김유정 소설미학의 블랙유머적인 특징

Abstract

Kim Yoojung’s humour is based on the despair on the times and society and on the nihilistic experience of life. The characters in his works are weird and benighted, whom the readers find both funny and annoying. However, the characters themselves are not aware of their clownish behavior. The tragedy of clowns lies in that they never know that they are clowns. On the contrary, they are full of vitality, possessing definite and unconscious and utilitarian aim and illusion. They are even proud and smug about their behavior. Their lives are consequently plunged into a strange vicious cycle. They find themselves increasingly being in a sorry plight. Even if they come to realize that they are clowns, they are unable to change the status quo. Meanwhile, we could understand the situation from the perspective that they try to rebel against oppression by their preposterous behavior. However, generally speaking, deep despair constitutes the core of the black humor in the works. By portraying the miserable lives of peasants and vagrant peasants, Kim Yoojung’s works give a faithful representation of their in-depth and morbid spiritual world which is alienated and while at the same time reflect on the living circumstances of human being. Kim Yoojung blends humor with bitterness, turns despair into ridicule, reveals the strange phenomenon and paradox of real lives through the deep absurdity. The writer, with the aid of black humor, conveys his values and reflections on life. The attributes of modernism of Kim Yoojung’s works are also based on this knowledge. As the intriguing combination of despair and optimism, black humor serves as a unique narrative way to give vent to his depression and helplessness and as the expression of aesthetics concept.