49 pages • 1 hour read
James Patterson, Chris GrabensteinI Funny: A Middle School Story
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Using Humor as a Survival Tool
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of bullying, ableism, and derogatory attitudes toward people with disabilities.
Jamie’s main skill is his ability to make people laugh, and he uses this skill in creative ways that carry a mix of subtle and direct humor. Jamie frequently employs humor as a coping mechanism, using sarcasm, knock-knock jokes, body language, props, and everyday observations to protect himself and others from bullying and to disengage from the harassment of unsympathetic people like Stevie. In many ways, comedy serves as Jamie’s weapon against the world’s hardships; he uses humor to survive his grief and isolation after his life-changing injury and the deaths of parents and sister. Whenever he encounters a new problem, he solves it with the power of laughter.
Jamie experiences bullying when people lack empathy for the challenges that come with his disability. Additionally, Jamie’s primary bully, Stevie, torments him out of jealousy for his creativity and intelligence. Jamie jokes about this unfortunate reality and notes the irony of the school’s omnipresent anti-bullying posters when he wryly remarks, “[O]nly one problem: Bullies, it turns out, don’t read too much” (18). Whenever Stevie bullies Jamie or someone else, Jamie uses humor to confuse him and to disarm his hostility, using the fact that Stevie comes from a family of people who never seem to laugh. He knows that Stevie’s singular response is anger, and he rises above this recurring abuse by making light of the situation. Jamie also jokes that he is proud to be bullied by Stevie because it paradoxically gives him an opportunity to feel ordinary and to stand up for others.
Because Jamie has had many difficult experiences in the recent past, he uses comedy as a retreat from the pain that he still feels over his many losses. Jamie feels out of place in his new life, and the art of comedy allows him to express his thoughts and process his traumas. Jamie uses humor to combat his fears and anxieties, and eventually, he gains the confidence to perform in front of large crowds of people. He is deeply inspired by famous comedians like Billy Crystal and Steven Wright, and he quotes them often. At one point, Jamie dreams of Billy Crystal, who encourages Jamie to keep pursuing his dream.
Jamie’s comedy inspires not only himself, but also those around him. He takes the gift of laughter to the people who need it most, even when they are not quite ready to laugh yet. People like the Smiley family, who never laugh, eventually open up to Jamie because he never gives up on them. Similarly, Jamie does a comedy routine for the people of the Hope Trust, knowing that his jokes will help them to overcome the hardships that they still endure. By embracing the power of humor, Jamie inspires his uncle, his friends, and every customer and stranger he meets, and his ability to make people laugh and smile transforms the world around him.
Overcoming Hardship and Fear
Jamie’s life is defined by his courage and strength as he works to overcome hardship and fear. This has been the case ever since he lost his family and became permanently disabled in a car accident one year before the story begins. Jamie endured the most difficult experiences that a person could possibly imagine, and he emerged as a joyful person who has a fervent desire to fill the world with laughter. However, Jamie does not overcome his fears and hardships alone; he has a network of supportive people who encourage, guide, and comfort him along the way.
Jamie always looks on the bright side of life and his circumstances. Although his tendency to use humor as a mask for his true emotions is occasionally a flaw or weakness that he must change, it is also his greatest strength. Jamie first began using comedy as a source of motivation and hope when he was in recovery at the Hope Trust Children’s Rehabilitation Center and needed something to make him smile. The masters of comedy acted as his support and comfort during this time, and he then chose to take what he learned out into the world to try and share his hard-earned insights. Even though Jamie has lost his family, he considers himself to be the “luckiest kid in the world” (303) because he has survived and thrived. During his time in the hospital, a nurse inscribed his cast with the words, “When the world says ‘give up,’ hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time’” (294-295). This statement reminded him of the importance of perseverance.
Jamie’s primary source of fatherly support comes from his Uncle Frankie, who gives him advice about the Three Ps—“Practice. Prepare. Perform” (91) and is always there to reaffirm that Jamie is talented and courageous. Similarly, Jamie’s new friend and love interest, Suzy, is honest with him and encourages him to be honest with himself. She tells him how funny he is and is always there to support him. Several secondary figures also have an impact on Jamie’s confidence, such as Mr. Burdzecki that he is a “funny boy.” Likewise, Pierce and Gaynor always laugh at Jamie’s jokes, and Jamie even views the Smiley family’s humorless demeanor as the ultimate challenge for his comedic talents.
Challenging the Social Stigma of Disability
Throughout Jamie’s journey, he is constantly reminded of his physical disability in one way or another, and one of his core motivations is to transcend the social stigma that he often endures because of it. Jamie is paralyzed from the waist down. He acquired this disability during a serious car accident that killed his immediate family on impact and left him severely injured. Jamie had to spend a year recovering physically and emotionally from the trauma and loss, and now that he has, all he wants to do is to find his place among all the other middle school students. Jamie doesn’t necessarily want to “fit in” or be the same as everyone else; he is proud of being unique and talented. However, he does want to receive the same social treatment that all the other students do, and he loathes being portrayed as weak and vulnerable.
Jamie’s search for belonging is complicated by the fact that his own cousin, Stevie, mercilessly bullies him for having a disability. The narrative implies that Stevie’s behavior is based on his jealousy over Jamie’s talents, and he intensifies his bullying whenever Jamie experiences the social triumph of gaining popularity or public approval. At first, Jamie relishes being bullied, noting sarcastically, “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” (26). Although he detests being targeted by Stevie, he ironically finds a modicum of comfort in the idea that Stevie bullies everyone without discrimination; Hamie calls him the “equal-opportunity tormentor” (26). Similarly, when goes to New York City and is peed on, mugged, and nearly run over, he finds an odd source of triumph in the thought that he is just like any other New Yorker, and this makes him happy. For this reason, Jamie is especially appreciative of his best friends Pierce and Gaynor, who go out of their way to ensure that Jamie is on an equal level in all of their interactions. Even more importantly, they never pity Jamie, condescend to him, or give him more help than he needs.
Jamie wants to succeed in life because of his innate talent, not because people feel sorry for him, and for this reason, he resents the fact that his teacher lets him out of detention early. He is also annoyed when the judge at the first contest tells him that he is already a winner. Jamie’s distaste for being perceived as different or less than others comes from the fact that he does not want to lose any more than he already has. Jamie has lost his family, the use of his legs, and his hometown, and he has had to start his life over in a new place. As a result, he fights hard to maintain his equilibrium and equal standing in his everyday life because he does not want to lose that sense of belonging that he always took for granted in the past. Jamie’s approach to the world emphasizes the fact that he deserves the same respect and care that anyone else would receive, and he strives to be celebrated for his strengths even as he resists being defined by his disability.
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