Thurber s work questions our modern obsession with reason. Not because he doubts the value of reason, but because we take it to extremes and reject instinct and common sense.
Reason taken to extremes becomes unreasonable, and defeats itself.
Let Your Mind Alone echoes the theme. The Thurber influence should be apparent in Urban Folklore Inspires a Novel. Despite its simple appearance on the surface, the effects of humor seem to run deep. Yet humorists go undervalued. The world likes humor, but treats it patronizingly.