Humor In Portnoy's Complaint And The Ghost Writer

Philip Roth is a second-generation American born Jew.The two novels by him,i.e.Portnoy's Complaint and The Ghost Writer are full of humor which reflects important aspects of the life of the American Jews.In order to probe the humor of Philip Roth,this essay sets about from three approaches,which are respectively linguistic humor,humor in characterization,and situational humor.Linguistic humor is the most basic one.It is analyzed with the help of incongruity theory of humor.All the examples help to reveal different aspects of the life of American Jews,such as high expectations the Jewish mothers hold towards their sons,anti-Semitism in their life,the life of the celebrities.Humor in characterization focuses on a comic type that is defined as a schlemiel.The humor caused by them is categorized into self-aggrandizing humor and self-depreciating humor according to the discrepancy between his/her dream and the reality.Situational humor unfolds itself around the two characters Alexander Portnoy and Nathan Zuckerman.They are depicted as smothered sons in a Jewish joke. From their situations we can get a glimpse at the Jewish life and the mechanical arrangement of the Jewish society.Compared with the Jewish humor,humor of Philip Roth contains both the characteristics of Jewish humor and those that are Americanized.Through the analysis of humor in these two novels,we attain a certain comprehension of the living condition and spiritual world of the Jews in America.