Absurdity

__//Absurdity//__


 * D** **efinition::** Absurdity is used to refer to the state or quality of a situation or person being wildly ridiculous or unreasonable.


 * Origin::** Late Middle English from the Latin //absurditas//


 * See also::** Absurd

Definition taken from (oxforddictionaries.com).


 * Examples** from text:

1) In Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Billy is a guy who spends his days creating video blogs in which he talks about various schemes and takes on the alter ego of Dr. Horrible. He also talks about Penny, a girl whom he sees at the laundromat and sings songs about. Dr. Horrible wants to steal a case of wonderflonium for his time stopping freeze-ray. Meanwhile, his nemesis Captain Hammer is busy interrupting Dr. Horrible's random songs and stealing Penny. Throughout the series the characters sing songs to express their feelings. At the opening of a new homeless shelter, things go awry and a misfired laser kills Penny. Dr. Horrible becomes a member of "The Evil League of Evil"and the series ends.


 * Most everything that takes place during Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is an act of absurdity. For one, the series is based on the characters singing during seemingly inopportune times, and it appears to be normal. However, for most this is not how we share our emotions making it unreasonable. Also, it seems ridiculous that there would be supervillians milling around downtown Los Angeles, particularly in ordinary spots such as a frozen yogurt shop and the laundromat. Lastly, it highly unlikely that at a formal opening of a homeless shelter that laser guns and a slew of evil villains (The Evil League of Evil) would be commonplace.

2) In Shirley Jackson's short story //The Lottery,// the story begins with a seemingly normal town and townspeople who are gathering for some type of event the the town square, referred to as "the lottery." All the townspeople participate by having the heads of each household take a piece of paper from a black box. As the lottery is taking place, normal conversations are heard by the people, as if this is just like any ordinary day. When the Hutchinson family receives the paper with the black dot on it, each member of their family must draw again. Mrs. Hutchinson receives the piece of paper with the black dot on it, and she is promptly stoned by all members of the town.
 * Jackson sets up the story in a way that the reader can easily picture himself or herself living in that town because it seems so normal. However, as the lottery begins, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary event. It is completely unreasonable that every year a town would hold this type of "lottery" to kill off one of its own members, thus making this a complete act of absurdity compared to what the term "lottery" means in our society today.

(EM)