Alija Đerzelez as Andrić’s Humorous Character

Abstract

This paper deals with the short story The Trip of Alija Đerzelez, in light of theories of humour by Mikhail Bakhtin, Luigi Pirandello and Aleksandar Bošković. The character of Alija Đerzelez stands out as a dominant literary structure plan through which a humorous effect is achieved in the story. There is a grotesque in his physical characterisation, and creating an atmosphere as the basis for building a character is marked by carnivalisation of liberated consciousness and dialogue communication that lead to the de-mythologising of the main character by subjecting him to the ambivalent carnival laughter first and then to a reflection on its causes.