Twain’s handling of humor and satire in his novel the adventures of huckleberry finn
Date
2019-07-07
Authors
Nafi’, Jamal
Daghamin, Rashed
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
European Centre for Research Training and Development UK
Abstract
The main objective of this study is to provide a descriptive account of the nature
and way of Mark Twain’s handling of humor and satire used in his novel, The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn (1884). The study also aims to shed light on whether Twain intended his novel
to be humorous, or the humor was unconscious and unrealistic. The researcher sheds light on
some major characters and scenes that exhibit the different types of humor and satire. The novel
is a classic work of humor that becomes blended with satire, in which Twain became skeptic
and agnostic and turned against mankind for its inhumanity. The story arouses humor in
different means such as lies, deceptions, machinations of plot, prevarications of Huck and Tom,
and through the superstitious beliefs of the primitive character, Jim. The study found out that
the novel is a masterpiece of fun, farce and satire. The humor borders on farce; it is low and
realistic. The researcher concluded that the novel is doubtlessly picaresque, farcical, comical
and satirical. The chief characteristic of its humor is that it is American; the blend of different
dialects, the misspellings; creating humor presupposed the correct knowledge of the spellings
by the reader. This feeling creates a kind of humor that is pathetic. The frauds and the deceptions
used in the incidents, the anecdotes, angularities, and the eccentricities of the characters
portrayed have further enhanced the comic effect in the novel. With these traits is juxtaposed
Twain’s biting satire, and his work is the first of its kind.
Description
Keywords
Mark Twain , Humor , Satire , Adventures of Huck Finn
Citation
TY - JOUR AU - Nafi, Jamal AU - Daghamin, Rashed PY - 2019/07/01 SP - 33 EP - 47 T1 - TWAIN'S HANDLING OF HUMOR AND SATIRE IN HIS NOVEL THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN VL - 7 JO - Journal of English Language and Literature ER -