InterpretationofMicroIronyinAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnfromthePerspectiveofSpeechActTheoryIntroductionAuthoredbyMarkTwain,AdventuresofHuckleberryFinniscommonlynamedamongtheGreatAmericanNovelsandisoneofthefirstinmajorAmericanLiteraturetobewrittenthroughoutinvernacularEnglish,featuringlocalcolorregionalism.Well-knownforitscolorfuldescriptionofpeopleandplacesalongtheMississippiRiver,thisbookisoftenreferredasascathingsatireondeep-rootedattitudes,particularlyracism.Perenniallypopularwithreaders,AdventuresofHuckleberryFinnhasbeenstudiedbyscholarsandliterarycriticsacrosstheworld.Previousscholarshavemainlyfocusedonitsliteralfeatures,writingfeatures,characterizationandtranslation.However,inthisnovel,manywonderfulconversationsfulloflanguagephenomenaareelaboratelydesigned,whichcanshowtheauthor’stalentinandabilityofutilizingirony.Asoneofthemostimportanttheoriesinpragmatics,speechacttheoryisputforwardbyJohnAustinandfurtherimprovedbyJohnSearle.AccordingtoAustin,languagecannotonlyfunctionasthetooltomakestatementsandconveyinformationbutalsodothings.Hestatesthat“sayingsomethingcanbeconsideredasdoingsomething”liesinthreesenses.Inaddition,thesethreekindsofacts,locutionaryact,illocutionaryactandperlocutionaryactareperformedsimultaneously.Later,SearledevelopsAustin’sillocutionaryacttheoryandputsforwardindirectspeechacttheory.Inamoresystematicandscientificway,heclassifiesillocutionaryactintoassertives,directives,commissives,expressivesanddeclarations.Speechacttheoryhasdrawnmuchattentionfromscholarsvaryingfrompsychologists,anthropologiststophilosophers,butfewattemptsaremadetoapplyitinanalyzingthelanguagephenomenaofaliterarywork.Amongtheseattempts,VanDijkdistinguishesthemacroscopicspeechactinliteraryworksfromthemicroscopicspeechactwhichdeterminesthewholetext,whilethelatterisexecutedbyasinglesentenceinthetext.What’smore,eventhoughmanyscholarshavebeguntoanalyzealiteraryworkbasedonlinguistics,fewpeopleeverstudiedAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnfromtheperspectiveofspeechacttheory.Besides,duetothespacelimitations,thisessaywillonlyfocusontheaspectofmicrospeechact.Therefore,thisthesisattemptstomakeaSpeech-ActtheoreticstudyofmicroironyinAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.ThisthesisemployscasestudytoanalyzethemicroironicspeechactsinAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.Theauthorconcretelysomeexamplestakenfromtheconversationsinthisnoveltofullyexplainthefourtypesofironicspeechacts,includingtheassertiveirony,directiveirony,commissiveironyandexpressiveirony.Asfortheleftcategoryofspeechact,declarations,ironycan’tbeanalyzedinthiscategorybecauseaswhatHaverkatestated,sincerityconditiondoesn’texistindeclarations.ChapterOneLiteratureReviewReviewofIronyAsawidelyusedrhetoricaldevice,ironyisbecominganincreasinglyimportantliterarytechniquewhichisbothimportantandinteresting.Thus,itcatchesgreatattentionofscholarsfromdifferentfieldsincludinglinguistics,literatureandphilosophy.1.1.1DefinitionofIronyAlthoughironyhasbeendiscussedfordecades,thereisnoagreementaboutwhatironyis.Themostconcisedefinitionofitistosayonethingbuttomeansomethingelse(Han,2013).Butitisnotcomprehensiveenough.Acomprehensiveoneshouldconsiderfromtheperspectivesofbothfunctionsandforms.InADictionaryofLiteraryTermsandLiteraryTheory,J.A.Cuddon(1979)statesthatironyeludesdefinition,whichhethinkscanexplainwhytherearesomanystudiesaboutthedefinitionofirony.Nomatterhowdifferentdefinitionsvaryfromeachotherthereisonebasicfeatureliesinthemthesurfacemeaningoftheutterancediffersfromitsunderlyingmeaning.Withthedevelopmentoftheironictheoryafterhundredsofyears,expertsandliterarycriticshavegainedalotofnewfindingsandideas.Peoplegivedifferentdefinitionsandexplanationstoirony.However,thereisacommonplacetheyhave,aswrittenintheauthoritativeworkADictionaryofModernCriticalTerms,ironyisdefinedasawayofspeechconveyingakindofmeaningwhichisdifferent(andusuallyquitetheopposite)fromtheliteralmeaning,andusuallyconveysthespeaker'sattitudetowhatothersdoorsay(RogerFowler,1987).Forexample:Onestudentislisteningtoaspeechgivenbyhisheadteacheraboutthesignificanceofcooperationintheclassroom.Atfirsthethinksitisveryinspiring,butafteranhour,thespeechstillcontinues.Besides,therearemanybanalitiesinit.Thenhemightturntohisclassmatenexttohimandsay,“Whataconciseandwonderfullecture,right?”Bysayingthat,thestudentexpectstheotherstudentcanunderstandwhathereallymeanswhichisoppositetohisunderlyingmeaning.1.1.2ClassificationsofIronyAccordingtodifferentdefinitions,theremustbedifferentclassificationsofirony.AccordingtoHanZhongqian(2013),TomMcArthurclassifiesitintofivetypes:Socraticirony,dramaticirony,linguisticirony,structuralironyandromanticironywhileMuecke(1970)simplyclassifiesitintotwoforms:observableironyandinstrumentalirony.Generallyspeaking,verbalirony,situationalirony,anddramaticironyarethethreetypeswhicharefrequentlyusedinlanguage.Allinall,differentpeopleholddifferentdefinitionsonironygeneratingdifferentclassifications.Whilereading,inordertounderstandthefunctionsandpurposesofirony,readersshouldtakethecontextwhereironyappearsintoconsideration.Indailyconversation,peopleshoulduseitwithcautionforitisarathercomplexlinguisticphenomenon.However,itcanbeapowerfulweaponifwellused.1.1.3DevelopmentofIronyIrony,acommonlyusedarttechniqueinliterature,firstappearedintherepresentativeworkoftheancientGreekphilosopherPlato,TheRepublic,whichcontainedthemeaningof"disguiseanddeception."Later,withthedeepeningofresearchinthisfield,"irony"hasthevalueofstylisticsandaesthetics,andaccordinglythescopeofthisresearchhasalsobeenexpanded,andmoreandmorescholarshaveuseditintheappreciationofliteraryworks.Inrecentyears,manyscholarshavestudiedtheartofironyfromthefieldofpragmatics.Amongthem,somescholarsathomeandabroadhavedeeplystudiedthefeasibilityofusingspeechacttheorytoanalyzeliteraryworks,suchas:DutchscholarTeunA.VanDijkanalyzesliteraryworksfromtwoperspectivesthoroughly:macro-speechactsandmicrospeechacts;ChinesescholarZhuXiaozhoufurtherexploredliteraryworksfromtheperspectivesofmacro-speechactandmicro-speechact.Shepointsoutthatmacro-speechactisthespeechactthattheauthorcommunicateswiththereadersthroughthewritingintheliteraryworks,whilethemicro-speechactisthespeechactofcommunicationbetweencharactersandcharacters.Theresearchresultsofthesefamousscholarshaveplayedaguidingroleinthisresearch.Inshort,whenthespeechacttheoryisappliedtotheappreciationofliteraryworks,themacro-speechactdeterminesthetoneofthewholeliterarywork,andthemicro-speechactdeterminesthesocialrelationshipamongthecharactersshapedintheliteraryworks.Therefore,fromtheperspectiveofspeechacttheory,theartistictechniqueofironyisoftenusedbythespeakertoconveytheoppositemeaningthroughtheliteralmeaningoftheutterances,andthelistenerneedstoinfertheliteralmeaningofthespeech.Thespeakerutilizesittoachievethepurposeofirony.1.1.4PragmaticFunctionsofIronyAsacommonlyusedrhetoricaldeviceandliterarytechnique,ironycontainsmanypragmaticfunctions.Itcanbeusedasawayofsatiretoexpresstruefeelingsandattitudesortoridiculeothersskillfullyorfiercely,astrategywithgreathumorfrequentlyusedinliteratureworkstoamusereadersandgaintheexpectedeffectaswellasanapproachofexpressingemotionssuchasregretorsympathy.Tosumup,whencomingacrossironyinliteraryworks,readersshouldtakethecontextintoconsideration.Similarly,indailyconversation,thespeakersshouldutilizeitwithgreatcautionforitsgreatcomplexion.1.2ReviewofAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn(1884)isMarkTwain'smasterpiece,oneofthegreatestliteraryworksofthelate19thandearly20thcenturies.Named"thesourceofmodernAmericanliterature"byHemingway,thisbookdescribesthethrillingandbizarrestoriesoftwoteenagerswhopursuedafreelife.ThewritingofthisbookbeganshortlyafterMarkTwaincompletedTheAdventuresofTomSawyer.ItwasfirstpublishedintheUKin1884andpublishedintheUnitedStatesin1885,manifestingthepeakofMarkTwain'srealistartskill.1.2.1ABriefIntroductiontotheAuthor.MarkTwain(1835~1910)isanAmericanhumorist,anovelist,awriter,aspeaker,andthefounderofAmericancriticalrealismliterature.Hehaswrittenalotinhislife,andhisworksaremostlybasedonthebanksoftheMississippiRiver.TheyreflectallaspectsofAmericansocietyinthelate19thcentury.Hiswritingsarehumorousandwittyinreflectingandcriticizingthesocialproblemsanddeep-rootedattitudesuchasracism,whichisreflectedinAdventuresofHuckleberryFinntothefull.1.2.2ABriefIntroductiontoAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnAdventuresofHuckleberryFinntellsastoryhappeningduringtheAmericanCivilWarabout1850.AtthattimepeopleweremovingintotheMississippiValley,wheretheUnitedStateswasfullofviolenceandcruelty,butstillretained"somesimplicity,innocenceandtranquility."Thisisthe"songoftheUnitedStates"beforethewar,butthevirtueschantedinthesonghavedisappearedwiththeemergenceofthewar.ThisnovelrevealsthepsychologicaldevelopmentprocessofthewhitechildHuckinhelpingtheblackslaveJim,whichrevealstheimportanceofJim'sexistencetoHuck'spsychologicaldevelopment.ThestorytakesplacealongtheMississippiRiverandunfoldsaroundthecluesoftheblackslaveJim.Theprotagonistisa13-year-oldwhitewandererHuckleberryFinnandanuneducatedblackslaveJim.ThisbookfocusesonhowHuckgraduallychangedhisprejudiceagainstblackpeople,andslowlyacceptedthatthefactthatJimisapersonthesameashimself,evenregardedhimasaintimatefriendandsparednoefforttohelphim.Huckcomesfromthebottomofsociety,anabandonedchildwithnomother.Hisfatherisapooralcoholicinthetown,whowouldtakeallhiseffortstojustenjoyamomentofrevelry.Huckoftensleepsinthetrashcan,eatstherestofthefood,andwearsruinedclothes.Allhisvirtuescomefromhiskindnessandhisperceptionofhumannature,becausemostofthethingshehasbeentaughthavelaterprovedtobewrong.Forexample,hewastoldthatslaveryiscorrect,andtheescapedslavesshouldberevealed;hewastoldthatblacksareborntobeoflowerclassunderthewhites—infacttheyareloweranimals.Huckwasinfluencedbyreactionaryeducation.Atfirst,hefeltdeeplyguiltyabouthelpingJimescape.Afterallthehardships,HuckrealizedthatJimisnotaloweranimal,butaperson;notonlyapersonequaltohimself,butalsoagoodperson,aloyalfriend1.2.3FormerStudiesonAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnAsoneofthemasterpieceofMarkTwain,AdventuresofHuckleberryFinnalsoplaysasignificantpartinthehistoryofAmericanliterature.ErnestHemingwaysaidthatallmodernAmericanliteraturecomesfromit.Manyscholarshaveheapedpraiseonthisbook,whichdrawsfeatures,writingfeatures,characterizationandtranslation.ZhangJiapingholdsanobjectiveattitudetothis“disputableclassic”andpointsoutbothgoodpointsandshortcomingsofthisnovel.ManyscholarsrecentlychoosetoanalyzehumorwithintheframeworkofGrice’scooperativeprincipleandconversationalimplicature.What’smore,inthisnovel,manywonderfulconversationsfulloflanguagephenomenaareelaboratelydesigned,whichcanshowtheauthor’stalentinandabilityofutilizingirony.Thusafewscholarsalsobegintostudyironyinthisbook.HeYunyandiscussesironyundertheguidanceofrelevancetheory.Hepointsoutthatallironywithdifferentformscanbeinterpretedwithintheframeworkofrelevancetheory.What’smore,theapplicationofrelevancetheorytoliterarycriticismisnotonlyfeasible,butalsobreaksthroughtheframeworkofstructurallinguistics,linkinglinguisticinterpretationwithculturalcriticismandpsychologicalcriticism,andrealizingthe"holistic"cognitionofliterarytexts.ChinesescholarLiYingandZhangHaostudiedsituationalironyinthisnovelandconcludedthattheuseofsituationalironynotonlydohelpinthedevelopmentoftheplotbutalsoaddsomedramaticsenseandhumorinit.However,fewstudieshavebeenmadetoanalyzethismasterpiecewithintheframeworkofspeechacttheory.Thusthisthesistriestoanalyzeironyinthisclassicundertheguidanceofspeechacttheory.Itisanewperspectiveandisfeasible.Itsfeasibilityliesintwopoints.Ontheonehand,theliteralworkisalsooneofthematerialsourcesforlinguisticsinputtingitstheoriesintopractices.Ontheotherhand,linguisticanalysisinturncanhelpthereadersunderstandthethemeandthecharactersthoroughly.ChapterTwoTheoreticalFramework2.1BasicConceptsofSpeechActTheoryAspeechactinlinguisticsandthephilosophyoflanguageissomethingexpressedbyanindividualthatnotonlypresentsinformation,butperformsanactionaswell.Speechacttheoryreferstotheactofusinglanguagetoachievecertainobjectiveundercertaincontext.Itisoneofthemostsignificanttheoriesinpragmatics,whichisinitiallyposedbyBritishphilosopheroflanguageJohnAustininthe1960s.ThenthetheoryisdevelopedbyAustin’sstudent,Searle.Fromthenonacompletetheoreticalsystemhasbeenformed.Theformofthistheoreticalsystemgavepragmaticsagreatpushforward.Becauseofitssignificance,thistheoryhasgraduallybecomearesearchfocusbothathomeandabroad,andwasappliedbyliterarycriticism.MajortheoriesthatthisthesisadoptsareAustinandSearle’sSAT,VanDijk’smodelofmicrospeechacts,pragmatictaxonomyofironybasedonSearle’sview,andtherelationshipbetweenironyandrelatedtheories.2.1.1AustinandSpeechActTheoryJohnLangshawAustin,aBritishphilosopheroflanguage,isthefirstonewhoproposesspeechacttheory.Knownasthedeveloperofspeechacttheory,Austin’smostnotableandprominentworkHowtoDoThingswithWordscontainingaseriesofhislecturesdeliveredastheWilliamJamesLecturesatHarvardUniversity,waspublishedafterhedied.Traditionallinguistsandphilosophershavehistoricallyidentifiedtheroleoflanguageasdescribingthestateofthings,orstatingcertainfacts,andhavenootheruse.Besides,theythinkthatthesedescriptionsorstatementsmadeareeithertrueorwrong.Austinquestionedthisviewandproposedthatlanguagewasnotonlyto"state","describe"or"description",butwasusuallyusedtoimplementacertainspeechact..[1]Thespeakerperformsoneorseveralspeechactsbysayingonesentenceorafewsentences,suchas"Willyoupassmethesalt,please?"The"question"speechactisperformedintheformofaquestion.Afterthistheorywasputforward,itcausedgreatrepercussionsinthefieldoflinguisticsandbecameahottopicinthestudyoflinguisticsandthecoretheoryofpragmatics.Tosumup,JohnAustinpavesthewayforthestudyofspeechact.Althoughthereexistsomedeficiencieswhichneedtobecorrected,improvedandsystematizedinAustin’sspeechacttheory,thereisnodoubtthatheisthegreatfounderofspeechacttheory.2.1.2SearleandSpeechActTheoryBasedonAustin’stheory,Americanlinguist,SearlealsomadegreatcontributionsonSAT.Herevised,improvedandperfectedAustin’sspeechacttheoryandmadeprominentcontributionstothefurtherdevelopmentofspeechacttheory,amongwhichtwocontributionsaremostoutstanding.Onetheonehand,heclassifiedillocutionaryactintofivecategoriesinasystematicandscientificway.Thesefivecategoriesincludeassertives,commissives,directives,expressivesanddeclarations.Ontheotherhand,heputforwardtheindirectspeechacttheory.Afteranumerousstudies,Searlefindsthatspeechactcanbedividedintotwotypes,directspeechactandindirectspeechact.Thisclassificationisbasedontherelationshipbetweenthefunctionandtheliteralmeaningofaspeechact(quotedfromHuangJingjing,2015:20).Ifthisrelationshipisdirect,that’stosay,thespeakermeansexactlywhathesays,thenthespeakerisperformingadirectspeechact.Thelistenercaneasilyanddirectlygettheintentionofthespeaker.Ifnot,theutteranceconveysmoremeaningbesidestheliteralmeaningandtheimplicativemeaningisreflectedinanindirectway.Inthiskindofspeechact,Searlepointedoutthatliteralforceandillocutionaryforcearebothinvolved.Theformerreferstotheliteralmeaningcarriedinsidetheutterancewhilethelatterissimilartotheimpliedmeaning.What’smore,thelatterisperformedindirectlybywayoftheformer.2.1.3VanDijkandSpeechActTheoryVanDijksuggestsinhisbookPragmaticsofLanguageandLiteraturethat“l(fā)iteratureisregardedasaspecificspeechwithitsownproperconditions,theappropriatenessconditions”.Healsodistinguishesthemacroscopicspeechactinliteraryworksfromthemicroscopicspeechactwhichdeterminesthewholetext,whilethelatterisexecutedbyasinglesentenceinthetext.Theauthorthinksthatthemacroscopicspeechactisactuallythespeechactthattheauthorofaliteraryworkcarriesoutinthecommunicationwiththereaderthroughhisworks,whichisthemainpurposeoftheworkwesay.Themicroscopicspeechactreferstothespeechactperformsinthecommunicationbetweencharactersandthecharactersintheworks.Duetothespacelimitation,thisthesiswillonlyfocusonthemicroscopicspeechact.2.2TheRelationshipbetweenSpeechActTheoryandIronyInaboardsense,ironycanbeseenasanindirectspeechact.Theindirectmeaningoftheironyisoftentheopposite,negationorcontradictionofthecontentoftheproposition,itcanbetherightwords(praisebyblame)ortheironyissaid(bypraise),sotheironyisanindirectapplicationofspeechact.That’stosay,ironyisanindirectspeechact,whichisimplementedindirectlybymeansofperformanceofanotherspeechact.Sincetheironyliterallyfollowsthepolitenessprinciple,theexternalmeaningsweepsthefaceoftheotherpersonorthethirdabsentperson.Ironycanbesaidtobea"vippedveil"threateningfacespeechact(vei1edFTAs),whichcanmakethespeakereuphemistic,whileindirectlyattackingtheotherwithoutcausingconflicts,thuspreservingthefaceofbothpersoninvolvedinthecourse.Asmentionedabove,indirectspeechactshavetwoforces,literalforcesandillocutionaryforces,soasirony.Intheunderstandingofanirony,thelistenershouldpaymoreattentiontotheillocutionaryforcesratherthantheliteralforces.Searlestatesthattounderstandanironymanystepsareinvolved.Amongthem,thefirstoneistoprovetherearesomekindsofutterancesconveyingillocutionaryforceintheliteralmeaning.Then,findingtheillocutionaryforceandtherealmeaningisessentialinunderstandingtheirony.Irony,orironicspeechactcanhelpthespeakerproducecertainperlocutionaryeffectonthehearerinamoreeffectiveandforcefulwayandalwaysachieveastrongerillocutionaryforcethandirectspeechactbothinfunctionandpsychologyInASpeechActAnalysisofIrony,Haverkatepointsoutthat“theironicmanipulationofthesincerityconditionisbynomeansrestrictedtotheclassofimpositivespeechacts;itisinherentintheperformanceofanyironicspeechact”.Itispreciselybecausethespeaker'struemeaningisthecounter-argumentornegationofthecontentofthesentenceproposition,sothatitisintentionallyrevealinginsinceritysoastocauseirony.2.2.1AssertiveIronyAccordingtoSearle’sSpeechActTheory,thefundamentalconditionforassertiveisthat“thespeaker(tovaryingdegrees)makesacommitmenttotheveracityoftheexpressedproposition”.Thespeaker’sintentionistomakethelistenertoacceptthecontentofthediscoursepropositionanditstruth.However,inironicsense,assertiveisutilizedbythespeakertoexpresspraiseforcriticismandcriticismforpraise.Thesocialintentionofassertiveironyistomakethelisteneracceptimpliedcontentofthepropositionandbelieveitstruth.Forexample,inacanteenwherethestuffalwaysscoopinsufficientdish,astudentsaystohisfriend,“Thedishtodayistoomuch”.Underthiscontext,thelistenercaninferthatwhatthespeakerintendstoexpressistocomplaintheinsufficientfood.Assertiveironyismostcommonlyusedamongthefouraswellasinthisnovel.Thenumerousironicnarrationinthenovelcanactuallyberegardedastheassertiveironyinthemacrosense.Therefore,thisthesiswillanalyzethisaspectmorethoroughly.2.2.2DirectiveIronyTheillocutionaryforceofdirectiveistheintentionofthespeakertomakethelistenerdosomething.AccordingtoChinesescholarZhuXiaozhou,directiveironyisusedbyspeakertoexpresstheoppositeordifferentmeaningofwhathe/sheintendstoexpress.Thedirectionoffitiswhatdistinguishesitfromtheassertiveone,theformermakingtheworldadjusttofittheutterancewiththelatteronthecontrary.Intheunderstandingofadirectiveirony,beingreasonableandobviousarethetwonecessaryconditions.Thefirstone,accordingtoHaverkate,indicatesthatthespeakerisabletoprovehiscorrectnessofperformingthedirectiveact(Haverkate,1990:95).Beingobviousreferstotherequestmadebythespeakerisnotconsistentwithwhathereallywantshisinterlocutortodo.Healsostatesthattherealizationofdirectiveironyliesintwocriteria,”meaningtheoppositeofwhatyousay”and“meaningdifferentfromwhatyousay”.Theformerisoftentoexpressastrongandfirmorderorprohibitionwhilethelattercanbeagentleandeuphemisticrequest,adviceorpersuasion.Forexample,inaquarrelbetweenagirlandherboyfriend,thegirlsaystoherboyfriend,“gofurther”.Inthissituation,whatshereallywantsherboyfriendtodoistosaysomegoodwordsratherthanstayawayfromher,whichisoppositetotheliteralmeaning.Inanothersituation,thebosssaystohisassistant,“It’stoocoldtoday,isn’tit?”Thecoldweatherisobviouslyknowntothemboth,sothebossisnottotalkabouttheweatherwithhisassistantbuttoasktheassistanttoturnontheairconditionwitheuphemism.2.2.3CommissiveIronyCommissivesareusedbythespeakertoexpresshis/herpromisethathe/shewillperformtheactstatedinfuture.Theperformerofthementionedactiswherethecommissivediffersfromthedirectiveone.Theformeristhespeakerwhilethelatteristheinterlocutor.Thepropositionconditionofthiskindofspeechactisthespeakerhastheabilitytoperformtheactpromised.Thus,ifthespeakerisunableorimpossibletoperformthisact,thisspeechactthentakesonanironicsense.2.2.4ExpressiveIronyTheexpressivespeechactsareusedbythespeakertoexpresshis/herpsychologicalstatesuchasattitudeandfeelingstowardsacertainstateofaffairsindicatedbythepropositionalcontent(Searle,1979:15).That’stosay,thespeakermakeswhathesaysconsistentwithwhathereallythinksorfeels.Theutteranceofexpressiveisusuallyconnectedwithwordslike“appreciate”,“congratulate”,“apologize”helpingtoestablishacertainsocialpsychologicalrelationshipbetweenthespeakerandthelistener.Inexpressiveirony,thespeakerviolatesthesincerityconditionandexpresseshis/herfeelingsorattitudesinsincerely.Thespeaker’sironicmeaningcanbeinferredfromthecontext.Expressiveironyisalwaysusedtodevaluethebehaviorofthelistener.Forexample,inthethirdchapterofPrideandPrejudice,Elizabeth’syoungestsister,Lydia,whoseelopementwithWickhamhumiliatedthewholefamily,returnedwithoutanyshameormisgivingsandevenboastedthatshecould“gethusbandsforthembeforethewinterisover”.ThusElizabeth:“Ithankyouformyshareofthefavor,butIdonotparticularlylikeyourwayofgettinghusbands.”[5](p.280).Herstatementisobviouslyatypicalexpressiveironyinwhichsheisnotexpresshergratitudetohersister’s“favor”buthercontemptforhersister’simmoralbehavior.Throughtheauthor’scleveruseofexpressiveirony,wecanseeElizabeth’scriticismanddefiancetowardshersistermorevividly.ChapterThreeMicroIronicSpeechActsinAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnMainlyanalyzedindialogues,microspeechactsareperformedbythecharactersduringtheircommunication.Inthisbook,therearealotofpeopleinvolvedleadingtonumerousdialoguesbetweenthemdeservingtobeanalyzed.TheanalysisofmicroironicspeechactsisbasedonSearle’sclassificationofillocutionaryactmentionedabovewhichisgenerallyregardedasthemostscientificonewithclearprinciplesandcriteriaamongallthecategoriesofillocutionaryactthathavebeenproposed.Inhisclassification,therearefivetypesofutterances:assertives,directives,commissives,expressivesanddeclarations,whichcanusedtoperformfivefindsofacts.AccordingtoHaverkate,ironycannotbeanalyzedindeclarations.Declarationsareaspecialkindofspeechactswhichcouldcauseimmediatechangeintheexistingstateofthingsorcircumstanceswhensuccessfullyperformed.Declarationsarespecialintheirperformers,someauthoritativepersons.Thiskindofspeechactsareoftencarriedoutthroughverbslikename,appoint,declareandnominate.Forexample,whenanauthoritativescientistwhodiscoversanewplanetandsays“NowInameitA”,thenthisplanetislegallynamedasA.Therefore,thereisnopossibilityodsincerityconditionexistingindeclaratives,whichmeansthereisnodeclarative