The Joke
E529625
The Joke is a novel by Milan Kundera that blends dark humor and political critique to explore the personal and ideological consequences of life under a repressive communist regime.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | novel ⓘ |
| adaptation | The Joke (1969 film) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | Milan Kundera NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| censorshipStatus | banned in Czechoslovakia after 1968 ⓘ |
| character |
Helena
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Jaroslav NERFINISHED ⓘ Kostka NERFINISHED ⓘ Ludvik Jahn NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Czechoslovakia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| EnglishTitle | The Joke NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| explores |
abuse of power by political authorities
ⓘ
limits of humor in authoritarian systems ⓘ tension between private life and political ideology ⓘ unreliability of personal narratives ⓘ |
| filmAdaptationDirector | Jaromil Jireš NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
historical novel
ⓘ
philosophical novel ⓘ political novel ⓘ satirical novel ⓘ |
| hasTranslation | English ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Czechoslovak communist politics
ⓘ
Stalinist-era repression ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | postmodernism ⓘ |
| literarySignificance |
important work of Czech dissident literature
ⓘ
one of Milan Kundera's major early works ⓘ |
| mainTheme |
ideology and individual freedom
ⓘ
irony and misunderstanding ⓘ life under a repressive communist regime ⓘ memory and history ⓘ political persecution ⓘ revenge and its futility ⓘ |
| narrativeTechnique |
multiple narrators
ⓘ
nonlinear narrative ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | Czech ⓘ |
| placeOfFirstPublication | Czechoslovakia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plotElement |
a postcard joke leads to political punishment
ⓘ
expulsion from the Communist Party ⓘ forced labor in a penal unit ⓘ |
| protagonist | Ludvik Jahn NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1967 ⓘ |
| publisher | Czech publishing house Československý spisovatel NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting | Czechoslovakia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| settingPeriod |
early years of communist rule in Czechoslovakia
ⓘ
post-World War II era ⓘ |
| style | blend of dark humor and political critique ⓘ |
| tone |
darkly comic
ⓘ
ironic ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.