Living Otherwise : A Humorous World to Revisit and Resist Sectarian Violence in Northern Ireland as Seen in Anna Burns’ Milkman (2018)

Abstract

The present work focuses on a stylistic analysis of humour in Anna Burns’ second novel Milkman, published in 2018 and celebrated with the prestigious Booker Prize that same year. This thesis explores the narrator’s unique voice and construction of humour to shed light into the sectarian violence that reached its peak in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. For that purpose, Agnes Marszalek’s (2012) model of a “humorous world” is employed. The linguist proposes a cognitive stylistic analysis of the construction of humour through the use of a Humorous Mode, Repetition and Variation and Disruptive Schemata. This world will offer the potential to revisit the longstanding issues of sectarian violence, while at the same time present a refreshing perspective in the context of a war.