马克吐温不同时期写作特点分析论文
The Reason for the Change of Mark Twain Writing
Style
Mark Twain, an American writers, was born in a Mississippi river bank small town Hannibal's village poor attorney the family, goes out since childhood acknowledges as teacher the apprentice. Has worked as the type-setter, Mississippi river sailors, south the armed forces soldiers, but also has managed the lumber industry, the mining industry and the publishing industry, but the effective work is works as reporter and writing humorous literature.
Mark Twain is the US critical realism literature founder, world renowned short story master He has experienced US from “freely” the capitalism to the imperialism developing process, its thought and the creation also displays for from teases the pungent satire to arrive the pessimism and misanthropy development phase again livelily.
This paper focuses on the relation between Mark Twain and his works, especially the three novels Adventure of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Mysterious Stranger. This paper analyzes the early Mark Twain's humor works and writing style, as well as the late satire and writing style. And try to resolve the reason for the change caused Mark Twain writing style from the two aspects of social influence and personal experience.
1.Social criticism in The Adventure of Tom Sawyer
Whether Mark Twin was doubtful of happy family is related to his life. When Mark Twin lost his father, he had to be an apprentice to earn a living later. Because of this, he had been to a lot of districts and faced many difficulties. What’s more, some jobs demanded that young Mark Twin had to spare the pain separated from the family. All these made little Mark Twin have strange sense of happy family. Mark Twin reflected this strange feeling in his book after he became a writer.
In his book The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, Tom sawyer has no father and no mother. The person who brings him up is Aunt Polly. Tom sawyer is strange about love from the parents and happy family.
Mark Twin wants to have a leisure life. As mentioned, Mark Twin had a hard time when he was young. It is a dream to live a better life according to his jobs. As a newsboy, he had to deliver newspaper before the dawn. No matter what the weather was, he had to be on time. Other kids fell asleep, while Mark Twin was hardworking. It is a torture for Mark Twin that the age for children who needs to play. And the leisure life is far from dream.
According to psychology, people want to have something but they cannot afford it. It the dream cannot come true, they will try other ways to realize their dreams. Such as making up stories to arrange themselves in the story, so that they can realize their dreams. Mark Twin is one of them. He enjoyed his life in the book, especially in Tom Sawyer.
Children are prided by their freedom and brave behaviors. At the main time, Mark Twin satire the people who is stupid and pretentious. Aunt Polly’s vanity of wearing glasses and believing in healthy magazines easily was made fun of.
2. Idealism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is filled with satire about degenerate culture. But this serious, heavy atmosphere cannot cover the light of idealism.
Obviously, it is the happiest life that Huckleberry and old Jim spent on the raft. In the night of the summer, they are appreciating the scenery along the Mississippi River. They are worried to be caught, but watermelons and stars make them not want to go. They at least have happiness.
Raft and river represents a world which is free, equality, be-loved. A world that we can imagine and hope, but is far from us. In the depth of Mark Twins heart has a noble moral character. The character shows that they are usually dramatic and misunderstood.
In Huckleberry Finn, what Mark Twin arranged is Huckleberry has no mother, and his father is a drunkard. His father often beats him when he is drunk. A widow adopts him. So what he has is not happiness but pain. The reason why Mark Twin arranges this is that he did not enjoy the happiness of the family life.
Mark Twin was born in 1835, and died in 1910. So, the period he was living is during the abolition of slavery. As we all know, the slavery in south America made black people in the bottom of the society. They worked all the day, and they could not be educated. They could be treated easily and they had no dignity and status. Because of the long-term existence of slavery, this concept had been deeply in the heart. So. At first Mark Twin was standing on the side of the slave owners in the south. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Mark Twain participated in the American Civil war. But gradually, His view about slave System changed. He believed that slavery was inhuman, and should be abolished. Through his representative of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain will show the attitude that had shifted.
In the book, the main character Huckleberry met a boy Jim in the juggle. Jim is a slave who ran away from the master and hided in the juggle .The reason why he did this is that he heard bu accident that his master will sell him to a New Orleans slave owners for $800. Swearing not to expose his identity, Huckleberry’s heart was filled with guilt. The reason for this is that at that time helping to escape or hiding their whereabouts are not legitimate. Hu ckleberry’s young mind is also on such a mark. Thus, the thoughts of Huckleberry are the same as slave owners. But they get along with each other well gradually. Huckleberry recognizes that Jim, as a black man, has his own wisdom and talent. Black people should be respected. At the end of the story, when Jim is locked by slave owners in a small room, Huckleberry spares no efforts to save him. So Hu ckleberry’s view on slave has completely changed. From the above description, we can see Mark Twain’s transition to black people by using the character Huckleberry.
.3. Pessimism in The Mysterious Stranger
Mark Twain’s late works show the cynicism and pessimism. In his autobiography, he talks about the people liberate from the misery with the hopeless mood:” They vanish from a world where they were of no consequence; where they achieved nothing; where they were a mistake and a failure and a foolishness; where they have left no sign that they had existed in the world which will lament them a day
and forget them forever.”Just like Luxun said, he become a misanthropy instead of a joker.
When we listen to Mark Twain's critique in the real world, we can still find happiness in The Adventure of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. However, in the last one of the most important novel called The Mysterious Stranger, we can find nothing but acridness and despair. Tom and Huck made something successful although they had deficient. People in this novel didn’t do anything of value. In fact, they didn't do anything to against the world and evil religion. they distorted by Satan and All desires cannot follow their hope. They suffer from loneliness but cannot free themselves. They are shy, indifference, incapable and control by Satan instead of change Satan.
He thought that the social evils of the US is abysm of people, and then feels confused even despair to the human civilization and the future. It is closely related with the change of himself and the American society. During his speaking tour around the world, he saw the American imperialism caused many consequence. On the other hand, his personal life also experienced a major setback, the publishing company was bankrupt, typesetter failed, all these made him debt-ridden, and he had to make speaking tour around the world to repay the debt. Unfortunately, his daughter and wife left him because of the illness or accident. All this made him painful, and the dark social reality is made him angry, he gradually realized that he pursues the bourgeois democratic ideals were impossible. Idealism was completely disappear, pessimism is the only note in his last work.
Twain’s humor deeply rooted in social changes and his personal sufferings. When he thought life was bright for him and full of change and if everything went smoothly, he was quite optimistic and humorous. However, when he found the darkness corruption, in justice and the personal tragic encounters he had to withstand in particular, he became serious and bitter. We should take these elements into consideration when analyzing Twain’s writing characteristics as well as himself.