Elements of Humor and Satire in Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August: An Indian Story

Abstract

Literature is propelled by humour. It is the propensity for certain cognitive events to provoke laughter and amusement. Satire is a literary genre in which vices, follies, abuses, and deficiencies are held up to scorn with the purpose of shocking people, government, or society into greater development. The main purpose of satire is to effect social change. This study examines the use of humour and satire in a particular work by Upamanyu Chatterjee. He is referring to politicians' and bureaucrats' ludicrous imitations of western living styles and manners, as well as their self-serving mentality. His English, August: An Indian Story (1988) is a well-written and amusingly humorous work. The use of humour in this novel is the most impressive and astonishing part about it. Aagastya, a metropolitan young boy heavily impacted by western society, is stuck in a tiny town with an uninteresting job. In the novel, emphasis is placed on western culture and its influence on the younger generation, as well as the stark contrast between urban and country life in humorous manner with satirical tone.