Introduction
To begin with, let us state, that the book under analysis is “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” by Bill Bryson, a talented American writer, who managed to capture the attention of the audience due to his inimitable witty humor and shades of sparkling irony that makes writing look easy and amusing to read. The book is an excellent proof of the author’s unique gift of amusing the reader, no matter, what the topic he is writing about is. In the memoir “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” Bryson advances and proves the thesis about the necessity of childhood reminiscences in everyone’s life. In the book he describes and comments on the life in the USA in 1950s in a very witty and amusing way, however, managing to touch upon serious problems of human society.
Main Body
The creation of Mood
It is commonly known that “mood” is a literary element, not a literary technique; this is why mood should be described as the atmosphere of the abstract or emotional state created by the literary work. Speaking about “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid”, the mood created by the memoir may be characterized as humorous, amusing, warm, awakening pleasant emotions. It creates the atmosphere of fond enduring memories of childhood.. Mood is usually created through the use of plot, character and the author’s descriptions. The author has managed to achieve this kind of mood by means of the usage of the most personal literary genre – memoir and the choice of the protagonist – himself during the years of his childhood. Even the title of the book “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” contributes to the creation of the mood of childhood as almost all children dream about becoming superheroes in their childhood. The mood of childhood is also created by the wide usage of literary devices called hyperbole and simile, like in the following phrase: “He was the nicest human being I have ever met. It was like being friends with God” (Bryson 5).
The usage of Humor
As it was already mentioned above, the book under consideration is written in humorous key, thus humor is a technique to which the author resorts very often. Humor is the technique of the creation of humorous effect by combination of different stylistic devices, such as similes, hyperboles etc. The creation of humor may be clearly observed in the following example: “We didn’t call it the kitchen in our house. We called it the Burns Unit” (Bryson 13). Here the author is laughing at his mother’s absence of cooking skills, but he never sounds rude or sarcastic, his humor is kind.
The usage of Irony
They say that the humor’s aim is to amuse, but the irony’s aim is to abuse. Irony is usually used in order to criticize some object or event, and Bill Bryson also resorts to this technique in his book. For example, he makes use of irony when he describes the attitude of people of 1950s to technological innovations: “If you bought a major appliance, you invited the neighbors around to have a look at it. When I was about four, my parents an Amana Stor-Mor refrigerator and for at least six months it was like an honored guest in our kitchen” (Bryson 6).
Conclusion
Drawing a conclusion, it must be mentioned that by means of skillful use of literary techniques Bryson has managed to create a moving and realistic book. “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” has managed to appeal people who remember the described time and to attract and charm the younger generation.
Works Cited
Bryson, Bill. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a Memoir. NY: Broadway Books, 2006.