American Literary Criticism And The Nation: A Case Study Of Literary Receptions Of Huckleberry Finn

This M.A. thesis aims to examine the relation between American literary criticism and the nation, through a case study of literary receptions of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ever since its publication in 1885, the novel has received different and often controversial interpretations. Banned by the Concord Library Committee at its publication, Huckleberry Finn nonetheless has been acknowledged as the exemplary great American book for its Americanness for the first decades of the twentieth century. The years after the Second World War witnessed a radical transformation in the novel's cultural standing. It was elevated into the American canon as prominent critics acclaimed it as a celebration of a non-conformist America. In recent years, Huckleberry Finn is again challenged as critical emphasis shifts to the issue of race and slavery as is expressed in the novel. Some critics charge Mark Twain and his novel of evading the race issue and thus participating in the social deceptions of dominant ideologies. Other critics, on the other hand, through discussing the racial problem, attempt to reinforce the novel's canonical status on different grounds. Despite the controversial attitudes toward the novel, critics still regard the novel as an embodiment of national experiences.From this reception history of more than a century, it is easy to see that American literary criticism, affected to a large extent by the socio-political circumstances of its times, tends to define national values and ideals by identifying literary works with the nation. This is the framework argument around which I develop this thesis. It consists of an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction outlines the relation between American literary criticism and the nation, and the purpose and structure of the thesis is also mentioned in this part.The first chapter deals with the literary responses to Huckleberry Finn from its publication to the 1940s. This period of time can further be divided into two phases. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, banned by the Concord Library Committee, the novel was condemned as "the veriest trash." In the first decades of the twentieth century, critics began to assume different tones and pointed out the Americanness in Huckleberry Finn. The change in critical receptions during this period is related to the decline of the Genteel Tradition and the critics' need of creating a "usable past" to justify the present.The second chapter explores the canonization of the novel in the mid-twentieth century. A close look is given to Trilling's "The Greatness of Huckleberry Finn." The essay, reflecting Trilling's academic and political concerns, constructs an American myth of freedom and fraternity out of Twain's text and thus sets the keynote of the canonizing discourse. Besides Trilling, other prominent critics also explored the themes and the vernacular language of the novel and associated them with the nation. Behind their laudatory nationalist interpretations were the socio-political circumstances of the Cold War era. The vision of America beyond conformity as embodied in the novel could serve as a sharp constrast to the arbitrary and the collective of Stalinism. The celebration of Huckleberry Finn as a national text, however, was achieved at the cost of ignoring the disturbing racial implications in the story's ending.The third chapter examines the contemporary criticism of Huckleberry Finn. As the issue of race and slavery draws more and more critical attention, many critics accuse the novel as well as the author of deep racism. The characterization of Jim is believed to involve racial stereotype and the Evasion ending Twain's deferral to recognize the truth of slavery. Other critics, however, discussing the ambivalent racial implications in the novel, attempt to reestablish it as the American classic on different grounds. Despite the controversial interpretations, critics still tend to identify the novel with the nation.The conclusion, on the basis of observing the relation between American literary criticism and the nation and its effects upon the literary receptions of Twain's novel, attempts to offer some advice on the future development of literary studies of Huckleberry Finn. Since American literary criticism is deeply rooted in nationalism, it constantly produces nationalist interpretations of literary works, which limits the possibilities of new interpretations, if not anything else. Therefore, it may prove to be enlightening and open new pathways of understanding the novel if Huckleberry Finn is put into the international context.