trip. He sets out on his first sailing trip from Nassau to Mangrove Cay and becomes unbearably seasick. Although, this does not sound like a humorous event, the way in which Cottman tells the story makes it humorous. “I wanted to enjoy the beauty and romance of it all. I wanted to stand on the bow with the wind in my face and sing. Instead I lay on the deck and held my stomach with both hands.” This quote shows his situation of wanting to have a joyful and idealistic sail while instead he lay on deck seasick. Cottman uses contrast between his idealistic sail and the realistic sail to convey his amusing situation. This causes the reader to find the situation humorous.
Also, there are numerous humorous instances in which cultural differences play a part. Evans grew up in Indiana and Bahamian culture is therefore very foreign to him which makes it humorous. One example is when Cottman bought a mango and tried to eat it. He had no previous knowledge of a mango from Indiana besides a mango being a stuffed pepper. In the Bahamas, this is not the case, a mango is a fruit. “Meanwhile juice was flowing in small rivers down my chin, throat, hands, and arms I rushed to the bathroom and standing in the tub, managed to eat most of the mango, though not before I was pretty smeared with juice.” This quote shows how Cottman attempts to eat a mango for the first time. Cottman finds great difficulty in this task and soon finds himself standing in the tub, covered in mango juice. Cottman uses imagery to accurately convey the comical event of him eating this mango and how he looks. This imagery portrays the cultural differences which creates a humorous image.
Furthermore, irony is apparent which creates humour in Out Island Doctor. An ironic event that occurred was when Cottman was asked, “Ain you gonna sound her? he said again. See if her blood is running right?” The Bahamians Cottman treated placed all trust in a magical instrument, they called a “sounding rod.” Cottman had not an idea