1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述包含参考文献）

literature review

jonathan swift, one of the most famous writers in english literature, has been studied by many scholars from different perspectives, especially from his use of satire. and his master piece gulliver#8217;s travels has been mainly analyzed from the perspective of satire, themes, characters, black humor and its literary status.

some scholars considered the story as a satirical way to show the author#8217;s anger and discontent with the society.

2. 研究的基本内容、问题解决措施及方案

Methods and Procedures of the Study

Since I had read this novel before, I have grasped the main idea of this story. When I read it for the second time, I found something different and took notes while reading. I borrowed both the Chinese and English version from the library, which did a great favor for me. Of course I also searched a lot of background information about the author and the novel with the help of Internet. Because black humor is very popular in novels and films nowadays, so many studies and theories have been made that I can easily find relevant articles online. In addition, since many articles on Gulliver#8217; Travels were written from the perspective of satire and I found Swift#8217;s satire has something in common with black humor novels, I can either picked out the similarities over Gulliver#8217;s Travels or make a comparison between two different theories, aiming at backing up my opinions. Above all, my supervisor gave me great help. She offered her suggestions when I chose my thesis and advised where to find relevant articles. Not to mention that she patiently revise my format. The main method of the study is to discuss with my supervisor.

The thesis consists of five parts. The first part will primarily provide the background information, including a general introduction of Jonathan Swift (his personal experiences, literary career, literary reputation and masterpieces), the novel Gulliver#8217;s Travels (reception and summary). In part two, literature review and the purpose of the study will be given. The third part is the focus of the thesis. In this part, a brief introduction on the existing problems in England in the 17^th and 18^th century together with the definition of black humor and its development will first be made. Then the study will show all the black humor elements of the novel and reveal the author#8217;s intention. Part four will make a comparison between typical black humor characteristics with that of Gulliver#8217;s Travels. Part four will draw a conclusion, stressing that although Gulliver#8217;s Travels is not typical black humor novel, it has demonstrated its black humor elements and had great influence on the development of black humor .