Abstract

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County was Mark Twain’s first great success as a writer which established his fame. It is full of fun from the beginning to the end. It shows the excellent humor skill of Mark Twain. People regard it as one of the best humor works in American literature. In The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Mark Twain demonstrated his humor thoroughly. He embodied humor by means of caricature, and he reinforced humor by slang and colloquialism. Mark Twain added some peculiar plots so as to achieve artistic appeal. The highlight in his writing was the skills of exaggeration. To the descriptions of characters, Mark Twain made comparisons to produce tensions in readers’ minds; to the descriptions of animals, he personified them to make them funny. As The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is a story of gold diggers, Mark Twain fully used slangs and dialects in this work. The peculiar plots really enhance the humor effect in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Mark Twain enumerated many related things and these things would deepen the impression in readers’ hearts and make them expect more, then he suddenly crushed the expectation. This psychological gap make people laugh. Mark Twain employs exaggeration to show his talent as a humorist.

Key Words: Mark Twain  humor  slangs  exaggeration

摘  要

《卡拉维拉县著名的跳蛙》是第一篇马克吐温的成功小说，它为马克吐温带来名声的。这篇小说从头到尾充满了乐趣。它展示了马克吐温精妙的幽默技巧。人们把这篇小说看作是美国文学上最幽默的小说之一。在《卡拉维拉县著名的跳蛙》中，马克吐温彻底地展现了他的幽默。他通过漫画的手法来呈现幽默，用俚语方言来加深幽默效果，他在文中加入一些特殊的情节来达到艺术感染力。马克吐温对夸张的引用更为文章添彩。对于角色的描写，马克吐温通过比较使读者心中充满张力。对动物的描写，他将他们拟人化使动物更生动有趣。基于《卡拉维拉县著名的跳蛙》是一部关于淘金者的小说，马克吐温充分使用了方言俚语和一些独特的情节来加深幽默效果。马克吐温枚举了几个有关联的故事来加深读者心中的印象，使他们产生期待的心理，然后他突然打破这份希望。这种心理落差使人笑出来。马克吐温同样使用夸张来展现他作为一个幽默家的天分。

关键字：马克吐温 幽默 俚语 夸张   

1    Introduction
    This paper is to analyze the works of Mark Twain and the technique in his works. It will help us understand American culture and the real life of American people. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County not only reflects the nature of capitalism, but also has great practical significance. Through to its research, we can realize how Mark Twain employed humor in his works.