Carnivals

Although I was very confused at first (I'm not sure why, I just was) about the extensive descriptions and discussion on carnivals in "Playing Indians", I found myself thinking back to my AP English class junior year. My teacher, Mr. Bardin (a very frightening person whom you hate to love but do in the end), went on a rant one day (which happened quite often) about how only in America and England do people make fun of everything and everything, especially themselves. It was interesting to read about these carnivals and how they developed and be able to relate them back to that day in Bardin's class. It was interesting to see how the carnivals of the time of early New England and of modern days compare and contrast. In general, they have the same activities and ideas but the purpose and the attitudes towards them have changed dramatically. It makes me wonder how carnivals (if they even still exist) will be like in another 200 years.