Funny Money

"There," I heard Vron whisper. The final double spread disclosed Vron on her knees, her gartered rump hoisted towards camera, splaying the busy cleft with magenta bladed fingers. Now I recognized her: Veronica, the talented stripper, here at the Shakespeare. 

Vron started to cry. My father gazed at me manfully. I believe there was a tear or two in his eyes also.

"I'm...I'm so proud," said Vron.

My father inhaled richly and rose to his feet. He slapped a hand on the cocktail console. He said explanatorily, 'Pink champagne. Well, it's not every day, is it? Come on Vron! Who's a silly then? Here's looking at you, my love.' He flexed his nose indulgently. 'There you go, John.'

'Vron? Barry?' I said, '--Cheers.' pg. 141

In this scene, Amis is employing several different elements of humor. In terms of opposing scripts, there's two very distinct realities in this scene that are at odds with each other. We have the obvious reality of Vron posing in a low-rate nudie magazine, Deboniar, which even John claims is 'targeted at the manual workers handjob' (pg.140). Then we have a distinct sense of pride all about; Vron believes this is her foray into the artistic world, Barry seems to be simply overjoyed and John (while clearly understanding that this is in no way 'art') who can't help but congratulate the two. There are a few ways in which these two opposing realities are being set at odds with each other. In the full paragraph, there's a fair amount of anaphora, or repetition of words; "Vron on a" "Vron lying" "Vron crouching", which sets up the visual elements of her debaucherous photoshoot. The dramatic emotional responses of pride and joy from Vron and Barry act as a hyperbole of sorts when compared with Johns blank and clinical description of the spread. There's also a more basic level of opposition present in this; a single meaning interpreted in two different ways. The single meaning would be that Vron has sold her naked image as porno for cash. Barry and Vron think of this as a step up the rungs of the ladder to some form of stardom, and John (while its not clear exactly what he thinks of Vron) sees the photographs for what they are, but can't really say what he thinks. The basic dynamics of the scene are fairly ridiculous as well; a father pridefully showing his son the naked images of his beau, and his beau weeping with pride at this display.