On Analysis of Humor in The Prince and the Pauper

【Abstract】：Mark Twain， a humor master and a realism writer， was called a giant in world literature. With the humor and wit， the writer shows a picture of ignorant children’s world.

【Key words】： Mark Twain; The Prince and the Pauper; humor

Ⅰ. Introduction

Mark Twain is the master of humor at the end of nineteenth century in the United States as well as the outstanding representative of realistic literature. His major works is the realistic depiction of people's life situations at that time.

The Prince and the Pauper is a novel written by Mark Twain. Harriet Beecher Stowe regards the novel as the best book for young folks that was ever written. Set in 1547， the story describes a prince， Edward， and a pauper， Tom changed their position occasionally. The pauper Tom worn a prince's clothes in the palace and became the new king of the Great Britain. The true prince Edward can not be a true king. He had to live with poor people and beggars. Under the help of a good man， Hendon， prince Edward changed his bad habit and finally went back to the palace. And pauper Tom felt very sorry and had to leave. The real prince became the real king. Finally， Edward became a good king and lived with his people happily.

Ⅱ. The Overview of Mark Twain's Humor

Mark Twain is a famous American novelist and satirist， changed his writing style from humor to bitter satire with the development of the society and his understanding of it. Twain is good at using humor to write the darkness and injustice in the world where we live， not only is that he excels in using humor to write human deepest feelings that we can not speak out ourselves， but also lies in his special humorous writing style， but also lies in his unique humorous features.

Most of Twain’s works appeal antics， containing some of daily jokes， comedy plot， wise commentary and so on， and even some ridiculous story appeal to be interesting to be read. Because he used to be a reporter， he also became a fun witty American public idol. Everywhere in the newspaper published his punny witty cynicism. Twain takes the writing technique of pun and extreme hyperbole to replace poor description and invective， and he takes an art style to attack social inequities， satirize the corruption of romanticism.

Ⅲ. The Reflection of Humor in The Prince and the Pauper

The language style and psychology description are the specific reflection of humor in The Prince and the Pauper.

3.1 Childish Language Style

By use of different speaking style， Mark Twain brings readers humor successfully. The writer uses formal speech to describe trivial things. For example， Edward claims that he was a real prince over and over again. However， in the eyes of Hendon， Edward was merely a poor sick boy. In order to take good care of the little boy， Hendon obeys court curtsey all the time to satisfy Edward.

When describing the young children， Twain takes child language. For example， in chapter 16， two little sisters met Edward. The gazed and whispered. One said： “ He hath comely face.” The other added： “And pretty hair.” “But is ill clothed enow.” “And how starved he looketh”（Twain， 108） Words like “enow”， “looketh” are cute and lovely. Only children can speak such kind of words. From such description， readers are easily to go into the children’s world.

At the first time the deliverer， Mile Hendon met the prince， Edward， although Edward was very mad that Hendon sat in the presence of the king， thinking Edward was mad， Hendon decided to follow the little boy’s game rules. He thought， “good lack， I must humour the conceit， too—there is no other was—faith， he would order me to the Tower， else！” （Twain， 58） Later， Hendon treats Edward cautiously. He majesty Edward， making speech as “good your majesty”， “yes， sir”. What Hendon said was funny， like a game player in children’s game. He did not think the game is true， but he followed the game rules strictly.

3.2 Psychology Description

When Hendon and Edward share their life experience with each other， Hendon begged Edward that he sat in the face of Edward. Edward met Hendon’s requirement immediately， and moreover dubbed him a knight. But at this time， Hendon sat in the chair and laughed to himself， “things would be good， I won’t stand in the corner from now on. And this prince in fairy tale dubbed me a knight” However， Hendon did not know that he was the first man to give a sit in frost of the prince. The investiture also came true. He regarded the courtesy as a kind of punishment. And the investiture was regarded as a childish game. The readers knew the truth， thus when then saw that Hendon thought Edward was absurd， readers thought Hendon was silly. The psychological description of Hendon made readers belly laugh.

When Hendon rushed to London， Edward warned him to take good care of the letter to Humphrey， the king’s uncle. Edward said “don’t lose the letter， and take it to Humphrey by yourself when you arrive the palace.” Hendon made a promise， “Yes， I will do as you say.” Although Hendon said yes， but he thought to himself that Edward was in dizzy again. The disagreement of speech and psychology brings humorous effect， making readers laugh.

Ⅳ.Conclusion

To sum up， Twain is a great humorist. He once said， \"there are several kinds of stories， but only one different—the humorous.\" So to be humorous in his writing is his lifelong pursuit. Meanwhile he once claimed that he was a serious writer and was actively concerned with moral ideas in many ways.

E. L. Doctorow says， “Twain was…enough of a genius to build his morality into his books， with humor and wit and--in the case of The Prince and the Pauper – wonderful plotting.” From the interpretation of the language and psychology analysis of the book， readers can gain a better understanding of Mark Twain’s humor.

References

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