I Funny: A Middle School Story

“Now, like all the other schools I’ve ever attended, the hallways of Long Beach Middle School are plastered with all sorts of NO BULLYING posters. There’s only one problem: Bullies, it turns out, don’t read too much.”

With a wry tone, Jamie points out the unfortunate irony in the fact that anti-bullying posters do not deter those who neglect to read them. His comment also highlights the general pointlessness of such posters when malicious bullying behavior proceeds unchecked on multiple occasions. While the intentions of the posters are good, the results fall flat.

“I’m not the kid in the wheelchair anymore (and not just because Stevie knocked me out of it). I feel normal, and normal feels absolutely amazing.”

Jamie has only been using a wheelchair for a year, and he is still wavering between longing for the life he used to have and Challenging the Social Stigma of Disability. As a result, Jamie fights hard against pity and resents any indications of special treatment, and he relishes each occasion that allows him to feel like any other person, even if some of those occasions are inherently unpleasant.

“I don’t feel so funny when Stevie’s knocking on my bedroom door. To be honest, I feel trapped.

Which, I guess, I kind of am.”

Suffering daily from the fact that his tormentor at school is also a cousin with whom he is forced to live, Jamie feels powerless in his new life until he starts to flourish in his comedy. He dislikes his new family, misses his parents and sister, and is constantly harassed by Stevie’s cruelty. Jamie initially turns to humor and comedy in order to escape, but he soon uses these interests as a way to connect.

“I definitely don’t want to bore you with the details about how I ended up in this wheelchair.”

It takes most of the novel for Jamie to finally reveal what happened to him and his family. This technique creates a realistic simulation of the passage of time, and Jamie proves to be a dynamic character as he slowly opens up and finds the strength to confront what is holding him back, thereby Overcoming Hardship and Fear.

“He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.”

In this scene, the wisecracking Gilda impresses Jamie with her quips and one-liners from the very first moment that they meet. She and Jamie immediately connect over their shared love of humor, and Jamie finds a new friend and supporter in Gilda. As his chosen friends rally around him, he builds up the courage to embrace his comedic talents on a broader stage.

“All of a sudden, I have a new dream: to disappear right into the floor!”

Jamie has a fear of public speaking that obstructs his path to becoming a comedian. To overcome this fear, he makes a well-suited choice to tell a story about climbing Everest, which acts as a metaphor for his own personal journey of self-improvement.

“Yeah, I miss Cornwall like crazy.

What exactly do I miss so much?

Everything. And everybody. I miss the way things used to be, you know?

The people who used to be in my life.

The people who used to be my life.”

With the morose and emphatic shift in the very the last line, Jamie hints at the tragedy of losing his family, which led to his move to Long Island to live with the Smileys. Here, his tone implies that he is telling his story directly to an old friend and admitting the existence of a wound that is almost too deep to express.

“You know, Forrest Gimp, you should do like sailors do when they’re lost: Follow the stars!”

Stevie sometimes uses ableist language and derogatory slurs when talking to Jamie, demonstrating his lack of empathy and understanding and his tendency to pinpoint Jamie as an outsider. Here, Stevie puts Jamie’s life at risk by stealing his wheelchair and leaving him stranded.

“I feel safe. I know Uncle Frankie will hold on tight.”

On rare occasions, the narrative delivers pointed reminders that despite his relative maturity, Jamie is still just a child. He constantly acts brave and wise beyond his years because he has already endured harsh life lessons that many people never have to learn. In his most vulnerable moments, however, he allows himself to be a child again.

“Yep—there’s very little pity on the streets of the big city. I<3NY!”

Jamie desperately wants to be treated like any other anonymous person in the world, and he loathes being judged or pitied for having a disability. He loves New York City because everyone is treated equally poorly, and no one cares what sort of problems the other passersby on the street might have. In this bustling setting, he can simply blend in and exist as one of the many.

“This whole city is hilarious.”

Jamie finds new material for his routines everywhere he goes, and while he explores New York City, he discovers that new sources of humor are all around him. In this moment, he suddenly understands why so many great comedians make their careers in this vibrant city.

“I’m also extremely nervous. As nervous as a weatherman with a bad comb-over who’s doing typhoon coverage.”

Jamie uses this self-deprecating simile to create a vivid sense of his anxiety at meeting Suzy. As the illustrations show, he becomes so nervous that he perspires all over the place. The illustration likewise tends toward hyperbole by depicting a puddle of sweat forming below his wheelchair as he cracks an awkward smile.

“This girl, as I’ve said, is extremely cool. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wears sunglasses when she goes to sleep.”

Jamie’s infatuation with Suzy is apparent as he presents a humorous and unrealistic image of Suzy sleeping with her sunglasses on. This scene showcases the tendency of graphic novels to rely upon vivid images with inherent symbolism to convey nuanced ideas, for whether in media or in commonly used emojis, sunglasses are a well-known symbol of being suave and sophisticated.

“You don’t have to try so hard to be funny because, trust me, Jamie, you are funny.”

Jamie has an inspirational dream about one of his comedy heroes, Billy Crystal, just when he is contemplating whether to give up comedy altogether. In Jamie’s dream, Billy Crystal reminds him that he has a natural talent and should just let it develop, rather than trying to force it. The dream motivates Jamie to persevere despite his doubts.

“You ‘ordinary’ people still have to use your legs to get around. Me? I just sit on my butt. I can be a couch potato twenty-four/seven—at home and on the go.”

Jamie has no issue with self-deprecation or making fun of the fact that he uses a wheelchair. He therefore uses his own situation as a source of humor because addressing the topic directly breaks down any walls or sense of pity that might exist in the audience, and as a result, he can present himself as an ordinary person who finds humor in any situation.

“Yes, comedians live for laughter, but not this kind.”

When Stevie starts spreading rumors that Jamie is winning contests through the sympathy of the judges rather than his own natural talent, people everywhere surround Jamie and mock him. In this moment, Jamie notes that not all forms of laughter are positive, particularly when bullying is involved.

“You know how heroes always rise up undaunted, never giving in to their fears or giving up on their courageous quests?

Well, I’m daunted. Seriously daunted.”

Jamie metaphorically compares himself to a hero on a quest, knowing that he will be faced with one obstacle after another and must overcome his fear of failure in order to succeed. Even though he is all nerves, Jamie manages to push through it and wins the contest.

“I’m Jamie Grimm. Maybe you saw my picture on the men’s room door?”

Jamie pokes fun at the fact that the washroom sign for people with disabilities acts is a silhouette of a person in a wheelchair. He turns to the side and replicates the sign, encouraging people to laugh at the ridiculousness in the world around them.

“If I don’t care who my comedy hurts, I might as well change my name to Shecky and move to Schenectady.”

Jamie performs his routine to a standing ovation, but most of his jokes focus on making fun of his friends and family. Although the rest of the audience laughs, the reactions of his friends and family imply that they are disappointed and surprised that Jamie would use them in that way. Seeing their reactions convinces Jamie that he should find other ways to make people laugh from now on.

“You want to know the secret to staying young, Jamie?

[…]

Being able to laugh at yourself.”

Although his friends and family are initially upset over his choice to ridicule them in his comedic act, they forgive Jamie and realize that it can be healthy to laugh at oneself now and again. Uncle Frankie commends Jamie for already having this wisdom and for sharing it with others.

“After I pour my heart out to Cool Girl, I actually feel better.

You think I should’ve done it sooner? Maybe you’re right. I guess I just wasn’t ready to talk about what happened. It was hard to talk. I’m glad it’s over.”

Jamie sometimes speaks directly to the reader, involving them as a character in his story. In this passage, he anticipates what the reader might be thinking and responds to it directly. After talking to Suzy about the car crash that disrupted his life, Jamie is finally ready to move on.

“I think all that laughing is what kept me alive.”

During his time in recovery, Jamie read countless comedy books and kept himself in good spirits through laughter. He believes that this approach has allowed him to survive despite the horrors he has experienced and everything that he has lost.

“When the world says, ‘Give up,’ hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time.’”

On Jamie’s cast, a nurse wrote this piece of advice to help him get through the hardest time in his life and inspire him to persevere. Jamie now hopes that he can spread that same inspiration to others. Thus, he uses the greatest tragedies of his life to fuel the serious philosophy that informs his passion for comedy.