Cultural Significance And Spiritual Development:an Archetypal Study Of The Initiation Theme In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain is one of the most famous writers in the19th century of America. He published many important humorous novels, children’s stories, and political commentaries. His works are profound in theme and rich in meaning. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is his masterpiece. The novel narrates the story about the boy Huck, especially his adventurous experiences on the Mississippi on a raft. As a novel with profound themes, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has attracted wide critical attention all over the world, and initiation is the fundamental theme fo the novel.The Myth-archetypal criticism is one of the literary critical theory which arises in the1950s. It mostly originated from three noted theorists, Frazer, Jung, and Frye. This theory is of special critical significance in studying the initiation theme in literary works.The thesis aims to analyze the themes of initiation and spiritual rebirth in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of archetypal criticism.This thesis will discuss the process of Huck’s moral growth and spiritual maturity, and explore social and human development presented in the novel. The thesis is gong to do the research in the following steps:The concept of the archetype and the principles of archetypal criticism, the initiation theme and its development in America, different kinds of archetypes and their similar and common symbolic cultural meaning, the protagonist’s moral initiation and human being’s spiritual awakening, and the society’s progress.The thesis comes to the conclusion that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn give expression to the eternal theme of the individual initiation and human progress.