Abstract

Mark Twain is famous for his humorous style in his works. This essay will focus on the rhetorical devices to analyze the American humor in The Innocents Abroad. It attaches great importance on the issues they met in France and Italy, such as language barriers and the differences between history and culture, etc. Through contrast, repetition, replacement, hyperbole, first-person narration and complemented by examples, this essay aims at analyzing the innocent Americans’ blind worship for Europe and disclosing the feudal remnants of European society, which is to render the active demand for Americans to establish national confidence and identity.

Key words: Mark Twain, The Innocent Abroad, American humor, rhetorical devices

CONTENTS

中文摘要

Abstract

1.-Introduction-1

1.1 Background information of the author and the work-1

1.2 Background information of American humor-2

2.-Contrast to shape vivid images and strong feelings-3

2.1 The contrast between the Emperor of France and the Sultan of Turkey-3

2.2 The contrast between realities and expectations-4

2.3 The contrast between languages barriers of Europe and America-6

2.4 The contrast between history and cultural differences-6

3.-Repetition to emphasize important images-8

3.1 The repetition of “Oh, my!” when facing with seasick-8

3.2 The repetition of “Soap” when taking a shower-9

4.-Some other artistic techniques to create the humorous effects-10

4.1 Hyperbole to express strongest feelings-10

4.2 Replacement to create novelty-10

4.3 The first-person narration-11

5.-Conclusion-12

References-14