| Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian contemporary author. He portrayed manyindependent and curious joker characters who likes to explore the mysteries of lifeand universe in his novels. He narrates and develops his novel from differentdimensions to show his philosophical thinking, which makes philosophy popularamong the public.This paper makes a more systematic interpretation and explanation about jokercharacters by the method of cultural criticism. It will have a certain value to furtherunderstand the creation of Jostein Gaarder and grasp his literature ideas.This paper consists of the introduction, the body and the conclusion.The introduction is the introduction of Gaarder’s life and works and the summaryof domestic and foreign research situation about Gaarder. This part tries to point outthe value and significance of the joker characters.The first chapter studys the characteristics of the different joker characterscombined with the text. Joker characters have a special definition in Gaarder’s novels.They are the independent and curious characters who likes to explore the mysteries oflife and universe. And the jokers can be classified as two categories: one is pokerjoker; the other is human joker. These jokers have some features of traditional clown,but they are different from the traditional jokers entirely. Gaarder creates the jokers towarn readers and also awake their curiosity.The second chapter analyzes the valuable dimension of the joker characters, whomake suspense, help develop the plot and make the whole novel organized dimension.The third chapter discusses the philosophical dimension. Jokers always ask “whoare you? Where are the world from?”, which shows their exploring on themselves andpursuit of wisdom. Jokers realize the value of life and fight with absurd in life, whichreveals their positive attitude to life.The fourth chapter reveals the cultural significance of the joker characters.Joker’s party is a universal fest of the carnival, which has no boundaries, and all the people involved in the carnival spirit. The jokers highlight the freedom and equality oflife. They have the foundation of folk culture, create suspense in the work camp, andmake philosophy books easy to read. Garrder wants to awaken the layman’sconsciously pursuit of philosophy with jokers, and realize the popularization ofphilosophy.The conclusion part points out the jokers are the breakthrough point inanalysising the reasons for Garrder’ success. Discovering the spirit of carnival cultureembodied by the joker images enriches the research of Garrder. |
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