Bad Jokes

"It occured to him that he was lucky this time that they had found Mrs. Connin who would take you away for the day instead of an ordinary sitter who only sat where you lived or went to the park. You found out more when you left where you lived. He had found out already this morning that he had been made by a carpenter named Jesus Christ. Before he had thought it had been a doctor named Sladwall, a fat man with a yellow mustache who gave him shots and thought his name was Herbert, but this must have been a joke. They joked alot where he lived. If he had thought about it before, he would have thought Jesus Christ was a word like 'oh' or 'damm' or 'God', or maybe somebody who had cheated them out of something sometime." (The River, O'Connor, pg 31)

As I continued to read on in the story, it was obvious not only from this paragraph but as well as from many others that Harry lived a rough life with two parents who paid more attention to their social lives than to their child. I believe the "joking" that Harry recalls happening at his house all the time is lying. He probably sees lies as jokes because of the way his parents neglect them (promises were probably too easily broken in his house). Harry himself easily lies to Mrs. Connin about his name, and doesn't hesitate to continue lying to the preacher as well. The joke reference came up later in the story when Harry was in the rive right before he drowned. On page 45, Harry is jumping into the river because the preacher promised him that the river would lead him to the Kingdom of Christ (which Harry probably imagines is a better place than his own home). When the river fails at first to take Harry anywhere, he instantly believes that what the preacher had told him was just another joke. I just thought it was interesting that Harry viewed lies as being jokes, probably due to his home life.