The Brief Study on Black Humor in Catch22 简析黑色幽默技巧在二十二条军规中的应用.docx
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The Brief Study on Black Humor in Catch22 简析黑色幽默技巧在二十二条军规中的应用.docx
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TheBriefStudyonBlackHumorinCatch22简析黑色幽默技巧在二十二条军规中的应用
TheBriefAnalysisonBlackHumorinCatch-22
Name:
刘彩君StudentNumber:
09157097
Abstract
JosephHellerisoneofthemostprominentAmericanwritersinthe20thCentury.Assoonasthepublicationofhismasterpiece,Catch-22,HellerhasattractedattentionfromallovertheworldandhisreputationasatalentedAmericanwriterswasalsoimmediatelyestablished.Catch-22nowisuniversallyacknowledgedasoneofthetypicalrepresentativebooksofblackhumor.Hellermakesawonderfuldeductionofblackhumorwiththefreshsubjectanduniquestyle;hecreatesmanyabsurdimagesinasymbolicway.Manydialogues,characters’individualitiesandeventhechronologicalstructurearedisorder,ridiculousandparadoxical.TheauthorofthethesispapermainlydemonstratestheapplicationofblackhumorinCatch-22throughfouraspects:
theportrayalofmaincharacters,thearrangementofthechronologicalstructure,themotifsofthenovelandthefeaturesoflanguage.
Thethesisisstructuredasfollows:
ChapterOnetakesabriefreviewofJosephHellerandhisCatch-22,presentingtheliteraturereviewaboutthenovelinrecentyearsandthethesisstatement.ChapterTwogivesageneralexplanationoftheblackhumor.ChapterThreedealswiththeblackhumorreflectedinCatch-22.ChapterFouristheconclusion.Inthispart,theauthorofthethesisconcludesthetypicaluseofblackhumoranditsfunctionthathelptounderstandthemeandHeller’spurposeofwritingthisnovel.
Keywords:
blackhumor,Catch-22,paradoxicallaw,absurdity
Ⅰ.Introduction
1.1JosephHellerandCatch-22
JosephHeller(1923-1999)isanAmericannovelists,playwrightandshortstorywriter.AsoneofthemostprominentAmericancontemporarynovelists,hisbest-knownnovel,Catch-22,isrecognizedasamajorworkofthepostwarperiodandremainshismostfamousandacclaimedwork.Becausehismarveloususeofblackhumorandsatireinhisliterarycreation,Hellerbecomesoneoftherepresentativesofblackhumor-aindispensableliterarytrendwhichthrivedintheUnitedStatesin1960s.HewasborninBrooklynin1923.In1942,HellerenlistedintheArmyAirCorps.In1944,hiscadettrainingcompletedandhewasdispatchedtoCorsica,cohereheservedasawingbombardieronsixtycombatmissionsuntilhegothonorablydischarged.Hence,hismilitaryexperiencesaresimultaneouslyreflectedinCatch-22.AfterthewithdrawalfromtheWorldWarⅡ,heenjoyedalongcareerasawriterandateacher.HellerwroteCatch-22whileworkingataNewYorkCitymarketingfirmproducingadcopy.ApartfromCatch-22,hisbest-sellingbooksincludeSomethingHappened,GoodasGold,PictureThis,GodknowsandClosingTime.
Catch-22isJosephHeller’smasterpiece.ThenoveldrawsheavilyonhisAirForceexperienceandpresentsawarstorythatishilarious,grotesque,cynical,andstirring.Althoughitgeneratedagreatdealofcontroversyonitsinitialpublicationin1961,astimegoesby,Catch-22hasbecomeoneofthedefiningnovelsofthetwentiethcentury.ThenovelreflectstheultimateabsurdityofmodernAmericansocietythroughdepictionofanutterlyunsentimentalvisionofwarthathappenedontheislandofPianosa,neartheItaliancostintheMediterraneanSea.“Strippingallromanticpretensesawayfromcombat,replacingvisionsofgloryandhonorwithakindofnightmarishcomedyofviolence,bureaucracy,andparadoxicalmadness”(Miller&Phillips2).Inthenovel,Hellerrepresentsusavividimageofanti-hero,Yossarian,whoseonlypurposeinlifeis“strugglingtoavoidbeingoverwhelmedbysuchinstitutions”(Chen17).Asaleadbombardier,Yossarianjusthasonegoal:
tosurvive.Yet,abusingtheruleofCatch-22,thenewcommander,ColonelCathcartkeepsraisingthenumberofmissionsrequiredinordertofulfillhispersonalpromotion.Yossarianhasagonythathislifeisinconstantdangerthoughonfaultofhisown.NoonebutYossarianseemstorealizethatthereisawargoingon;everyonethinksheiscrazywhenheinsiststhatmillionsofpeoplearetryingtokillhim.Yossarian’sstoryformsthecoreofthenovel,somosteventsarerefractedthroughhispointofview.Inhiseyes,theso-calledgloryandpatriotismarenothingbuttheexcusesforthosebureaucratstofulfilltheirownlusts.ThenovelmakesacloseasYossarian,continuallytroubledbySnowden’sdeath,refusestoflyanymoremissions.Hegetachancetobereleasedandsenthomewithanhonorabledischarge,whilehastoacceptoneconditionprovidingbyColonelCathcart:
Yossarianmustpromisetopraisehiscommandingpolicy,whichrequiresallsoldierstoflyeightymissions.However,Yossarianisreluctanttoendangerthelivesofotherinnocentmen.Attheendofwholestory,hedecidestodesertthearmyandfleetoneutralSweden.Inthisway,Yossarianescapesfromthedehumanizingcoldmachineryofthemilitary,rejectstheruleofCatch-22andwinbackhisfutureforcontrollinghisowndestiny.
1.2.Literaturereview
Afterthenovel’sbirthin1961,differentjudgmentsconstantlyemerged.Criticstendedeithertoadoreitordespiseit.Somepeoplearguethat“Heller’ssocialsatireisunpatriotic,thesexualreferencesareoffensive;itsstyleisrepetitious;itsstructureisincoherentanditscharactersareunbelievable”(qtd.inNagel5).Onthecontrary,theotherscomplimentthatCatch-22is“thegreatestsatiricalworkinEnglishsinceErewhon”(Kiley3).Itseemsthatthosewhohateditdidsoforthesamereasonsasthecriticswholovedit.Althoughithasreceivednumerouscriticismsintheearlyperiodofitspublication,finally,itreapsoverwhelmingadmirationfrommostofthecriticssuchasRobertBrustein,BrianWay,NormanPodhoretz,etc.Unlikeotheranti-romanticwarnovels,suchasErichMariaRemarque’sAllQuietintheWesternFront,Catch-22reliesheavilyonhumortoconveytheinsanityofwar,presentingthehorriblemeaninglessnessofarmedconflictthroughakindofdesperateabsurdityratherthanthroughvividdepictionsofsufferingandviolence.“TheabsurdismofCatch-22comesfromamodernsenselessnessandisadirectreactiontocontemporaryhistoryandinstitutions.”DespiteitsWorldWarⅡsetting,Catch-22isoftenrecognizedasasignaturenovelofthe1960sto1970s.DuringthosedecadesthatAmericanyouthtrulybegantoquestionauthorityandHeller’snovelfittedinexactlywiththespiritofrevolution.Infact,Heller“incorporatestheconventionsofthehumorouswarnovel,traditionalsatire,andsocialprotestintothevastarchitectureofCatch-22”tomockthepersonalrelationshipsinbureaucraticauthority.Hisanti-traditionalwritingskillsachievehimfameasoneofthegreatestwriterofblackhumor.TheresearchofJosephHellerandhisCatch-22inChinawasmuchlaterthanthatinAmerica.Thosestudiesarechieflyinterpretedfromtwoperspectives:
theperspectiveofblackhumorandtheperspectiveofpostmodernism.Obviously,theformertakesthepriority.Forinstance,inWangLing’smonograph,AStudyoftheAmericanBlackHumorFiction,shehasdiscussedtheeffectsofblackhumorinCatch-22.Moreover,therearemanyarticlesinvolveinthisaspect,suchasWangGuoming’s“OnBlackHumorLiterature”,LiuJie’s“BlackHumorandJosephHeller”andHuHailan’s“AnAbsurdSoulinAnAbsurdWorld”,etc.Ittellsthatwhetheroverseasordomestic,theresearchesonCatch-22wasneverdismissedandwillbepermanent
1.3.Thesisstatement
Actually,Catch-22,thetitleitself,isthebestthebestevidenceofblackhumor.Itisdefinedinvariouswaysthroughoutthenovel.Inshort,Catch-22isanyparadoxical,circularreasoningthatcatchesitsvictiminitsillogicandservesthosewhohavemadethelaw.Besidestheridiculouslawasthesameasthenovel’stitle,theconfusingchronologicalorderandthecrazyhumanityarebothutilizedbyHellerinordertomagnifytheglamourofblackhumor.Therefore,onthebasisofreferringtoresearchesandcombiningtherelevanttheoriesofblackhumor,thispaperwilltakethisopportunitytomakeabriefanalysisabouttheblackhumorreflectedinCatch-22.Throughanalyzingonitsmaincharacter,theme,structureandlanguage,provethatHeller’sCatch-22getsmoreimpressiveandimmortaleffectfromblackhumorratherthanordinaryskills.
Ⅱ.GeneralExplanationofBlackHumor
BlackhumoriscreditedtotheAnthologyofBlackHumor,a1939Frenchanthologyof45writerseditedbyAndreBreton.IntheUnitedStates,blackhumor,asaliterarygenre,cametoprominenceduringthe1950sand1960s.In1965,anEnglish-languageanthologyeditedbyBruceJayFriedman,titledBlackHumor,collectedworksof12writersofthisgenre.Atthesameyear,ConcradKnickerbocker,anAmericancritic,publishedanessaynamedHumorWithaMortalStingwhichexplicitlydefinedthosewritersofthisgenreasthe“BlackHumor”.Fromthenon,afreshmodernliterarygenrewithanameofblackhumorwasofficiallygeneratedinAmerica.
Blackhumorliteraturemainlyinvolvesnovels.InAmericanliterature,theterm“blackhumor”isassociatedwithagroupofnovelists,suchasKurtVonnegut,ThomasPynchon,JohnBarth,JosephHeller,PhilipRothandBruceJayFriedman.“Forthefiftieswriterhistoryisremoteandirrelevantcomparedtoprivatepeopleandtheirminuteconcerns;forthesixtieswriterhistoryisabsurdbutitcankillyou.”(Dickstein,112).Writersofblackhumor,astheanchorofthesixties’Americanliterature,nurseagrievanceagainsttheirsocietywhichisfullofinstitutionalabsurdity.Theymakeuseoffreezingironyandburningsatiretounleashthehopelessindignation.Theirnovelsaredevotedtosearchabalancebetween“comic”and“serious”inthe
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