But teach him to play an instrument and he’ll be poor for the rest of his life.
Okay, here’s my attempt:
Joke Poo: Steal a Dog’s Ball
Steal a dog’s ball and he’ll be sad for an hour. But give him a tennis ball launcher, and you’ll be exhausted for the rest of the day.
Okay, let’s dissect this joke.
Analysis:
- Core Concept: The joke plays on the proverb “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” It subverts this by suggesting that teaching someone a skill (playing an instrument) might actually lead to prolonged poverty, rather than prosperity.
- Humor Source: The humor comes from the unexpected twist. The initial set-up implies empowerment through education, but the punchline reverses this, relying on the stereotype (and often reality) of the “starving artist.” It also relies on the implied cost of learning and maintaining musical skills (instruments, lessons, etc.).
- Key Elements:
- The proverb/expectation of self-sufficiency through skill acquisition.
- Musical instruments/artistic pursuits.
- The state of being poor/financial instability.
- The time scale of poverty (a day vs. a lifetime).
Enrichment: Did You Know & The New Joke
Here’s a “Did You Know” fact and a new joke leveraging the elements above:
Did You Know?
The most expensive musical instrument ever sold was the “Macdonald” Stradivarius viola, which fetched over $45 million in a private sale. While the buyer remains anonymous, one can safely assume it was not someone who had just learned to play from a well-meaning acquaintance trying to alleviate a bout of daily poverty. In fact, owning such an instrument is a much more effective way to avoid poverty than learning to play it.
The New Joke:
Why did the newly minted concert violinist file for bankruptcy before his debut performance?
Because he spent his entire inheritance on a Stradivarius… figuring it was the only way to avoid a lifetime of poverty. And it would be way harder to steal than a wallet!