Oneliner

“There’s nothing so tragic as seeing a family pulled apart by something as simple as a pack of wolves.”

DEFINITION OF A JOKE: “A joke conveys information in a funny way.”

Content of the Joke: It is tragic when a family gets killed by wolves.

In a funny way: I would say so, yes.

MECHANISM OF A JOKE: “A joke adds information in a way that triggers a sudden cognitive shift.”

The information that triggers the cognitive shift are the words “a pack of wolves” which give new (literal) meaning to the words “a family pulled apart”.

THE FORMULA: “Disappoint an assumption by fulfilling a second assumption in a surprising and satisfying way.”

Assumption: The original assumptions hinges on the words “a family pulled apart”. We assume that the family is pulled apart by a divorce or something along these lines.

A second assumption is fulfilled: Yes. The literal meaning of “being pulled apart”.

Surprising: Yes. The wolves are a nice touch and trigger the sudden cognitive shift.

Satisfying: Yes. Because it fulfills all three conditions (Humorous, Harmless, Compatible)

Humorous: Yes. Because

1) Behavior (The tendency to laugh or to grin): Yes.
2) Cognitive (Something is intellectually perceived as “funny”): Yes.
3) Emotional (The positive feeling of amusement): Yes.

Harmless: Yes. Because it’s a joke.

Harmless according to the Benign Violation Theory: The norm of how we normally use “a family pulled apart” is violated.

Is it still in a way compatible with the original assumption: Yes. We just had to adjust to the literal meaning of “a family being pulled apart”.

Unexpected Change that turns out to be benign: Yes. It’s a made up family that is getting mauled by wolves, not a real one.