A young child viewing the opening of a Russian doll that reveals several other dolls embedded within it experiences delight in having had his expectations of a normal situation shattered. All humor is based on an incongruity, a discrepancy between what is expected and what is then provided in reality. The audience of a text, whether it be viewing a stand-up comedian, reading a book, or watching a television program, is intentionally and, in the best situations, artfully drawn along by the presentation of a serious plot. From that serious plot the initial and canvassing incongruity arises. We are persuaded to expect one set of circumstances or reaction whether by the author or by our own foundation of experiences, and then that established expectation is shattered by the presenter.
Audience members are just like the child in the above analogy.
They approach a seemingly normal and congruous text and bring with them expectations. When those expectations are destroyed, a humorous situation arises and continues with the destroying of subsequent expectations as the viewing continues. These incongruities exist at all levels, or to adhere to the analogy, in each doll that is revealed. Each doll represents a chunk. And there are occasions when these chunks present themselves as manifestly connected.