从《百万英镑》看马克吐温式的幽默本科论文.doc

密级：

NANCHANG UNIVERSITY
学 士 学 位 论 文
THESIS OF BACHELOR
（2007—2011年）

题 目: 从《百万英镑》看马克吐温式的幽默
英文题目: Analysis of Mark Twain’s Humor from
A Million Pound

2

Contents

ABSTRACT I
INTRODUCTION II
CHAPTER 1 THE WORK 1
1.1 History Background 1
1.2 About the Author 2
1.3 Profile 4
1.4 Theme 5
CHAPTER 2 MARK TWAIN’S HUMOR 7
2.1 General Introduction of Mark Twain’s Humor 7
2.2 Techniques 8
2.3 Style 9
CHAPTER 3 HUMOR REFLECTED IN HIS WORK 11
3.1 Humor from Characters 11
3.1.1 Henry Adam 11
3.1.2 Clothes Shop Assistants and the Boss 11
3.2 Humor from Language Art 12
3.3 Humor from Plots 14
CHAPTER 4 HUMOR’S USAGE AND SIGNIFICANCE 16
4.1 Humor’s Usage 16
4.2 Humor’s Significance 17
CONCLUSION 18
REFERENCES 19
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 20

南昌大学共青学院毕业设计（论文） Abstract
Abstract

Samuel L. Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, remains one of the world’s widely known authors. He is a famous American novelist and satirist. The characters in his novels vary from common people to politicians and principal citizens. In order to meet their selfish ends, they invented stories and slung mud at others. As a writer, humorist and speaker, he was quick-minded and contributed a lot to America’s literature development. His works are humorous, funny and witty, and fully expose American capitalist society’s demerits and discriminations, etc. His works have a deep subject and writing techniques. His humor is the outstanding heritage of American literature field and is loved by a large amount of people over the world.
This thesis tries to help readers to get a deeper understanding about the author himself and his works, through analyzing and appreciating his work A Million Pound. Moreover, by analyzing the attitude towards the protagonist and reviewing the social environment deeply, social function and significance of Mark Twain and his works will be reflected so that we may enjoy the artistic gleam of his humor. In addition, this thesis illustrates Mark Twain’s profound concern and raging criticism about the evil of the capitalist society.

Key Words: Humor; Mark Twain; Style; Significance

I

南昌大学共青学院毕业设计（论文） Introduction
Introduction

This thesis illustrates Mark Twain’s work A Million Pound. It displays a rough outlook of then time and then society, system. By analyzing the technique and performing style of humor, we can penetrate the most inner crystallization of the work, and taste then society’s reality. From the author’s background, we can understand his sufferings and his miracle life. The humor in the work displays his sophisticated talent and particular style. This paper helps readers from every aspect to experience his unique humor, and study humor’s usage and significance.
Mark Twain’s humor art is not only established in particular culture background, but also on the basis of America’s frontier life. Therefore, it looks solid, deep, stable and vivid. His humor is the mirror of humor’s inner quality and reflects the gleaming truth.
His humor laughs at capitalists’ hypocrisy and evil. At the same time, it sympathizes people of the low class, and holds a kind, beautiful hope to society, expresses the ideal of social equality, free democracy.
Mark Twain’s humor has profound social meanings. So, it has valuable and far-reaching significance. And his humor is so novel that it is the complexity of inheritance and innovation. His humor not only possesses main outer feature—laughing of humor, but also contains inner quality of traditional humor—profoundness and long—lasting philosophical connotations and self identification. The art achievement of Mark Twain’s humor is excellent and prominent.

II

南昌大学共青学院毕业设计（论文） Chapter 1
Chapter 1 the Work

1.1 History Background
At the beginning of Mark Twain’s literature creation, American bourgeois developed very fast and it looked so prosperous but at the same time democracy and freedom of the bourgeoisie and the defects inherent in capitalist exposed too. He realized the social reality under the prosperous appearance, and he began to study some further social problems. His writing style is bitter irony and a satirical style. He is a remarkable representative of American realistic literature in the 19th century. Then time was American free competition capitalism with the deep realization to the American society, he convey his resentment to the society through the lines of his works. Mark Twain experienced from free competition capitalism to monopoly capitalism. He had his own particular art style and he made a great contribution to develop the American literature to the world’s standard. He fully deserved to be called father of American literature. In times of Mark Twain’s primary writing career, it was just after American civil war in 19th century mid term, this was the critical point which has milestone significance. The 1861-1865 American civil war was end up with the success of North’s industrial bourgeois, it cleared the obstacles for the development of the American’s capitalist, and American’s political, economic and cultural aspects went through a stable developing gold period, the States United economy flourished ever day, society made progress continuously, and people were deeply inspired. So, the American real status of this period was very good.
Mark Twain lived in a time when American society developed and changed fast. At the end of 19c, the mode of politics, life, moral which were familiar to people changed drastically. The economy miracle brought hope, and also left much puzzle. To Americans, this was a time which was abundant with opportunities but also was very puzzling. Mark Twain’s realistic works had deep perception and critical spirit, making the time’s ever changing leaked into his works.
After American civil war, the population flourished, cities extended in a high speed, industry, technology and education developed quickly .Although Mark Twain’s work A Million Pound was enveloped with irony, it is a comedy which mainly contained funny humor .And at that time, the government presented most part of collection land to the evil businessmen who operated railway, mineral, mountains etc, a large quantity of benefits was in the hands of speculation companies and speculators. Besides, the capitalists occupied a large amount of mineral mountains and abundant resources.
Ever concentrating fortune and deeply monopolized fields made the American’s economy deformed, it mainly embodied in the ever frequent finance crisis and the larger and larger scale. Since 1857, US broke out the 1873,1893,1900,1907 large-scale economic crisis continually. The economic depression and the gap between the rich and the poor deepen the rank’s conflict .Workers and farmers set up trade union and association to strengthen their class advantages. The famous association had worker class’s National Labor Union and labor knight regiment. The labor regiment was the first biggest American workers association in worker’s history. Before 1878 year, compelled by the ruling class’s high-tension policy, it took secret mode. It admitted women workers, black people and farmers to take part in organization, education and cooperation, lift worker’s welfare and be against strikes conflict. These evil phenomena of American reality were just the target of Mark Twain’s critical composition. Confronted with such a disappointed and frustrated American realistic dilemma, Mark Twain, a responsible and conscious writer, was inevitably involved with the battle of defending the country’s image and people’s rights; this was the object reason of the critics.
While, macroscopically, Mark Twain’s critics was dependent on American’s reality itself .Evidently, in speak of reasons and effects, if Mark Twain’s critics was effects, then the American reality itself was the cause, this was the most exact and straight answer.
To some extent, American reality and Mark Twain’s critics were legal reflection. A Million Pound took humor and irony as tool, reflected the real life vividly and lashed society’s blemish. Mark Twain’s humor and irony sneer at vulgarity, hypocrisy money worship etc.

1.2 About the Author
Mark Twain is a famous US writer, a representative critical writer for realistic literature of the late-half nineteenth century. Mark Twain has created lots of realistic works, which launched a severe criticism on US reality of the late-half nineteenth century. Since long, Mark Twain’s literature contributions, has drawn much concern, whereas much less concern and remarks by researchers from domestic and abroad is on the historic value among his literary works as well as his personal behaviors of the time
The reasons of Mark Twain’s criticism can’t avoid mentioning his sufferings. Mark Twain’s life was full of ups and downs, anchorless life; the dream which makes big fortune broke up every time and relatives’ frequent unfortunate. To Mark Twain, who was a writer, this kind of personal experience under American realistic context, undoubtedly can lead to mind’s change and evolution, this would stimulate Mark Twain to be unsatisfied with American reality to some extent, and was the subject triggering factor of his criticism.
Mark Twain lost father when he was young, his family was as poor as a mouse, making his childhood dream broken, he had to drop off from school, and be a printing apprentice in a weekly newspaper, tasted the sorrow and warmth of society. He worked hard, but the welfare was very awful, then, his elder brother bought the newspaper and let him work there continually, but was very strict to him, and even didn’t give salary to him, he was tired from the poor apprentice life. However, working in Mississippi River as a sailor was a very agreeable memory, it was the unforgettable time in Mark Twain’s life .Mark Twain worked on river for about four years, these four years made him change his attitude towards himself, “He was being a somebody at first time”, while, during the four years, he made contact with every kind of people, and they were his works’ spectacular prototype, just as he said “I recognized and was familiar with all kinds of people, they stepped into my works afterwards. ”However, the best time didn’t last long, because the breakup of American civil war, Mississippi River closed steamboats traffic, Mark Twain had to give up this profession, and took part in civil war’s south army; he left army due to his intolerance to kill people. Then, he worked as a secretary followed with his elder brother, and bred an idea to be a rich person, he came to mineral mountain to tap mineral and harvested nothing unexpectedly .During this time, Mark Twain started his writing life, and took a job as a journalist, he wrote a series of ironic works. After paying a large amount of industriousness, and obtaining fame, Mark Twain got to east coast from set up his own publishing company. However, it was broken because of poor management, leaving a heavy debt and had to pay back the debt through making speeches around the world. His dramatic profession life and frequently changed post made him can make contact with all kinds of people from every class, see different faces every time, familiar with people’s living environment and realistic status of every class and experience the low class’s sufferings and appeals. Mark Twain’s criticism attaches great importance to his personality. He was a kind-hearted man. His kindness is just like his mother. When he saw a wounded bird which hit by a pistol falling down on the ground, his inner heart was very sad. The pity bird lay on the ground like a wound child. During American civil war, Mark Twain was intolerant to kill people himself, so he left army.
Mark Twain was an honest person. Although he was not an outstanding businessman, he still adhered to the honest principle. When his publishing house was broken in his nephew’s hand, the debt was amount to 66%; he steadfastly took out his personal money from his writing to compensate the debt. Mark Twain’s honest also embodied in the last few years before he died; he bequeathed a real Mark Twain, a real American to the next generation through his biography writer dictation. He said that he talked to people from tomb. “I really talk to people from tomb. Because I had gone when this book was published”, “I determined to talk to people from tomb rather than speak by myself is that I can freely speak.” Mark Twain could make such an honest word when he was at the dusk of his life; this was undoubtedly an honest writer’s soul gleam and noble quality.
Mark Twain was a picnicker; he hated wars, especially the aggressive imperialist war. Mark Twain wrote down American’s hypocrisy, cruelty and barbarian behaviors in the aggressive wars and put forward his own opinion of the war. He pointed out that all the people should get out of these inhumane battles.
Mark Twain’s good quality, in front of the American’s realistic corruption and darkness, would naturally bear strong counter feelings, these kinds of feelings accumulated in the writer’s heart and eventually broke up, he criticize American’s reality through his just pen. And in 1909, Mark Twain caught a heart attack, and died in his Connecticut apartment in the next year.
In view of his whole life, the journalist career cultivated his observation and loyal work ethic, made him be a sober realist.
As a traveler, Mark Twain was good at displaying an extraordinary world and natural scenery, to stimulate readers’ imagination. As a westerner, Mark Twain saw people’s venture spirit when pursuing fortune, saw how the violence and nature control people’s destiny, and witness the puzzle from frustrated ambitious and disillusion.

1.3 Profile
The story happened in last century’s England .A millionaire brother made a bet on a million pound check to see whether this check would bring people boundless fortune or just only an ordinary paper. Quickly, Adam who was from America came into the brother’s vision. This person’s boat was wrecked because of hitting the coral reef; he arrived in England successfully by working on boat. He was broken and starved at present, this kind of poor guy was the best choice. So Adam was invited to Millionaire’s.
The brother gave Adam the million pound check, and promised that he can spend it in any way within a month. But he had to return the check to them after a month, then, he would have a chance to get any job he wanted to. Adam received the promise in confusion. Whatever Adam did, he would be laughed at for his rugged clothes, for example, go shopping or go dining. However, when he took out this check, people not only licked hi