From its first appearance in English literature (in the Anglo-Saxon poem “The Dream of the Roodâ€) to the present, the dream vision has been the traditional vehicle by which an ordinary person becomes the bearer of important news—often a warning of some future event—to others.  In Invasion of the Airline Stewardesses Erika Ritter infuses this vehicle with her own parodic wit, poking fun at the popularity of the film on which the piece is based, at airline jargon, and perhaps even at her own irritable reaction to that jargon. But her “haunting airborne dream†can also be seen as a serious dream vision, albeit “specially designed [for our] listening pleasure.â€Â Although she refuses to preach, Ritter seems to be genuinely concerned about the invasion of jargon and meaningless phrases into our language, and has chosen a memorable confection to let us know of that concern—a confection that both entertains and persuades.
- Read Alden Nowlan’s “A Matter of Etiquette” from Between Tears and Laughter. Nowlan makes the point that while the kind of language we might use when addressing the Queen is very different from the kind of language we might use when digging a sewer, each has its own “prescribed sentences†that are accompanied by “formalized gestures.â€Â Many cartoons are based on a situation in which a certain kind of discourse is used in a totally inappropriate context. See any copy of The New Yorker or any of Gary Larson’s Far Side collections.
- Construct responses with other students to the question, “How are you?†in the following situations:
- in the school corridor, your principal asks….
- in his/her office, your doctor asks…
- at breakfast, your mother asks…
- after a regular practice at school, your coach asks…
- on the sidewalk after school, your best friend asks…
Think of additional situations and responses.