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We Survive Anyway:
The Function of Humor in William Kennedy�s Ironweed
Matthew Schulte
EN 332
9 March, 1994
In William Kennedy�s Ironweed, humor functions as a powerful reminder that if there is one thing humans do well, it is surviving in the face of adversity. The aim of this paper is to examine some instances of �comic relief� in the novel, and to show that the instances do not merely offer periodic distractions from seriousness, but provide a key to one of the novel�s major themes.
A fine example of the novel�s dry humor is in the scene in the graveyard. In this early scene, Francis and Rudy establish a rhythm in their dialog; they develop a sort of routine, almost a shtick, to which they will return throughout the novel. Rudy plays a straight man with an unpredictable twist (as in saying of the weather, �If it don�t puke�), while Francis plays a cynical, near-abusive, quicker wit. A typical ex change is:
�Rudy said, ��You hear about that stuff on the radio?�
�Oh yeah. They landed.�
�Who?�
�The Martians.�
�Where�d they land?�
�Someplace in Jersey.�
�What happened?�
�They didn�t like it no more�n I did.� (p. 11�12)
With its humor coming in the midst of serious events (talk of Albany�s dead, Francis� visiting his son�s grave�) this scene might remind one of Act V, Scene 1 of Hamlet, which also takes place in a graveyard. In that scene, with Hamlet�s casual examina tion of skulls, and with the irreverent speech of the Clowns, we see, as in the grave yard scene of Ironweed, death spoken of lightly, even while death is a major dark presence in each work. Francis is not callously undaunted by death; his concern is that he �don�t die alone� (p. 16). The humor of the graveyard scene, then, is likely not born of indifference or coldness toward death, but is rather a way of dealing with it, of taking some of the weight off its daily presence. It is also a reaffirmation of sur vival in the face of incredible hardship, of hope in the face of inevitable death�as Rudy puts it so succinctly, �Hell, I fall on the floor about twice a day and I ain�t dead� (p. 20).
The humor in Francis� exchanges with Rudy helps Francis cope. There is �something in him [Rudy] that buoy[s] Francis�s spirit� (p. 23). Francis� cracks at Rudy�s expense sometimes help Francis to escape the gloom of present conditions or to make a transition out of discomfiting visions of the past. On page twenty-nine, in response to Francis� comment to one of his ghosts, Rudy denies that he is a horse thief. Francis tells Rudy, �Well you look like one,� and the ghostly vision is ended abruptly. And Francis is not only abusive to Rudy. At times the stand-up comedy-like conversations between the two provide encouragement for Rudy, as well. When Francis and Rudy get together after Francis has visited Annie�s house, Francis tells him, in typical, understated, witty fashion, �You�re a bum, but you ain�t that bad� (p. 188). When Rudy threatens to kill himself, Francis� hard-edged humor provides a welcome distraction: �Get up. You ain�t bright enough to kill yourself� (p. 190). In the scene in the broken-down neighborhood called the jungle, Francis and Rudy switch roles�Rudy delivers meandering, incongruous one-liners while everyone else who is sitting around the fire plays straight man for him. Rudy spouts trivial, semi-correct information about certain �wizards� (p. 210), (such as Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton) and the Milky Way, and makes a corny crack about stealing his wife�s heart (�I gave it back. Wasn�t worth keepin�� (p. 211)). Later, upon Rudy�s death, we dis cover that these seemingly inane utterances weren�t lost on Francis. When the nurse asks for the name of the dead man, Francis honors him by giving him a last name (�Rudy Newton� (p. 221), after Isaac Newton), and recalling that �He knew where the Milky Way was� (p. 221). Francis feels the loss of Rudy at least partly as the loss of Rudy�s silliness. That silliness was significant in that it spited death.
Humor functions in the novel in events concerning people besides Rudy, too. At times it verges on slapstick, as in the scene in the mission when the preacher screams suddenly, waking Rudy, whose flailing arm knocks the hymnal out of Francis� grip, thus drawing attention to Francis (p. 34). Rather than leading us to conclude that the mission and the preacher are simply ridiculous, this bit of humor serves to highlight the immense hope that Chester, the preacher, has�he does not give up his cause, despite the inattentiveness of the congregation. When Pee Wee asks if Sandra, who is clearly dying outside the mission, is all right, Francis replies that she is �Terrific� (p. 37). This succinct sarcasm shows how humor helps Francis face such atrocities as helplessly watching someone freeze to death. Francis� one day of work with Rosskam the ragman has its funny moments. Rosskam makes fun of Francis for being a �Sensitive, tidy bum� (p. 112). But the reason the passage is funny is not simply that Francis is pathetic, but that it shows how caring about such things as a clean shirt helps Francis survive, bolsters his morale. Once again, humor is related to survival. Several times, Francis relies on his wit to maintain dignity (and dignity is certainly a tool for survival). Earlier, when Rosskam offers to test Francis� strength by having him lift an anvil, Francis quips, �You collectin� anvils, are you?� (p. 92). His attitude here could be construed as foolish�shouldn�t he do what ever he can to get a job? But if Francis were to sacrifice his personality, his human ity, in order to get a job, what would be the point? He would not fully be surviving if he abandoned his personality. Rather than slinking away defeated when he inadver tently frightens a lady on the street by asking her about a turkey, Francis stays around to talk to the lady�s husband. Francis is asserting his pride. In response to the man�s asking what the turkey is for, Francis says, �my duck died� (p. 151). And once inside the butcher�s, Francis� wit continues to boost his dignity. The friendly banter with the butcher puts Francis on an equal level with the butcher. He speaks humorously, not as a bum, but as a customer. By playing along, the butcher accepts him in this role, saying, as Francis leaves, �Enjoy your dead turkey� (p. 152). Another time humor allows Francis to deal with unusual circumstances is in his meeting with Annie (before he leaves home and comes back). When she asks what he needs, Francis answers with an obligatory one-liner, �Need a shoelace. All I got is a piece of twine�� (p. 162). Being in Annie�s presence is so overwhelming, it is fortunate for Francis that he has humor to fall back on. But the joke reveals more than his dis comfort. It shows, once again, that Francis is not a person who surrenders self-reliance easily.
Humor even plays a part in the conversations among Francis and old ghosts. Strawberry Bill�s ghost tells Francis, �Everybody gets an Italian tailor when he checks in [to the afterlife]� (p. 225). Whether the ghosts are supposed to be objec tively real, or creations of Francis� imagination, they would not prove very effective in leading him home towards survival and redemption if he could not relate to them in his lively, humorous way.
It is no wonder that survival is urgently on the minds of people for whom a constant concern is �How do I get through the next twenty minutes� (p. 24). The stakes are high, so naturally the relief is great. The cathartic outpouring of relief and undying hope, expressed through humor (and expressed believably, because it is low-key, dry, and not melodramatic), becomes a major theme of the novel when the reader feels it also, and senses that it applies to humanity in general. When we laugh at the carryings-on of Francis and Rudy, we�re laughing because we under stand that feeling of �still standin�� (p. 162) despite the existence of pain, death, and incomprehensibly evil, unjust things in the world. Francis, with his irreverent atti tude, his ability to laugh in the most incongruous places, helps us answer an eternal question: �What the hell ain�t gone? Well, me�Ain�t a whole hell of a lot of me left, but I ain�t gone entirely� (p. 88).
William Kennedy, Ironweed (New York: Penguin, 1984), p. 3. Hereafter, pagination is provided in parenthesis within the text.
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