摘要作为美国最受欢迎的作家之一和美国文学的先驱者，马克吐温通过他创作的小说和评论建立了他自己独有的个人特色的写作风格——幽默。所谓镀金时代实际是一个商业当道的时代。而马克吐温在青少年时期做过许多工作，接触过形形色色的人，其作品以涵盖美国社会各阶层方方面面而闻名，比任何与其同时代的作家都要更贴近真实的美国社会。经过马克吐温的幽默大多来自天生本能，我们可以将他的幽默概括为一下六点写作技巧：方言、讽刺、夸张、对比、双管以及反复。威廉福克纳将马克吐温成为“美国文学之父”和“文学界的林肯”。且因马克吐温的作品深深地植根于美国乡土，他帮助美国年轻一代在相对复杂的民族构成下找到自己的民族性。75396

Mark twain, as one of the most popular American writers and the pioneer of American literature, has established a distinct inpidual style through his novels and criticisms in American literature – humor。 The “Gilded Age” is actually the epoch of tycoons。 So fascinated and interesting is Mark Twain’s experience that his stories contain all aspects of American society and get much closer to the real society than other American writers。 Although Twain’s sense of humor is in natural, it is concluded six techniques of humor: colloquialism, irony, exaggeration, contrast, pun, repetition。 William Faulkner calls Mark Twain as “the father of American literature ” and “the Lincoln of our literature”。 Since Mark Twain’s writings root in American local color deeply, he manages to help this young nation to find out American ethnicity in a quite complex racial constitution。

毕业论文关键词：幽默；镀金时代；方言；讽刺

Key words: humor,；The Gilded Age,；Colloquialism,；irony Contents

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 The Background of Mark Twain and The Gilded Age 4

A。 The experience of Mark Twain and the background of American society in 19th century 4

B。 The relationship among Mark Twain’s experience, The Gilded Age and American social reality 5

Chapter 2   Analyzing Mark Twain’s technique of writing in the style of satire and humor 6

A。 The use of Colloquialism, pun, irony, contrast, exaggeration, anti-climax, repetition in The Gilded Age 6

Chapter 3 The significance of Mark Twain’s language style 8

A。 The influence on American literature 8

B。 The significance on building American nationality 9

Introduction 

  As Mark Twain once said, “Studying humor is like dissecting a frog, you may know a lot but you end up with a dead frog。” Nevertheless, humor is commonly acknowledged as one of the most cherished merits of human being and Mark Twain, as a representative of American critical realistic literature and local color fiction, himself is undoubtedly an experienced master of humor and satire, who not only has acquired  the continuing attention and uncontrollable laughter of his readers, but also their everlasting deep thought and self-examination。 Mark Twain is symbolized as the flag of American literature and has formed local color fiction and his inpidual style of humorous language that makes profound and lasting influence on American society and many American writers after him。 

The study of Mark Twain’s literature is regarded to begin in the time that Twain lived in。 generally, it is pided into three periods of the improvement of the research of Mark Twain’s literature which are respectively: the germination period, the controversy period and modern period。 In the germination period, the criticism of the writings of Mark Twain are closely connected with Twain’s personal image and his private life so that the study of Twain’s literature in early time, to some extent,  lacks of pure reason and the professional point view of literary criticism。 As a special representative of American writer, Mark Twain began to attract the attention of literary academic circle and own greater reputation after his acquisition with William Dean Howells, the representative of American eastern literature, and especially his seven memorial essays about his experience of being a navigator in the Mississippi River being published in magazine。 And many studies of Mark Twain’ writings have obtained the coherent result that Mark Twain’s writings not only generate laughter in appearance but also involve serious thought and moral criticism。 Therefore, most voices in the germination period toward Twain’s specific literary style are apt to be appreciated and positive。