• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
• /
• v.55 no.5 s.95
• /
• pp.65-77
• /
• 2005

This stuffy is to understand the symbolic meaning of Korean traditional animal Patterns, to analyze their figurative characteristics focusing on fabric relics of Chosun Dynasty, and to search their internal beauty as well as their external beauty. Animal patterns can be classified as Individual type, the type that only animal patterns are used, and Compound type, the type that animal patterns are used with other patterns. The Individual type was not found at all. Only the Compound type, compounded with two or three other patterns, were found. Among the other patterns used in the Compound type, botanical patterns and heaven-and-earth-shaped patterns were the majority while letters patterns were rarely used. Bird patterns take enormously large part of the animal patterns. In terms of the arrangement, animal patterns are classified as Dense type, Sparse type, and Picturesque type.'rho three types are almost equal in their quantity. Picturesque type is found comparatively a lot. Animal patterns are much more frequently used in female clothes than in male clothes. For female clothes, they are mostly used in some parts of the clothes with ornamental effect. But, for male clothes, they are mainly used all over the fabric by weaving animal patterns on it. Not just their external beauty, animal patterns have also internally beautiful characteristics, such as keeping away from wicked ghosts, hoping for good luck, emblematic features, having ideological meanings, and so on.

• English & American cultural studies
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.185-219
• /
• 2009

This article aims to illuminate the comic characters and their humor in Dickens's novel David Copperfield in Bakhtinian point, and to clarify what the humorous characteristics are, and how they contribute to his reinforcement of socially critical messages in this novel. So far this novel has been called the only one of Dickens's comic novels, even though it includes lots of social critical meanings. But it is true that Dickensian critics couldn't make sure of the clear reasons why it is both very interesting and critical. Furthermore, it is also true that this novel has been criticized as a clumsy one in the realistic, psycho-analytic, dramatic angle. This approach to Dickensian comic characters through Bakhtinian fool, clown, and rogue concepts here could make up for or correct such criticisms, and reevaluate Dickens's humor and social criticisms in the context of general public culture. Bakhtin believes oppression by social ideologies prevent us from having good mutual relationships and divides our society. He thinks laughter liberates us from such oppression and restores our good relationships. As he applied his concepts based on the laughter of Middle Ages to Rabelais's novels, and examined what the authentically liberating power in Rabelais's laughter is, this article could clarify the liberating power of laughter by Dickens's comic characters, such as Mr and Mrs Micawber, Dick, Miss Betsey Trotwood and Miss Mowcher. In this novel, they often lead comic happenings, and such happenings are very similar to carnival-amusements including burning the dummy of the czar who has oppressed his or her citizenry. Especially, Dickens's comic characters's social criticisms, in the case of this novel, contain many complaints of social marginers, even though he has been labelled as being conservative politically. They always criticize the ideological absurdities in their society through the humorous words and behaviors in their comic happenings, like those of a carnival fool or clown in his or her amusements. This shows Dickens achieves both laughter and social criticism in David Copperfield by using Rabelaisian characterization-devices based on his general public culture. Like Bakhtin and Rabelais, Dickens seems to have believed that when we all truly liberate ourselves from the oppression of social ideologies, we can have desirable relationships between ourselves, and also solve social problems positively.