And so on until the banana story is told, with Casey the hero and
victim of each anecdote.

But an entertainer feels no necessity of making his entire offering
of related anecdotes only. Some monologists open with a song
because they want to get the audience into their atmosphere, and
"with" them, before beginning their monologue. The song merely
by its melody and rhythm helps to dim the vividness of impression
left by the preceding act and gives the audience time to quiet
down, serving to bridge the psychic chasm in the human mind that
lies between the relinquishing of one impression and the reception
of the next.

Or the monologist may have a good finishing song and knows that
he can depend on it for an encore that will bring him back to tell
more stories and sing another song. So he gives the orchestra
leader the cue, the music starts and off he goes into his song.

Or he may have some clever little tricks that will win applause,
or witty sayings that will raise a laugh, and give him a chance
to interject into his offering assorted elements of appeal that
will gain applause from different classes of people in his audience.
Therefore, as his purpose is to entertain, he sings his song,
performs his tricks, tells his witty sayings, or perhaps does an
imitation or two, as suits his talent best. And a few end their
acts with serious recitations of the heart-throb sort that bring
lumps into kindly throats and leave an audience in the satisfied
mood that always comes when a touch of pathos rounds off a hearty
laugh.