Entropy And Its Application In Human Minds In Something Happened

Joseph Heller is a well-known American black humor writer. His novel Catch 22 is a piece of the contemporary American classic, which is always included in the top sale list. Something Happened is his second novel. Thematically, the writer makes a further analysis into American society, which brings a wider sense of reality into the book; artistically, the book keeps some techniques used in Catch 22 and further makes some innovation. After Something Happened is published, it becomes a best-selling book.In China, there is no specific book doing research on Something Happened. There are only several papers analyzing the novel in a general way. Among them, the postgraduate thesis Questing the meaning of love in a wasteland—a study of Heller's Something Happened uses the existentialism to analyze the hero Slocum. Enlightened by it, my thesis uses the entropy to analyze the entropic and anti-entropic human minds in Something Happened.In Introduction, I introduce the literary life of Joseph Heller, Something Happened as well as the related research at home and abroad.In Chapter One, I introduce the definition of entropy and its application in the physical world. Then I look into the entropy in America in the1950s when the novel was written. In the physical world, the main features of entropy are enclosed system, the final evanishment of energy as well as the transformation process from order to disorder. In the highly entropic America, by analyzing its society as well as the entropy in the economy, I derive the entropic and anti-entropic values, which foreshadows the psychoanalysis in the following chapters.In Chapter Two, based on the physical features of entropy, I apply them to human minds. In terms of entropic figures, they have an enclosed system in their minds and the disordered personality. In terms of the enclosed system, the characters will show morbid fear, double-faced personality as well as the lack of communication with the outside world. In terms of the disordered personality, the characters will show disordered language and movements. In contrast, the anti-entropic characters have the open and ordered personality. In terms of the openness, the characters will show love for others, one-dimensional personality as well as the communication ability with the outside world. In terms of the order, it is shown in the ordered language and movements.On the basis of Chapter Two, Chapter Three applies the features of entropic and anti-entropic psyche to the analysis of human minds in Something Happened. In terms of entropic characters, I mainly discuss the hero Slocum. Relying on the novel, I introduce his entropic features, namely, morbid fear, double-faced personality as well as his lack of communicative ability. In the analysis of anti-entropic characters, I prove that Kagle and the little son are the representatives. Since they do not occupy too much in the total length of the book, I only discuss the one dimensional character of Kagle, the trust and love of Kagle and the little son, his effective communication with others of the little son and etc. At the end of this chapter, I point out two return paths to an anti-entropic world: the power of love and the simple life style. In Conclusion, I conclude again how the entropy theory is applied into human psyche in Something Happened. In a word, apart from this perspective, Something Happened still remains as a virgin land where we should further explore. My dissertation only serves as an introductive function and the interdisciplinary research will become a trend in the near future.