Analysis on Black Humor in “Harrison Bergeron”.doc

Analysis on Black Humor in “Harrison Bergeron”
【Abstract】The story “Harrison Bergeron” illustrates a future dystopian world. In this world everyone is of the same equality or position. This paper mainly reveals the Vonnegut’s attitude towards dystopian society. By using black humor, stories would leave a deep influence in readers and thus lead to a deeper impact on the society. This paper gives a brief introduction on “black humor” and analyze its use in “Harrison Bergeron” and why it produces deeper impacts on society.
【Key words】Black humor; “Harrison Bergeron”; social effects
1. Introduction on Kurt Vonnegut Jr
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was a German-American. This identity has given him much trouble during WWⅡ. His national identity restricted him from getting along with Americans normally. People doubted his national purity and moral quality because of Germany’s dominant position in wars. This experience made Vonnegut question himself several times and influenced his mental status for whole life. Beside his national identity, the unemployment of his father
, the suicide of his mother together with his early grievous experience during WWⅡhad influenced his writing style greatly, especially his black humor writing type. Due to his natural personality, he was interested in humor very much. He even worked for an edy after the war. This personality also caused to his black h