| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第5-6页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第6-7页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-11页 |
| CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION | 第11-25页 |
| 1.1 The Three Authors and Their Works | 第11-14页 |
| 1.2 Literature Review | 第14-16页 |
| 1.3 Significance and Research Questions | 第16-17页 |
| 1.4 Theoretical Framework | 第17-22页 |
| 1.4.1 Theories of Humor in General | 第17-18页 |
| 1.4.2 Criticisms of Frontier Humor | 第18-20页 |
| 1.4.3 Theories of Tricksterism and Carnivalization | 第20-22页 |
| 1.5 Thesis Statement and Organization of the Thesis | 第22-25页 |
| CHAPTER TWO HUMOR IN“SWEAT” | 第25-39页 |
| 2.1 Talking Vernacular | 第25-27页 |
| 2.2 The Carnivalesque Assembly | 第27-29页 |
| 2.3 Violent Sykes | 第29-31页 |
| 2.4 The Snake as a Symbol of Masculinity | 第31-33页 |
| 2.5 The Rise of Woman | 第33-36页 |
| 2.6 Frontier Humor and Its Functions | 第36-39页 |
| CHAPTER THREE HUMOR IN THE BALLAD OF THE SAD CAFE | 第39-53页 |
| 3.1 Frontier-like Desolation | 第40-42页 |
| 3.2 Carnivalization of the Café | 第42-44页 |
| 3.3 Lymon as a Trickster | 第44-46页 |
| 3.4 Violent Characters | 第46-48页 |
| 3.5 Anti-intellectualism | 第48-51页 |
| 3.6 Frontier Humor and Its Functions | 第51-53页 |
| CHAPTER FOUR HUMOR IN“GOOD COUNTRY PEOPLE” | 第53-67页 |
| 4.1 Misspelling Words | 第53-56页 |
| 4.2 Pointer as a Trickster | 第56-60页 |
| 4.3 Anti-intellectualism | 第60-62页 |
| 4.4 Irony: Good Country People are Hard to Find | 第62-64页 |
| 4.5 Frontier Humor and Its Functions | 第64-67页 |
| CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION | 第67-71页 |
| WORKS CITED | 第71-74页 |
