Ⅲ.Humor and Application in Mark Twain’s works 1.Definition of humor In Webster’s New Dictionary,(p.658) (1). Humor is the ability to perceive, appreciate, or express what is funny, amusing, or ludicrous. (2). The expression of this in speech, writing or action.
Humor Employed in Mark Twain’s Works
马克吐温作品中“幽默”的运用
Content 内容
Ⅰ.Introduction of Local Colorism （地方色彩主义简介） Ⅱ .Introduction of Mark Twain （马克吐温简介） Ⅲ.Humor and Application in Mark Twain’s works （幽默及马克吐温作品中幽默的运用） Ⅳ.Homework（作业）
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Tom Sawyer Aunt Polly Town boy: Ben
Question: What can you learn from this story? A law of human nature: Work is whatever we have to do, but play is whatever we want to do. 工作是我们不得不去做的事情，而 游戏是我们想要去做的事情。
(4)occupations : Apprenticeship to a printer Pilot on the Mississippi —Material for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) Minor Newspaper reporter Famous writer
Ⅰ.Introduction of Local Colorism
Local Colorism（地方色彩主义） （地方色彩主义） was a literary trend belonging to Realism. It refers to the detailed representation in prose fiction of the setting, dialect, customs, dress and ways of thinking and feeling which are distinctive of a particular region. The most famous representative of local colorism is Mark Twain who took his hometown near the Mississippi as the typical setting of nearly all his novels.
ⅣHomework
1. Please list other sentences of humor in Mark Twain’s works. 2. Analyze the benefit of using humor.
Thank you!
Wish everyone have humor in your mind and laughter in your face every day!
“Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are made deadly in the long run.” “洗澡和去上学并不像大屠杀一样来 的突然，但从长远来看都是致命 的。” Metonymy（借代法）
(2). Humor derived from situation
2. Mark Twain’s Works
(1) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1867) 《塞拉维拉县的跳蛙》 (2) Innocents Abroad (1869) 《傻子出国记》 (3) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1881) 《汤姆索亚历险记》 (4) The Prince and the Pauper of humor
(1) Humor derived from language 修辞幽默 ——Figure of speech (2) Humor derived from situation 情景幽默 ——story
Newton’s only recorded utterance while Examples he was a member of Parliament was a request to open the window. 牛顿作为议员唯一被记录的话是请求开 一下窗户。 “…and the fattest woman I have ever seen in my life dozing in a straightbacked chair. It was as if a sack of grain was supported by a matchbox.”
他行医迄今已有一年了，曾看过两个病人— —不，三个，我想——对了，那是三个，我 参加他们的葬礼嘛。
Anticlimax (突降法)
“Noise proves nothing: often a hen who has merely laid an egg crackles as if she had laid an asteroid.” “嗓门大证明不了什么：通常一只母 鸡仅仅下了一个鸡蛋就咯咯叫，仿 佛它下的不是鸡蛋而是一个行星。” Hyperbole（夸张法）
4. Application in Mark Twain’s works
(1). Humor derived from language “He has been a doctor a year now and has had two patients— no three, I think—yes, it was three; I have attended their funerals.”
她是我一生中见到的最胖的女人，在靠背椅 上打盹。这种感觉就像一麻袋谷物压在一个 小小的火柴盒上。
3.Function
(1). Humor is an attitude to life and an observation of life. (2). It can bring laughter and refreshment to our daily life.
ⅡIntroduction of Mark Twain
1.Life (1)Name: Mark Twain (l835～1910) Pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, (2)His father: storekeeper (3)Grew up in: Missouri. Mississippi River