Transcript Document

American Literature
030533/4/5, 7th Nov. 2006
Lecture Seven
The American Realism
(II)
(1865 - 1918)
IV. Regionalism (local color writing)
1. The concept:
 The style of writing derived from the presentation of the
features and peculiarities of a particular locality and its
inhabitants. Simply it means The use of regional
detail in a literary or artistic work. The name is
given especially to a kind of American literature that in
its most characteristic form made its appearance just
after the Civil War and for nearly three decades was the
single most popular form of American literature.
 Following in the footsteps of the pre-war "sectional
humorists," local colorists were interested in
realistically depicting life in different sections of the
United States in order to promote understanding and
unification.
3) Fiction writers like Sarah Orne Jewett, Bret
Harte, O. Henry, and Mark Twain have been
identified within this tradition.
4) By the 1930s, the local color style had spread
beyond the bounds of novels and short stories
into less formal territory like the "hometown
material" section of local newspapers. Local
color writing had always been premised on an
informal approach and rejection of high-culture
concerns. Now it entered mass media.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
I.
His Life:
1)
Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida,
Missouri, of a Virginian family. He was brought up in
Hannibal, Missouri. After his father's death in 1847, he
was apprenticed to a printer and wrote for his brother's
newspaper. He later worked as a licensed Mississippi
river-boat pilot. The Civil War put an end to the
steamboat traffic and Clemens moved to Virginia City,
where he edited the Territorial Enterprise. On
February 3, 1863, 'Mark Twain' was born when
Clemens signed a humorous travel account with that
pseudonym.
2) In 1864 Twain left for California, and worked in San
Francisco as a reporter. He visited Hawaii as a
correspondent for The Sacramento Union, publishing
letters on his trip and giving lectures. He set out on a
world tour, traveling in France and Italy. His experiences
were recorded in 1869 in The Innocents Abroad, which
gained him wide popularity, and poked fun at both
American and European prejudices and manners.
3) The success as a writer gave Twain enough financial
security to marry Olivia Langdon in 1870. They moved
next year to Hartford. Twain continued to lecture in the
United States and England. Between 1876 and 1884 he
published several masterpieces, Tom Sawyer (1881) and
The Prince And The Pauper (1881). Life On The
Mississippi appeared in 1883 and Huckleberry Finn in
1884.
4) In the 1890s Twain lost most of his earnings in financial
speculations and in the failure of his own publishing
firm. To recover from the bankruptcy, he started a world
lecture tour, during which one of his daughters died.
Twain toured New Zealand, Australia, India, and South
Africa. He wrote such books as The Tragedy Of
Pudd'head Wilson (1884), Personal Recollections Of
Joan Of Arc (1885), A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court (1889) and the travel book Following
The Equator (1897). During his long writing career,
Twain also produced a considerable number of essays.
5) The death of his wife and his second daughter darkened
the author's later years, which is seen in his
posthumously published autobiography (1924). Twain
died on April 21, 1910.
II. His Works:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,
and Other Sketches (1867)
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873)
Mark Twain's Sketches: New and Old (1876)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
The Prince and the Pauper (1881)
Life on the Mississippi (1883)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889)
The 1,000,000 Pound Bank-Note, and Other New
Stories (1893)
III. His masterpiece: The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
1)
2)
Much of the book is concerned with Huck’s
inner struggle between this sense of guilt in
helping Jim to escape and his profound
conviction that Jim is a human being.
The book is written in the colloquial style, in
the general standard speech of uneducated
Americans.
1. Plot Summary1)
Huck lives with Miss Watson who is trying to civilize him. He
and Tom Sawyer become friends with her slave Jim. Huck's
drunk father returns to try and take Huck back, but Huck fakes
his own murder and runs away with Jim to a nearby island. Jim
and Huck discover a raft, which they make their new home and
set out to sail down the Mississippi River where they will both be
free. Jim and Huck travel by night to avoid being caught, and
sleep out in the woods during the day time. During the journey,
Huck and Jim's friendship grows considerably, and the two
become like family. Huck and Jim are separated when their raft
hits a steamboat and Huck goes ashore to stay with a family, the
Grangerford's. Huck soon becomes involved in their ongoing
feud and leaves when several family members are killed. Huck
also plays with the concept of morality and debates over the
question of whether to turn Jim in or risk being shunned by
society if he is caught with a runaway.
2)
3)
The Duke and the King soon join Huck and Jim on the raft, and
the four scam several cities out of money by performing plays
and circuses. They stay at the Wilkes' house where they steal
money from a family of girls whose father just died, by
pretending to be their uncles. Huck eventually confesses to the
girls, and abandons the Duke and the King when they try to sell
Jim.
Eventually Huck winds up at Aunt Sally's house and pretends to
be Tom Sawyer, who they are expecting. He soon learns that she
is keeping Jim hostage until his master comes to get him, and
tries to think of a way to free his friend. When the real Tom
comes to Aunt Sally's, the two form an intricate plan involving
ransom notes and digging holes in order to free Jim. When the
plan is activated, Huck and Tom are caught by angry townspeople
and are forced to confess their identity and reason for disturbing
the slave. Huck learns that Miss Watson set Jim free in her will,
and he is no longer a slave. Huck plans to escape being civilized
once more, and suggests that he will flee to live in Indian territory.
2. Major Themes
1) Maturity: Huck is forced to take care of himself
because he has no parents. Although he is a young boy,
he faces many problems that adults struggle with, and is
forced to deal with them maturely.
2) Friendship: Huck never really had any true friend
before Jim, but the time spent with him allowed the two
to become very close.
3) Legality vs. Morality: Huck faces the question of
whether he should obey the law and turn in Jim, or if he
should risk a bad reputation and keep his friend happy.
4) Love: Jim loves Huck and he has been a true friend and
been through many tough situations. Huck learns to love
through his friendship with Jim, who is devoted and
willing to do anything for Huck.
4) Racism: The novel is set in the South. Blacks are slaves
with no legal rights and are faced with high degrees of
discrimination. Their status is lower than that of a white
person, and Huck grows up debating that reality. It is a
barrier at first between himself and Jim, which they
eventually realize and overcome.
5) Freedom : Literally, Jim seeks freedom from slavery.
Figuratively, Huck seeks to be free, and not have to live
in fear of his father, or being civilized.
6) Lessons: Huck learns that although society has taught
him to regard blacks as inferior, he should listen to his
own opinion, even if it means sacrificing his reputation
and being labeled. He realized this when he befriended
Jim and went out of his way to secure Jim's freedom, by
risking his own safety and name.
7) Morals: Huck also learned that although people in his
life may have hurt him, he is able to be loved and to
love back. He learns this when his friendship with Jim
evolves, and they become like family. Huck is able to
love Jim back, and is willing to help him escape slave if
it will attain happiness.
8) Applications: Huck realizes that Tom's intricate plans
for solving problems sometimes are fun, but are not
usually the best answers. Huck is a more realistic
character and understands that effort and efficiency are
better than confusion and complication. He depicts this
when Tom's plan to free Jim becomes involved and
eventually backfires. Huck's plan at the beginning was
more reasonable, but he used Tom's plan instead.
9) Conflict between civilization and "natural life": The
primary theme of the novel is the conflict between
civilization and "natural life." Huck represents natural
life through his freedom of spirit, uncivilized ways, and
desire to escape from civilization. He was raised
without any rules or discipline and has a strong
resistance to anything that might "sivilize" him. This
conflict is introduced in the first chapter through the
efforts of the Widow Douglas: she tries to force Huck to
wear new clothes, give up smoking, and learn the Bible.
Throughout the novel, Twain seems to suggest that the
uncivilized way of life is more desirable and morally
superior. Drawing on the ideas of Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, Twain suggests that civilization corrupts,
rather than improves, human beings.
10) Honor: The theme of honor permeates the novel after
first being introduced in the second chapter, where Tom
Sawyer expresses his belief that there is a great deal of
honor associated with thieving. Robbery appears
throughout the novel, specifically when Huck and Jim
encounter robbers on the shipwrecked boat and are
forced to put up with the King and Dauphin, both of
whom "rob" everyone they meet. Tom's original robber
band is paralleled later in the novel when Tom and Huck
become true thieves, but honorable ones, at the end of
the novel. They resolve to steal Jim, freeing him from
the bonds of slavery, which is an honorable act. Thus,
the concept of honor and acting to earn it becomes a
central theme in Huck’s adventures.
11) Food: Food plays a prominent role in the novel.
In Huck’s childhood, he often fights pigs for
food, and eats out of "a barrel of odds and ends."
Thus, providing Huck with food becomes a
symbol of people caring for and protecting him.
For example, in the first chapter, the Widow
Douglas feeds Huck, and later on Jim becomes
his symbolic caretaker, feeding and watching
over him on Jackson's Island. Food is again
discussed fairly prominently when Huck lives
with the Grangerford's and the Wilks's.
12) Mockery of Religion: A theme Twain focuses
on quite heavily on in this novel is the mockery
of religion. Throughout his life, Twain was
known for his attacks on organized religion.
Huck Finn’s sarcastic character perfectly situates
him to deride religion, representing Twain’s
personal views. In the first chapter, Huck
indicates that hell sounds far more fun than
heaven. Later on, in a very prominent scene, the
"King", a liar and cheat, convinces a religious
community to give him money so he can
"convert" his pirate friends. The religious people
are easily led astray, which mocks their beliefs
and devotion to God.
13) Superstition: Superstition appears throughout
the novel. Generally, both Huck and Jim are very
rational characters, yet when they encounter
anything slightly superstitious, irrationality takes
over. The power superstition holds over the two
demonstrates that Huck and Jim are child-like
despite their apparent maturity. In addition,
superstition foreshadows the plot at several key
junctions. For instance, when Huck spills salt,
Pap returns, and when Huck touches a snakeskin
with his bare hands, a rattlesnake bites Jim.
14) Money: The concept of wealth or lack thereof is
threaded throughout the novel, and highlights the
disparity between the rich and poor. Twain purposely
begins the novel by pointing out that Huck has over six
thousand dollars to his name; a sum of money that
dwarfs all the other sums mentioned, making them seem
inconsequential in contrast. Huck demonstrates a
relaxed attitude towards wealth, and because he has so
much of it, does not view money as a necessity, but
rather as a luxury. Huck's views regarding wealth
clearly contrast with Jim’s. For Jim, who is on a quest to
buy his family out of slavery, money is equivalent to
freedom. In addition, wealth would allow him to raise
his status in society. Thus, Jim is on a constant quest for
wealth, whereas Huck remains apathetic.
15) Slavery: The theme of slavery is perhaps the most well known
aspect of this novel. Since it’s first publication, Twain’s
perspective on slavery and ideas surrounding racism have been
hotly debated. In his personal and public life, Twain was
vehemently anti-slavery. Considering this information, it is easy
to see that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides an
allegory to explain how and why slavery is wrong. Twain uses
Jim, a main character and a slave, to demonstrate the humanity of
slaves. Jim expresses the complicated human emotions and
struggles with the path of his life. To prevent being sold and
forced to separate from his family, Jim runs away from his owner,
Miss Watson, and works towards obtaining freedom so he can
buy his family’s freedom. All along their journey downriver, Jim
cares for and protects of Huck, not as a servant, but as a friend.
Thus, Twain's encourages the reader to feel sympathy and
empathy for Jim and outrage at the society that has enslaved him
and threatened his life.

However, although Twain attacks slavery through is portrayal of
Jim, he never directly addresses the issue. Huck and Jim never
debate slavery, and all the other slaves in the novel are very
minor characters. Only in the final section of the novel does
Twain develop the central conflict concerning slavery: should
Huck free Jim and then be condemned to hell? This decision is
life-altering for Huck, as it forces him to reject everything
"civilization" has taught him. Huck chooses to free Jim, based on
his personal experiences rather than social norms, thus choosing
the morality of the “natural life” over that of civilization.
16) Mississippi River:
 The majority of the plot takes place on the river or its
banks. For Huck and Jim, the river represents freedom.
On the raft, they are completely independent and
determine their own courses of action. Jim looks
forward to reaching the free states, and Huck is eager to
escape his abusive, drunkard of a father and the
“civilization” of Miss Watson. However, the towns
along the river bank begin to exert influence upon them,
and eventually Huck and Jim meet criminals,
shipwrecks, dishonesty, and great danger. Finally, a fog
forces them to miss the town of Cairo, at which point
there were planning to head up the Ohio River, towards
the free states, in a steamboat.
 Originally, the river is a safe place for the two travelers,
but it becomes increasingly dangerous as the realities of
their runaway lives set in on Huck and Jim. Once
reflective of absolute freedom, the river soon becomes
only a short-term escape, and the novel concludes on
the safety of dry land, where, ironically, Huck and Jim
find their true freedom.
3. His contributions and achievement :
1)
2)
3)
4)
Mark Twain, pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is a
very famous humorist, whose best work is characterized by
broad, often irreverent humor or biting social satire. His writing
is also known for realism of place and language, memorable
characters, and hatred of hypocrisy and oppression.
One of his significant contributions to American literature lies in
the fact that he made colloquial speech an accepted, respectable
literary medium in the literary history of the country.
In social criticism he loved life, people, freedom and justice, felt
a pride on human dignity and advocated brotherhood of man. He
hated tyranny and iniquity, despised meanness and cruelty, and
took his role as a social critic in a serious and responsible manner.
He was not indifferent either to the Chinese immigrants
persecuted in America or to a China suffering intense agonies of
humiliation and dismemberment by imperialist powers.
Homework:
 Analyze MT’s short story The
Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County on page 68 of the text book.
 What’s your impression after reading
the short story.
 Hand in your exercise books next
Wednesday.