Accumulative Problems

Problems do not have to be very bad for them to affect us. We have to go to work when we have a cold. We get caught in traffic jams when we have an important meeting. We have rows with those we love and get very upset about it, but worse, all of these things happen at the same time so that even simple problems become more than we can cope with. That is, a serious of minor problems that can easily be dealt with singly, can accumulate to the point where we cannot cope. It is the man who has had a bad day at the office then explodes in anger when something trivial goes wrong at home.

Many stories are based on situations where people lose control because minor problems pile up to the point where they are not sure which one to tackle first. We can't imagine Mickey Mouse getting a cold or having a bad day, which is why he was always in a good mood. On the other hand, Donald Duck never has a good day; everything goes wrong all the time until he's in a state of fury over nothing.

Many comedy situations are developed with minor problems building into bigger ones. Another aspect of this is someone who has a minor problem, and covers it with a lie. The lie then becomes another problem, as it has to be consistent with other factors.

Imagine someone has overslept, they are then late for work. They say that the traffic was bad. The problem might have been solved for the moment. But supposing it happens several times; then they are faced with the question of telling the same lie each time or making up other lies. The Boss soon becomes suspicious of any excuse. Further, if the Boss suspects the worker is telling lies then he will query even those items that are not lies.

Such events are common in stories that involve cheating lovers. The cheater soon gets into a situation that is impossible to resolve.

		List five common lies that people tell to get over simple problems.

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