puredrivel - Bret Wojcik 1 English 250 Humor...

Bret Wojcik 1
English 250
1/30/08
Humor Analysis/Response Essay
Pure Drivel? More like pure genius!
Steve Martin is known for his acting more than his writing; however that should change
because of the witty and dexterous ways he writes his essays. Steve Martin takes issues that most
people deal with sometime in their lifetime and adds a comical spin to keep the readers glued to
the pages and beg for more. In his essays “Dear Amanda” and “Side Effects”, he tackles the
matters that most of us will deal with at one time or another in our lives. The method Steve
Martin uses to provide insights into the lives of people is warming and adds humor to the
problems society deals with. Manipulating the language in his essays illustrates how Steve
Martin is clever and how the substance is pertinent to the readers.
Unless you marry your first love, you probably have ended a relationship with someone
in your life. The “Dear Amanda” essay is written in epistolary form with a comedic tone about
an obsessive ex-boyfriend who has problems letting go of his ex-girlfriend. His excuses for
contacting her are quite absurd such as wanting to let her know that Lucy episode was on and she
would want to see it. Joey contacted her again explaining that his cat accidentally jumped on her
speed dial button and he was glad they would have the chance to talk again. He persuades her to
keep contacting him for many different reasons and she cannot take it anymore by saying, “it’s
over Joey, get it into your head.” Joey responds by saying, “so many interpretations.” Joey’s
stalking ways continue when he says that he found himself on Amanda’s street and noticed a

Bret Wojcik 2
yellow mustang. This is obviously not a coincidence because when you are dating with a person
you know where they live and how to get there. He was just “checking up” on her to try and get a