On Black Humor in Mark Twain

趙孜林

摘 要：Mark Twain is an epoch-making realistic novelist and writer in the history of American literature.His novel language is witty and humorous， which contains the philosophy of life.Special preparation is closely related to the history and culture of the United States at a specific time.Throughout his realistic creation， black humor is a focus，The article will comprehensively discuss its "the core features of black humor".

關(guān)鍵詞：Black humor; Mark Twain; Realism; Novels.

Introduction

Mark Twain is an American writer， whose real name is Samuel Longhorn Clemens.Mark Twain is his pseudonym.He was born in Hannibal， a small town on the Mississippi River， a poor country lawyer and apprentice.He worked as a typesetter， a Mississippi sailor， a Confederate soldier， and a timber， mining， and publishing industry， but his effective job was to be a journalist and to write humorous literature.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn not only criticizes the barbarity of feuding feuds among feudal families， but also exposes the irrational nature of lynching through the story of a white child， Huck， and Jim， a runaway nigger， who roams the Mississippi River. They also satirize religious hypocrisy， denounce the evil of slavery， extol the excellent qualities of black slaves， and propagate the progressive proposition that everyone has the right to freedom regardless of race.The writing is fresh and powerful， the angle of examination is natural and unique， and it is regarded as an epoch-making realistic work in the history of American literature.Black humor is in fact a feature of his realistic novels.On the one hand， it is full of humor and features， on the other hand， it can analyze reality through humor.

I. The Notion of Black Humour

The six thousand words in the Big Dictionary interpret black humor as ridicule of human folly， often with morbid satire， absurd and ridiculous plot.The French Colored Lalus Dictionary defines black humor as focusing on the absurdity of the world in a bitter and sometimes desperate tone.The word "black humor" first appeared in the eyes of people with the publication of the French writer Anne Brighton's anthology of black humor.Brighton describes it as an attitude， a position， or a view independent of literature that can be embodied in literature.So that black humor first attracted attention as a particular concept of literary criticism in France.Black humor literature has a long history in American fiction， its origin can be traced back to Mark. The Twain era，Many of the stylistic themes and writing techniques in contemporary black humor can be found in his works.This paper takes Mark Twain's masterpiece the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as an example to explore the black humor style of Mark Twain from the distorted influence of family on children's growth.

II. The Reflection of Black Humour in His Novel

The adventure of Huckleberry Finn was written in this social context，In the second half of the century， the violent changes in American society and the cruel civil war made people wake up from blind optimism and begin to face the ugly situation of society. The American dream， which had been inspired by people for a long time， seemed to have disappeared. American society entered an era of emptiness and conflict.Mark Twain， with his keen visual insight into the ugly society， portrays a number of lifelike figures of small people in sharp language. In addition， the tragic changes in the writer's personal life disappoint him， adding an absurd color to his original witty style， the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn， which reflects the absurdity of American society in the middle of the century. In this work， the bitter black humor is everywhere .A little driftless hobo Huck took a raft with a illiterate nigger Jim， down the Mississippi River， and went through all sorts of adventures， presenting a panorama of American society.Tom， another important figure in the novel， also impressed the reader by living in two very different family environments.Huck and Tom formed a completely opposite character and attitude to doing things. In this contrast of ignorance， savage， savagery and civilization， Mark Twain lashed out at the dark side of American society， showing the sharpness and acrimony of black humor.

III. Conclusion

Black humor is a very artistic value of literary creation ideas and techniques， through Mark Twain， "Huckleberry." Fern Adventure embodies black humor vividly and provides a good reference for the later research.

References：

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