Mark Twain.docx

Mark Twain.docx

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MarkTwain

TheMainFeaturesofMarkTwain'sWritingStyle

Ⅰ.Introduction

MarkTwain（pseudonymofSamuelLanghorneClemens,1835-1910）,wasoneofthebestknownAmericanwriters,journalistandhumorist,whowonaworldwideaudienceforhisstoriesoftheyouthfuladventuresofTomSawyerandHuckleberryFinninthe19thcentury.

MarkTwainwasbornonNovember30,1835inFlorida,MissouriinthemiddlepartoftheUnitedStates.HewasbroughtupinHannibal,Missouri.Hisfather,apoorlawyer,diedwhenhewasonlytwelveyearsold.Sohehadtoleaveschoolandmakehisownliving.Hewasapprenticedtoaprinterandwroteforhisbrother'snewspaper.HelaterworkedasalicensedMississippiriver-boatpilot.In1861,MarkTwainbecameaminerinNevada.Duringthisperiod,hestartedtowriteshortarticles.Itwasasthistimethatheadoptedthepenname"MarkTwain".Hetookitfromtheshoutofthesailorsmeasuringthedepthofthewaterwhenthewaterwastwomarksdeeponthelead.TheCivilWarputanendtothesteamboattrafficandClemensmovedtoVirginiaCity,whereheeditedtheTerritorialEnterprise.OnFebruary3,1863,'MarkTwain'wasbornwhenClemenssignedahumoroustravelaccountwiththatpseudonym

In1864TwainleftforCalifornia,andworkedinSanFranciscoasareporter.HevisitedHawaiiasacorrespondentforTheSacramentoUnion,publishinglettersonhistripandgivinglectures.Hesetoutonaworldtour,travelinginFranceandItaly.Hisexperienceswererecordedin1869inTheInnocentsAbroad,whichgainedhimwidepopularity,andpokedfunatbothAmericanandEuropeanprejudicesandmanners.

ThesuccessasawritergaveTwainenoughfinancialsecuritytomarryOliviaLangdonin1870.TheymovednextyeartoHartford.TwaincontinuedtolectureintheUnitedStatesandEngland.Between1876and1884hepublishedseveralmasterpieces,TomSawyer（1881）andThePrinceandthePauper（1881）.LifeOnTheMississippiappearedin1883andHuckleberryFinnin1884.

Inthe1890sTwainlostmostofhisearningsinfinancialspeculationsandinthefailureofhisownpublishingfirm.Torecoverfromthebankruptcy,hestartedaworldlecturetour,duringwhichoneofhisdaughtersdied.TwaintouredNewZealand,Australia,India,andSouthAfrica.HewrotesuchbooksasTheTragedyOfPudd'headWilson（1884）,PersonalRecollectionsOfJoanOfArc（1885）,AConnecticutYankeeinKingArthur'sCourt（1889）andthetravelbookFollowingTheEquator（1897）.Duringhislongwritingcareer,Twainalsoproducedaconsiderablenumberofessays.

Thedeathofhiswifeandhisseconddaughterdarkenedtheauthor'slateryears,whichisseeninhisposthumouslypublishedautobiography（1924）.TwaindiedonApril21,1910.

AttheheartofMarkTwain'sachievementishiscreationofTomSawyerandHuckFinn,whoembodythemythicAmerica,midwaybetweenthewildernessandthemodelstate.Someofhiswritingshavebeentranslatedintomanylanguages.Heandhisworksaredeeplylovedbyreadersthroughouttheworld.MarkTwainoncesaid,“Tobelieveyourselftobebraveistobebrave;itistheonlyessentialthing.”（AutobiographyofMarkTwain）

Ⅱ.TheFeaturesofMarkTwain'sWritingStyle

Twain’sworks,containingsomepracticaljokes,comicdetails,wittyremarks,etc.,andsomeofthemareactuallytalltales.Atthesametime,hiswritingstylecontainmanyfeatures.Thedetailsareasfollows:

A.TheimportantfounderofrealisticAmericanliterature

Theperiodrangingfrom1865to1914hasbeenreferredtoastheAgeofRealismintheliteraryhistory.ItcanbedescribedasbyaworksofMarkTwain‘TheGoldenAge’.TheharshrealitiesoflifeaswellasthedisillusionofheroismresultingformthedarkmemoriesoftheCivilWarhavesetthenationagainsttheromance.Thisnewattitudewascharacterizedbyagreatinterestintherealitiesoflife.Itaimedattheinterpretationoftheactualitiesofanyaspectoflife.Thecontentofthisageisactualitiesandtheformistruthfultreatmentoflife.

MarkTwainisagreatliterarygiantofAmerica,whomH.L.Menckenconsidered“thetruefatherofournationalliterature.”WithworkslikeAdventureofHuckleberryFinn（1884）andLifeontheMississippi（1883）,Twainshapedtheworld’sviewofAmericaandmadeamoreextensivecombinationofAmericanfolkhumorandseriousliteraturethanpreviouswritershadeverdone.

TheAdventuresofTomSawyerand,especially,itssequenceAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnprovedthemselvestobethemilestoneinAmericanliterature..ThechildhoodofTomSawyerandHuckFinnintheMississippiisarecordofavanishedwayoflifeinthepre-CivilWarMississippivalleyandithasmovedmillionsofpeopleofdifferentagesandconditionsallovertheworld;andthebooksarenotedfortheirunpretentious,colloquialyetpoeticstyle,theirwide-ranginghumor,andtheiruniversallyshareddreamofperfectinnocenceandfreedom.

HisnovelAdventureofHuckleberryFinnisavindicationofwhatMarkTwaincalled“thedamnedhumanrace.”Thatisthethemeofman’sinhumanitytoman---ofhumancruelty,hypocrisies,dishonesties,andmoralcorruptions.

AdventuresofHuckleberryFinnisbestknownforMarkTwain’swonderfulcharacterizationof“Huck,”atypicalAmericanboywhomitscreatordescribedasaboywith“asoundheartandadeformedconscience,”andremarkablefortheraft’sjourneydowntheMississippiriver,whichTwainusedbothrealisticallyandsymbolicallytoshapehisbookintoanorganicwhole.

ThroughtheeyesofHuck,theinnocentandreluctantrebel,weseethepre-CivilWarAmericansocietyfullyexposedandatthesametimewearedeeplyimpressedbyMarkTwain’sthematiccontrastsbetweeninnocenceandexperience,natureandculture,wildernessandcivilization.

HisTheAdventuresofTomSawyerwasastoryaboutapopularthemeinAmericanliterature.Thetwoyoungheroes,TomandHuckFinn,are"bad"onlybecausetheyfightagainstthestupidityoftheadultworld.Intheendtheywin.Twaincreatesahighlyrealisticbackgroundforthestory.Wegettoknowthevillageverywellwithitsmanycolorfulcharacters,itsgraveyardsandthehouseinwhichaghostissupposedtoexist.AlthoughtherearemanysimilaritiesbetweenTomandHuck,therearealsoimportantdifferences.Twainstudiesthepsychologyofhischaracterscarefully.Tomisveryromantic.HisviewoflifecomesfrombooksaboutknightsintheMiddleAges.AwhistlefromHuckoutsideTom'swindowcallshimoutforanightofadventures.Afterwards,TomcanalwaysreturntohisAuntPolly'shouse.Huckhasnorealhome.Bytheendofthenovel,wecanseeTomgrowingup.Soon,hewillalsobeapartoftheadultworld.Huck,however,isarealoutsider.

B.Localcolor

MarkTwainusestheMississippivalleyashisfictionalkingdom,writingaboutthelandscapeandpeople,thecustomsandthedialectsofoneparticularregion,andthereforeknownasalocalcolorist.

Twainisknownasalocalcolorist,whopreferredtopresentsociallifethroughportraitsofthelocalcharactersofhisregions,includingpeoplelivinginthatarea,thelandscape,andotherpeculiaritieslikethecustoms,dialects,costumesandsoon.Consequently,therichmaterialofhisboyhoodexperienceontheMississippibecametheendlessresourcesforhisfiction,andtheMississippivalleyandtheWestbecamehismajortheme.MarkTwainwroteaboutthelower-classpeople,becausetheywerethepeopleheknewsowellandtheir1ifewastheonehehimselfhadlived.Moreoverhesuccessfullyusedlocalcolorandhistoricalsettingstoi1lustrateandshedelightonthecontemporarysociety.

Twaindepictedsociallifethroughdescriptionsoflocalplacesandpeopleheknewbestandbelievedthat"themostvaluablecapital,orculture,oreducationusableinthebuildingofnovelsispersonalexperience."（AutobiographyofMarkTwain）

LocalcolorinAmericanliteraturereferstoauniquevariationofAmericanliteraryrealism,suchastheparticularconcernaboutthelocalcharacterofaregion.MarkTwainandsomeotherAmericanrealisticwriters’worksarecharacterizedwithlocalcolors.Generally,theworksbylocalcoloristsareconcernedwiththelifeofasmall,well--definedregionorprovince.Thiskindoffictiondepictsthecharactersfromaspecificsettingorofanera,whicharemarkedbyitscustoms,dialects,costumes,landscape,orotherpeculiaritiesthathaveescapedstandardizingculturalinfluence.Thesewriterswerenostalgicandsentimental,buttheydedicatedthemselvestoaccuratedescriptionsofthelifeoftheirregions.Theyworkedfrompersonalexperience;theyrecordedthefactsofauniqueenvironmentandsuggestedthatthenativelifewasshapedbythecuriousconditionsoftheloca1e.Theirmaterialswerenecessarilylimitedandtopicsdisparate,yettheyhadcertaincommonartisticconcerns.

C.Satire

Asasatirist,heemployedhiscommon,lowlycharactersasvernacularspokesmentodeflatethevaluesoftheofficialcultureofhisdayandwhathesawastherattle-brainedfollyofAmericanpoliticsofimperialism.HissocialsatireisTheGildedAge.Thenovelexploredthescrupulousindividualisminaworldoffantasticspeculationandunstablevalues,andgaveitsnametotheget-rich-quickyearsofthepost-CivilWarera.Twain’sdarkviewofthesocietybecamemoreself-evidentintheworkspublishedlaterinhislife.InAConnecticutYankeeinKingArthur’sCourt（1889）,aparableofcolonialization.AsimilarmoodofdespairpermeatesTheTragedyofPudd'nheadWilson（1894）,whichshowsthedisastrouseffectsofslaveryonthevictimizerandthevictimalikeandrevealstousaMarkTwainwhoseconscienceasawhiteSout