The Influence of Irony on the Creation of Grotesque in Eat Him If You Like

The present research aims to study how the affordances of irony (structural irony) lead to the creation of the style of grotesque (according to Philip Thomson’s theory) in Jean Teulé’s Eat Him If You Like [original title in French, Mangez-le Si Vous Voulez, translated into Persian as Adam-kharan]. Teulé manages to create moments that seem humorous to begin with, but turn into scenes of threat, horror, and torment. The main question is how such a situation arises and what role does irony play in the development of the style of the text. Accordingly, in the present research we have used a descriptive-analytical method to study excerpts from Eat Him if You Like to delineate the influence of structural irony on the creation of the style of grotesque in this novel. For this purpose, first a general definition of irony and grotesque is presented and then different types of irony and their functions which are conducive to the creation of the style of grotesque in this novel are discussed. Findings of the research indicate that in this novel, different types of irony such as dramatic, situational, cosmic and tragic, create two-fold, reversed, unwanted and imposed situations as well as a bleak, disturbing and disgusting atmosphere, which lead to the development of grotesque in the text.