GROTESQUE AS A FORM OF EXPRESSING THE COMIC IN ERSKINE CALDWELL’S “THE MEDICINE MAN”

Abstract

The thesis examines the specific use of grotesque as one of the key artistic devices in the short prose of Erskine Caldwell. Using the short story “The Medicine Man” as an example, the paper analyzes how the deformation of reality and the combination of incompatible elements function as a form of expressing the comic and as a means of social satire. Particular attention is paid to grotesque characterization, absurd situations, and exaggerated details that create both humorous and critical effects. The study concludes that Caldwell employs grotesque not only to entertain the reader but also to expose ignorance, poverty, and superstition in rural Southern society. While Caldwell is often discussed as a realist writer, the present study argues that grotesque serves as one of the principal mechanisms through which social criticism is transformed into comic narrative in "The Medicine Man".