A Brief Study on Black Humor in Catch-22 浅析《第二十二条军规》中的黑色幽默.doc

1、本科毕业设计（论文）题 目: A Brief Study on Black Humor in Catch-22 浅析第二十二条军规中的黑色幽默 学 院： 外语学院 专 业： 英 语 学 号： 20074336025 学生姓名： 华娟 指导教师： 田仙枝 2011年5月20日ContentsEnglish Outline.IChinese Outline.IIEnglish Abstract.IIIChinese Abstract.IVChapter I Introduction.1Chapter II General Explanation of the Black Humor.1Chapte

2、r III An Brief Introduction to Joseph Heller.2Chapter IV Black Humor in Catch-22.6Chapter V Conclusion.11Works Cited.12目 录英文提纲.I中文提纲.III英文摘要.IV中文摘要.V第一章 引言.1第二章 黑色幽默简介 .1第三章 约瑟夫.海勒简介.2第四章 黑色幽默在第二十二条军规中的体现.6第五章 结论.11参考文献.12OutlineThesis statement: This paper makes a tentative analysis of black humor

3、in Joseph Hellers catch-22 aiming at deepening the readers understanding of the black humor and catch-22.Chapter I IntroductionChapter II General Explanation of the Black HumorChapter III Brief Introduction to Joseph Heller3.1 Hellers Life3.2 Hellers Writing Style and Works3.3 Hellers Catch-223.3.1

4、The Background of Catch-223.3.2 A Gist of the NovelChapter IV Black Humor in catch-224.1 The Description of Main Characters 4.2 The Theme of the Novel4.3 The Structure of the Novel4.4 The Characteristics of the Language Chapter VI ConclusionWorks Cited提 纲论文主旨：本文通过分析约瑟夫.海勒的作品第二十二条军规中的黑色幽默加深读者对这部作品以及黑

5、色幽默的理解。第一章 引言第二章 黑色幽默简介第三章 约瑟夫简介3.1 约瑟夫.海勒的一生3.2约瑟夫.海勒的写作风格及作品3.3 海勒的第二十二条军规3.3.1第二十二条军规的创作背景3.3.2第二十二条军规的内容梗概第四章 黑色幽默在第二十二条军规中的精彩体现4.1 人物塑造4.2 小说主题4.3 结构特点4.4 语言特色第五章 结论参考文献AbstractCatch-22 is one of the typical representative books of black humor. Joseph Heller, the author of this novel described

6、many absurd images in a symbolic way. Many words, phrases, and dialogues in this novel are disorder, repeating, dubious and paradoxical. It is the wonderful deduction of black humor. The author of this paper mainly analyzed black humor in catch-22 through concrete discussing the black humor in portr

7、aying the characters, deepening the theme, arranging the structure and selecting the words and sentences in this fiction. All in all, catch -22 is one of the most important works of black humor and this paper is to make the readers have a better understanding of the novel catch-22.Key Words: black h

8、umor; catch-22; absurd摘 要二十二条军规是黑色幽默文学的代表作之一。二十二条军规的作者约瑟夫.海勒以象征主义手法创造了许多经典的角色。这部著作的许多词、短语、对话都是处于无序、重复、模棱两可和自相矛盾中，是黑色幽默的完美演绎。这篇论文主要通过详细探讨黑色幽默在塑造人物、深化主题、安排结构以及选词造句上的运用来分析黑色幽默在这部小说中的完美展现。总之，第二十二条军规是黑色幽默最重要的著作之一，这篇论文旨在加深读者对它理解。关键词：黑色幽默；第二十二条军规；荒诞A Brief Study on Black Humor in Catch-22Chapter I Introduc

9、tionCatch-22 is the first and most important long novel of Joseph Heller. Since catch-22 was published in 1961 in America, it has always been a crucial part of modern literature. With the time passing, the novel has not been out of date. On the contrary, it attracts wide attentions around the world

10、because of the novels theme, writing style and value. In China, an increasing number of scholars write books and essays to expound different aspects of the novel. Through detailed search and analysis, it was found that at present there are at least 130 academic papers about Catch-22 on the CDMD (Chi

11、nese Doctor and Masters Database). Among all these papers, 48 papers focus on its theme and the author and 66 papers are concerned with its writing skills. Some others mainly study on the absurdity as well as other things related with Catch-22, for example, Wu Shaohui(2006) Free Choice in an Absurd

12、WorldAn Interpretation of the Existentialism and Wang Yimei(2005)The Gradual Return to SelfA Tentative Analysis of Self-awareness in the 20th Centurys Western Modernist Literature. Besides, several papers are about characters of Catch-22 such as Wan Shihua (2006)The Black Figure SalonAnalysis of the

13、 Figures on Catch-22. Undoubtedly no matter what subjects the scholars study, theme, writing skill or others, it is inevitable for them to touch on the literature gene of this novelblack humor. This paper makes a tentative study on the relationship between black humor and Catch-22. From the perspect

14、ive of black humor, the author of this paper is trying to make a detailed analysis on its main character, theme, structure and language aims to comprehensively display the deduction of black humor in Catch-22 and let the readers have a better understanding of this novel. Chapter II General Explanati

15、on of the Black HumorBlack humor is credited to the Anthology of Black Humor, a 1939 French anthology of 45 writers edited by Andre Breton. In the United States, black humor as a literary genre came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Later, an English-language anthology edited by Bruce Jay Friedm

16、an, titled Black Humor, assembles works of 12 writers of the genre. It is one of the most representative genres in the American literature in 1960s. For instance, the works of such writers as Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, John Barth, Joseph Heller, and Philip Roth contain elements of black humor.It

17、 was usually used in literature, drama, and film, is a kind of grotesque or morbid humor retaining a serious tone .The purpose of black humor is to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or situations are usually exaggerated far beyond the

18、 limits of normal satire or irony. Black humor uses devices often associated with tragedy and is sometimes equated with tragic farce. For example, Stanley Kubricks film Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963) is a terrifying comic treatment of the circumstances sur

19、rounding the dropping of an atom bomb, while Jules Feiffers comedy Little Murders (1965) is a delineation of the horrors of modern urban life, focusing particularly on random assassinations. Popular themes of the genre include murder, suicide, war, barbarism, drug abuse, terminal illness, domestic v

20、iolence, insanity, nightmare, disease, racism, disability (both physical and mental), chauvinism, corruption, and crime. Besides, some comedians use it as a tool for exploring vulgar issues, thus provoking discomfort and serious thought as well as amusement in their audience.The author of this paper

21、 thinks that black humor as one of the American literature genres must have its origin. Looking back into the history, it is not difficult to find that there are two aspects of reasons for the appearance of black humor. First of all, the war trauma and social disturbance make people have a forebodin

22、g of the end of the world. In 1960s, the WWII has just finished, but the effects of the war lasted for many years. All facts in American disclosed the lies of so-called justice and patriotism resulting in shaking peoples belief in God, humanitarianism and reason. In addition, the lopsided developmen

23、t of technology caused the loss of personality. An increasing number of people were stressed out materially and spiritually. Under that circumstance, black humor came out as a necessary method to express peoples inner feelings.Chapter III Brief Introduction to Joseph Heller3.1 Hellers LifeJoseph Hel

24、ler (1923-1999) was born in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York on May 1, 1923. He is the son of poor Jewish parents from Russia. He died of a heart attack at the age of 76 years old at his home in East Hampton, on Long Island, in December 1999. Even as a child, he loved to write; as a teenager, he w

25、rote a story about the Russian invasion of Finland and sent it to New York Daily News, which rejected it. His works were first published in 1948, when the Atlantic ran one of his short stories. That first story nearly won the “Atlantic First. In 1953, he began to write his Catch-22 and it was publis

26、hed in 1961. Shortly after Catch-22 was published, Heller thought of an idea for his next novel, which would become Something Happened. After that, he became a professional writer and kept on writing until the completion of his last novel, Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man.Reality is the setting

27、of literature. Hellers life experience affected his writing career. He was born into a Jewish family. Because of racial persecution in Russia, his family immigrated to America in 1913. When he was young, his family was very poor. In 1942, at the age of 19, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. Two year

28、s later, he was sent to Italian Front as a bombardier. Yossarian, the main character in Catch-22 is similar to him in many aspects. After the war, Heller studied English at the University of Southern California and New York University. During that period, he began to write short stories. He was once

29、 suffered from gullian-barre syndrome. His illness and recovery are recounted at great length in the autobiographical No Laughing Matter (Heller 1986). In 1998, he released a memoir, Now and Then: From Coney Island to Here, in which he relived his childhood as the son of a deliveryman and offered so

30、me details about the inspirations for Catch-22. 3.2 Hellers Works and Writing StyleJoseph Heller began his writing career as the author of short stories but won immediate acclaim with Catch-22 (1961; film, 1970). A protest novel underscored with black humor, Catch-22 satirizes the horrors of war and

31、 the power of modern society, especially bureaucratic institutions, to destroy the human spirit. Hellers second novel, Something Happened (1974), an expose of the capacity of the business world to crush the individual, is a pessimistic statement about the effects of prosperity on the human condition

32、. We Bombed in New Haven, a play produced on Broadway in 1967, is a tragicomedy similar in theme and mood to Catch-22. Good as Gold (1979) involves a humorous portrayal of Jewish family life and a satire of national politics, including attacks on real people such as Henry Kissinger. God Knows (1984)

33、 is a humorous retelling and analysis of the biblical account of King David. Among his later works are the novels Poetics (1987) and Picture This (1988) Closing Time (1994) Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man (2000). No Laughing Matter (1986) is a chronicle of Hellers recovery from Guillain-Barre s

34、yndrome, which contains alternating chapters by Heller and his good friend Speed Vogel. The book reveals the assistance and companionship Heller received during this period from a number of his prominent friendsMel Brooks, Mario Puzo, Dustin Hoffman and George Mandel among them. Hellers works are ch

35、aracterized by a satirical sense of the absurd, speaking out against the military-industrial complex and those organized institutions which seem to manipulate peoples lives in the name of reason or morality. The author of this paper just takes Hellers Catch-22 and something wrong as examples.In Catc

36、h-22, the author discarded the traditional realism, made whole works without a complete plot development clue. There was not a prominent character image. Instead, it is full of chaos, noisy, crazy atmosphere. But the authors also stressed a serious absurd, describing the whole American society from

37、its internal dirty, corruption, and fall, especially those bureaucrats. Joseph Hellers second novel, Something Wrong, written in 1974, described a company staffs mental anguish. It reflects the psychological state of American middle class. Something Wrong focused on writing external forces causing t

38、he persons oppression and corrosion. Catch-22 mainly told the characters inner spiritual life. The author in this novel made use of jokes to show that there was really something wrong with the society. He also satirized the reality and politics through absurd and deforming description.3.3 Hellers Ca

39、tch-223.3.1 The Background of Catch-22 After WWII, America experienced a period of unprecedented economic boom. In 1950s, America became the big brother of the capitalism world. The Cold War broke out between America and Soviet Union. With the stronger of Soviet Union, many American began be afraid

40、of communism. They thought that the lives of American would be in danger. The republican from Wisconsin Joseph R McCarthy speak out the fear of the American. McCarthyism made the young be resentful and limited the development of literature. Besides, exhausting all resources to build up American mili

41、tary power aroused the anti-war sentiment. Under such political circumstances, Catch-22 came out to express the authors feeling to a chaotic America.At the beginning of 20th-century, the famous new humanism critic More found that there was a kind of “the power of blackness” in American literature. O

42、. Henry made use of “tearful humor” to tell the miserable life of ordinary people. Mark Twain used a kind of humor, which described bleeding with pleasure and made jokes on corpse. This kind of humor was very close to black humor literature created by Mark Twain has significant effects on the follow

43、ing writers. With the time passing, the humor literature was developed by leaps and bounds. Some scholars pointed out that ridicule was one of the characters in 20-th century literature. In 1960s, black humor became prevalent. It was a new period of humor after Mark Twain. Just at that time, Joseph

44、Heller began to write his Catch-22. And after it was published, he became the representative writer of this period.There are social factors for Joseph Hellers Catch-22. Although the WWII ended in 1945, it was difficult for people to get rid of the fear and unpeaceful feelings caused by war. The crim

45、e of Nazi and the using of atom all left a very deep impression on people. Because of the using of atom, people doubted whether technology benefit human or not. In 1950s, the success of superatomatic experiments and artificial satellite all made people feel pollution made people unpeaceful. In 1960s

46、, population explosion and deteriorated environment pollution made people feel ideological confusion. Democracy, individual pursuit religious belief all did not exist. Traditional moral beliefs and value system lost their effects. The people in modern society lost connect with history and were tapped in lone and alienation. 3.3.2 Gist of the NovelCatch-22 is a satirical, historical novel of Joseph Heller. It was set during the later stages of World War II from 1944 onwa