Abstract

Running for Governor is a short story written by Mark Twain, the famous American novelist. The novel uncovers the darkness of American democratic election and hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie. The thesis mainly discusses humor and satire in Running for Governor from three aspects: language expression, characterization and plot construction. It is argued that humor and satire Mark Twain adopted in Running for Governor contribute to the expression of language, the portrayal of characters and the construction of plot.

Key words: Running for Governor, humor, satire, language expression, characterization, plot construction

摘要

《竞选州长》是著名美国小说家马克•吐温的短篇小说。它旨在揭露美国民主选举的黑暗和资产阶级的虚伪性。这篇论文重点讨论了马克•吐温在《竞选州长》所使用的幽默和讽刺手法。本文将从语言表达、人物刻画和情节构造三个方面探讨马克•吐温如何使用幽默和讽刺手法。本文认为马克•吐温在《竞选州长》中所运用的幽默和讽刺对其语言表达、人物描写和情节构造起着重要的作用。

关键词：《竞选州长》；幽默；讽刺；语言表达; 人物刻画；情节构造

1. Introduction
Mark Twain (1835 –1910) is an American author and humorist. He was born and grew up in Mississippi riverside. Twain is noted for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which have been enjoyed by generations of Americans. He was praised as “the Lincoln of our literature” (Unger 192). The characteristics of his works are almost the confrontation between light and darkness of politics and society with sharp sense, unique perception, bold presentation, deep analysis and brave solution. They are all powerful weapons against sham, oppression, evil and hypocrisy.
Running for Governor is a satirical short story of Mark Twain’s early works, which bases its background on American democratic election and the American society. Its fictitious hero, the decent “Mark Twain”, in the process of running for the governor, was fatally maligned and attacked by his opponents—the candidates of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In the end, he was forced to give up the election. The two biggest political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, made the election deluding, spurious instruments for their own benefits. In the short story, the author adopted humor and satire thoroughly.