Black Comedy through iconoclastic Characters in Vile Bodies by Evelyn (Arthur St. John) Waugh

Abstract

Abstract: This research is a descriptive analysis of black comedy through iconoclastic characters in Vile Bodies written by Evelyn (Arthur St. John) Waugh. To do so, the study has been achieved on J.A. Cuddon’s theoretical teachings on black comedy, which stems from L’anthologie de l’humour noire written by André Breton. In this perspective, we have brought forth the iconoclastic characters developed in the work by using a descriptive approach. These textual creations are sardonic, suicidal, cruel and purposeless characters in life. Black comedy is therefore used in the novel to emphasize the frailty of mankind, the limits of modernity without God and the need to get out of uselessness in life. These textual creations of Evelyn Waugh appear to be his prisoners in the sense that the world in which they live is a hopeless and chaotic universe, leaving them no room for manoeuvre to escape from that environment. Keywords: Black Comedy, Character, Iconoclast, Descriptive study and Abnormality