Comedy is generally defined as a literary work that is written to amuse or entertain a reader. In a comedy, characters can certainly suffer misfortune, but they are typically comedic situations with positive outcomes. Not all examples of comedy as a literary device are funny. However, its light-hearted treatment of plot and tone does allow a reader and/or audience to release emotion and tension as a satisfying escape from the mundanity of life or tragic circumstances, with the potential of gaining insight into humanity and the self.

The Ancient Greeks utilized drama as a means of investigating the world and the meaning of being human. Comedy is among the genres they developed, first as a means of satirizing and mocking men in power for vanity and being foolish. Aristotle defined comedy as an imitation of less than average men and in terms of portraying the ‘Ridiculous’. Unlike Greek tragedy, Greek comedy focused on human weaknesses and foibles, and less ‘virtuous’ people.

“Every day we’re told that we live in the greatest country on earth. And it’s always stated as an undeniable fact: Leos are born between July 23 and August 22, fitted queen-size sheets measure sixty by eighty inches, and America is the greatest country on earth. Having grown up with this in our ears, it’s startling to realize that other countries have nationalistic slogans of their own, none of which are ‘We’re number two!”’

In this passage, Sedaris uses comedy and humor to point out that Americans often believe things to be true that the rest of the world may not see quite the same way. His observations call attention to the frailty of blind patriotism that is often demonstrated and encouraged within America.