Laughing about One’s Identity with Aya de Yopougon, vol. 7: A Lesson Taught with Humour

Abstract

Abouet's characters do not know their place in society before returning to their senses. We question of how the interplay of unrealistic aspirations versus reality concerns us and makes us laugh. Their repeated falls induce laughter against a backdrop of anxiety, according to the framework of two theoreticians of laughter and humor, Bergson and Freud. This study tests the hypothesis that our desire to brilliantly orient ourselves in society in order to integrate into it requires a process of humorous reading. The aim of this work is to contribute to the study of the function of humor projected by comics. We find that laughter goes beyond life lessons and protective detachments, because it also a means of surpassing oneself, and this process integrates dreams into reality.