Black Humor In Süskind's Perfume

Death is Hilarious: an analysis of Black Humor in Süskind’s Perfume
As the researchers looked on to their hero “casting his garments from him in the icy cold and whooping in exultation”, they found meaning in their sacrifice for their scientific cause despite the fact that their movement was founded on completely false information. It’s almost ironic how people can find meaning in a meaningless science by what most people would consider an act that completely confutes it. Süskind’s Black Humor, while very offensive and rude, creates a satirical tone that lightens the mood of the book and ultimately makes the reader question the author’s intention. Black Humor ultimately serves as a connection between irony, understatement, and brevity which contributes to the …show more content…
Based on the style at hand that is being utilized, the author conveys a particular tone in the section. Perhaps one of the outstanding and repeated instances of this style is how the author treats death in his novel. This is crucial to the overall implications of the book because murder is a practice that is common for the protagonist. By killing off a beginning minor character, Baldini, the author is trying to numb our feelings towards characters and keep us focused on Grenouille. Swiftly killing Baldini by explaining how “nothing was found, not the bodies, not the safe, not the little books with their six hundred formulas” presents a formal tone towards death while the next sentence lightens our mood with how the “musk, cinnamon, vinegar, lavender, and a thousand other things” filled the air above the city of Paris for weeks. It’s a morbid visual of Baldini’s unknowing death yet its humorous how all the perfume and scents are all that remains of