英文摘要 |
Mark Twain repeatedly ran into trouble in his humorist career because of his irreverence: the media decried his Whittier dinner speech for his disrespect toward the New England literary establishment, and the Concord Public Library banned Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for encouraging impertinent behavior in teenage boys. These critics evidence how power relations underlie the perception of humor, which Twain was fully aware of as he plotted his masterpiece, especially when depicting the stern reactions of the characters to jests and pranks. This paper makes use of the sociologists' differentiation between joking up and joking down, Michael Billig's notion of "unlaughter," and Eric Lott's ideas of defiance towards elite classes cloaked in sympathetic mockery of the underclass to facilitate the discussion of power relations in joking situations. Close analysis of the circus episode exemplifies how unlaughter caused by joking up becomes the subject of further ridicule. The shooting of Boggs, on the other hand, showcases the violence of unlaughter. The fog scene shows Twain's scruples about joking down and his use of unlaughter as empowerment for the underprivileged. Together they highlight Twain's understanding of the interpersonal effects of joking, making Huckleberry Finn not only a book of humor but also a book on humor. Meanwhile, the setbacks in Twain's own career prove that the power relations between the classes and the races in the real world likewise affect the audience's reception of humor. |