A New Historicist Approach To Mark Twain And His Two Adventures

With new historicism as the theoretical basis, this thesis studies Mark Twain and hisAdventures in a larger social and historical context to open a new perspective on theirassessment. It first shows the ethos of his times when Mark Twain deals with the topics ofcapitalism, slavery, and women in both of his masterpieces. Then, by analyzing thedistinctive histories which Mark Twain's contemporaries and modern readers respectivelyconstruct on the basis of these two Adventures, the thesis proposes that the divergencerises partially from and, in turn, indicates the subjectivity which the new historieistsemphasize. Mark Twain's use of humor and child-protagonists also accounts for thedifference in historical constructions. Besides, deep down Mark Twain's Adventures, thefutile challenge to conventions and the determinist symbols suggest the same pessimismas new historicists hold concerning the subversive function which literary works arecapable of performing. The Adventures did not subvert their times; however, they maketheir own contributions to the shaping of history. The representation of the black andwhite co-operation and harmony on the raft in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnprovides a model of a new racial interrelationship.