Humor In Mo Yan’s Novels

Abstract

With the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Mo Yan, undoubtedly, has already become a world-famous writer in the Chinese contemporary literary world. His novels have become discussed in literary research, and by critics in recent years; however, studies on humor in Mo Yan’s novels are not common. This thesis aims to analyze the construction manner, emotional characteristics and spiritual connotation of the humor in Mo Yan’s novels. The research is divided into four parts: In part one, why Mo-type humor is funny, from an objective and subjective perspective, is analyzed; in part two, the construction manner of Mo-type humor is analyzed through literature, folk humor, and linguistics; in part three, the emotional characteristics of Mo-type humor, which can be divided into black humor, blue humor, gray humor and red humor are analyzed; in part four, the spiritual connotation behind Mo-type humor, is analyzed. The spiritual analysis of Mo-type humor indicates that it is regarded as the humor of ordinary people, and this is reflected in social reality. The results show that humor is an important characteristic of Mo Yan’s novels. He creates humor using multiple techniques, which enhance the enjoyment and entertainment value of his work. In this research, the emotional characteristics of Mo-type humor are categorized into various types to present a systematic analysis of the humor found in his novels. It is hoped that by investigating his work and analyzing the humorous characteristics in his novels, people will have a better understanding of the humor found in Chinese social culture.