Humor in Money

In Money, Amis writes with a sarcastic and exaggerated voice, which is comedic because the characters and situations he describes are both unbelievable and completely plausible. The people that Self encounters are the most absurd individuals and their beliefs are unfamiliar to what I, personally, am used to. At the same time, though, it is not hard to believe that people like this would exist in the world, not just a fictional setting. Lorne Guyland believes himself to be a master of his craft and the entire passage where he describes his expectations for his character in Good Money is really humorous. Lorne has been hired to do this acting job, yet he behaves as if his presence is an honor and a privilege for everyone - as if the movie is being graced with his skills. On page 171, He refers to the character Gary as "Garfield", and rather than being an average Joe bar owner, Lorne envisions Garfield as a suave Renaissance man. Lorne, as well as all of the actor's taking part in Good Money, are very demanding about what they want their characters to be like. Lorne, however, is the most outrageous because he goes on these tangents about Garfield's money, foreign homes, and cultural treasures. Self's reaction to Lorne's rants are great because he sees the absurdity of this situation, but speaks about it as if this were to be expected from an actor. He does not fight with Lorne, but agrees with him like an adult would an imaginative child. Amis employs a great deal of Cicero's practice of humor because Self constantly points out flaws in himself as well as others. Self is an extreme self-loather but he still indulges himself like a playboy. Like the Quintillian definition to "refresh" the audience with commentary, Self interjects throughout his narrations. He has sly remarks about the people he encounters, yet he insults himself in the process, almost like saying that he does not expect anyone around him to be normal because he himself is far from it. Having Self's descriptions of the people he interacts with are helpful because although he is reckless and self-destructive, he maintains a sort of level-headed unbiasedness when he is referring to someone. Everything occurs the way it is, and Self's commentary provides a similar message to that of a glance in our direction or a shrug of the shoulders.