That was Baby Lester pulling over the tree on top of himself, necessitating the bringing to bear of all of Uncle Ray’s knowledge of forestry to extricate him from the wreckage. Mrs. Gummidge said that she didn’t mind the smoke from a good cigarette, but would they mind if she opened the windows for just a minute in order to clear the room of the heavy aroma of used cigars? 1 What an afternoon! During the next decade, Benchley divided his time between writing and acting, winning an Academy Award in 1935 for the MGM short film "How to Sleep." His self-described middle-class perspective shaped his commentary on such subjects as the peculiarities of business, nature, and human relationships. That was Uncle George stumbling over the electric train, which had early in the afternoon ceased to function and which had been left directly across the threshold. Humorist Robert Benchley (1889–1945) produced over 600 essays, initially compiled over twelve volumes, during his writing career. Following two decades as a prolific writer, during which he worked as an editor for Life and a drama critic and essayist for the New Yorker, Benchley turned his attention to acting in short films based on his popular essays. An avid party-goer and a popular host, Benchley was also devoted to his family, from whom he drew both emotional support and inspiration for many of his essays. No one else could. Subsequent volumes were patterned after this model, comprised of a cross-section of comic essays, literary parodies, and sharp commentaries on life according to Benchley. %PDF-1.2 %���� T�%������ʴ�rtw�1�EG�U��6>و�C�3�=����y�,P����N�@��y"W��$����2�I���� � D��M�(eA��� �:���6ˆ��6-L�)���!K�R���.�:��}[.�r�2t��Eq��s�ϳ*}Ѕ�f9���D�mv��� ���K�?2D��A�D�B7�Q�0�l@rL=�6��]��� ���}��H��u��f>��(u������3�mb�����%��LӰ�D��>��qT�YZ�;�� �c_4�]��r�݊ ��3f�;fD�G�n��8�J A^&�wC��i��H;�Wq_'�܏�g��Y�[%���D�Om�T/����3!���tZe��x����7+œW�K��у�X�Zp�fT��� �$j���c8����扰)��#t:�Ѭ���d��,#|�>z��� e̎��f�l���c,��940�^�P�X�煝A�m���T�2CgQ:+J�*5]�ځ�O��0tOZ�s���wR�g�¨�,�"}� �PϱPʩ)����MRM�4zGꃞ�יQ®���0 ����z. © 2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. H��W�r�F��C'/�L��ހ�2E��f�%&gT.9�"� �E���v�)�j�vR)�˔U�}�s�9w0yG鱇����w�?����)F��A(�7��z��Q��)R����at1���S48���N>����q�n/&����bx������9��ss���.���M���U�D�_���������0$�}������g���Oc4� It looked like rain. In they all came, one after another, some crying, some snapping, some pulling, some pushing–all appealing to their respective parents for aid in their intramural warfare. I no more believe that Mrs. Gummidge thought they wanted that Christmas candy than I believe that she thought they wanted the cold turkey which she later suggested. It also contains a publishing chronology, filmography, and discography. A great deal of crying! He was also featured in a number of films, including 48 short treatments that he mostly wrote or co-wrote, and numerous feature films. 07 December 2018Richard Nordquist. That was Arthur, Sr., and George fixing it up. Several collections of essays appeared after he announced his official retirement as a writer, including the posthumously published Benchley-Or Elsel (1947) and Chips Off the Old Benchley (1949), which some critics believe contains some of Benchley's finest essays. Richard Nordquist's Grammar & Rhetoric Blog, The Socratic Method: How to Argue Like Ben Franklin and Columbo, The Burden of Christmas, by Charles Dudley Warner. An amendment was offered to this statement by the cousin, who was in the insurance business, stating that it was worse than Sunday. Benchley’s essays remain enjoyable almost a century after he wrote them because of his whimsical approach and the sharpness of his pen. Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. Three and a quarter dozen toys to be divided among seven children. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. A great deal of commotion! He was also highly regarded as a genial and tolerant drama critic whose observations were always well-considered. Robert Benchley 1889-1945 American humorist, essayist, critic, actor, and screenwriter. Robert Benchley‘s account of the Gummidge family’s Christmas afternoon–written “in the manner” of Charles Dickens–is an especially witty … It looked like snow. Throughout his career Benchley enjoyed the approval of his peers and the public for his humorous, self-effacing approach to life in the early twentieth century. His brother, George Gummidge, said that he, likewise, would say that they were. His son, Nathaniel, became a well-known journalist and novelist, and his grandson, Peter Benchley, is the author of the best-selling novel Jaws. Christmas Afternoon by Robert Benchley. During his prolific career Benchley produced more than six hundred essays for a variety of magazines, weekly drama reviews for the New Yorker, and scripts for numerous films—many of which he also acted in. At which colloquial sally both Gummidge brothers laughed testily, thereby breaking the laughter record for the afternoon. Murmurings indicative of as hearty agreement with this sentiment as their lethargy would allow came from the other members of the family circle, causing Mr. Gummidge to suggest a walk in the air to settle their dinner. Today we go back to The New Yorker ’ s second decade to highlight Robert Benchley’s “ Why We Laugh—Or Do We? Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. 10 0 obj << /Length 11 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> stream *”Christmas Afternoon” originally appeared in Of All Things by Robert Benchley, published by Henry Holt, 1921. 5 Aunt Libbie, who lived with George, remarked from the dark corner of the room that it seemed just like Sunday to her. There were insincere exhortations to “come and see us soon” and to “get together for lunch some time.” And, finally, there were slammings of doors and the silence of utter exhaustion, while Mrs. Gummidge went about picking up stray sheets of wrapping paper. From his beginnings at The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from his peers at the Algonquin Round Table in New York Cityto contemporaries i… And finally a great crashing! Benchley wrote his final drama review for the New Yorker in 1940, and during the next five years his work centered on his film monologues. . But that would be because we didn’t know the tots. Aunt Libbie said that she didn’t think there was anything like children to make a Christmas; to which Uncle Ray, the one with the Masonic fob, said, “No, thank God.” Although Christmas is supposed to be the season of good cheer, you (or I, for that matter) couldn’t have told, from listening to the little ones, but that it was the children’s Armageddon season, when Nature had decreed that only the fittest should survive, in order that the race might be carried on by the strongest, the most predatory and those possessing the best protective coloring. 7 In the meantime, we must not forget the children. The codes that appear within square brackets after the titles of the books and of the essays are codes assigned to the books and essays in ROBERT BENCHLEY, AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, Compiled by Gordon E. Ernst, Jr. A great deal of recrimination! ” from the issue of January 2, 1937. At any rate, that is what she succeeded in doing. In 1928, Twentieth Century-Fox released the film version of "The Treasurer's Report," starring Benchley. Don’t let me see another thing to eat!” and “Take it away!” Then came hurried scramblings in the coat-closet for overshoes. Commentators generally applaud Benchley's unique brand of humor, echoing James Thurber's assessment that the critics who underrate Benchley have overlooked "his distinguished contribution to the fine art of comic brevity.".

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