Mark Twain's Narrative Art

The study on Mark Twain has formed a nearly rigorous academic criterion in the last century, which has taking on a plurialistic trend. While actually, it is lacked of the systematic study on the narrative arts of Mark Twain's fiction. The author considers that Mark Twain carries on the traditional writing techniques of the 19 th and has his own creations. He likes changing the narrators to tell story, he creates luxuriant discourse implications, and he figures multifunctional characters, etc. The thesis applies the narrative theory to his works to explore the narrative mode, attempting to make a careful and detailed analysis on the primary narrative factors, which includes narrator style and narrative level, narrative voice, narrative mood, character and act, in order to unveil the aesthetic meanings and the value points in his fictions. It also surveys the conventional verdict again and puts forward the author's viewpoint.