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Huck as a Perpetual Outsider: American National Identity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Year 2019, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 81 - 94, 30.12.2019

Gökhan Albayrak

Abstract

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been regarded as a manifestation of the American exceptionalist myth which has profoundly influenced American national identity. Drawing on this interpretation, this article asserts that Mark Twain’s novel not only valorises the ethos of American exceptionalism, but also undermines it. The American exceptionalist perspective is predicated upon the constructed opposition between the Old World and the New World. This American myth is alleged to originate from the American Puritans’ belief in their errand into the wilderness and to draw upon the frontier experience. The polarity between civilization and nature established by the American myth corresponds to the clash between culture and savagery that structures Mark Twain’s novel. Hence, it provides ground for the discussion of this novel within the context of the American exceptionalist myth. The discussion concentrates on Huck’s relationship with his female guardians and his father, and his encounter with Jim and this paper argues that Huck’s experience is in accord with the American myth in terms of his flight from the domesticating dynamics of civilization and his venture into the wilderness, whereas his narrative also subverts the American ethos in regard to the confusion of identities and the permeability of boundaries.

Keywords

Huckleberry Finn American Exceptionalism and National Identity American Exceptionalism

References

  • Abrams M. H. (2000). “The Romantic Period”. Eds. M. H. Abrams & S. Greenblatt, The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York (2000) 1-21.
  • Bercovitch S. (1978). The American Jeremiad. Madison 1978.
  • Bloom H. (2004). “Introduction”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 1-4.
  • Bloom H. (2007). “Introduction”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 1-6.
  • Doyno V. (2005). “Plotting and Narrating “Huck””. Eds. P. Messent & L. J. Budd, A Companion to Mark Twain. Malden (2005) 387-400.
  • Eliot T. S. (2004). “An Introduction to Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom. Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 17-24.
  • Fiedler L. A. (2004). “Huckleberry Finn: Faust in the Eden of Childhood”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 5-40.
  • Fiedler L. A. (1991). “Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Huck Honey!”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport, CT. (1991) 39-43.
  • Hemingway E. (1935). The Green Hills of Africa. New York 1935.
  • Jehlen M. (1995). “Banned in Concord: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Classic American Literature”. Ed. F. G. Robinson, The Cambridge Companion to Mark Twain. Cambridge (1995) 93-115.
  • Kravitz B. (2007). “Reinventing the World and Reinventing the Self in Huck Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 171-192.
  • Loux M. J. (2006). Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction. New York 2006
  • Marx L. (1991). “Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 50-60.
  • Messent P. (2007). The Cambridge Introduction to Mark Twain. Cambridge 2007.
  • Obenzinger H. (2005). “Going to Tom’s Hell in Huckleberry Finn”. Eds. P. Messent & L. J. Budd, A Companion to Mark Twain. Malden (2005) 401-415.
  • Pinsker S. (2007). “Huckleberry Finn and the Problem of Freedom”. Ed. H. Bloom. Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 67-74.
  • Railton S. (2004). Mark Twain: A Short Introduction. Malden 2004.
  • Restad H. E. (2015). American Exceptionalism: An Idea That Made a Nation and Remade the World. New York 2015.
  • Segal H. G. (2007). “Life without Father: The Role of the Paternal in the Opening Chapters of Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 27-42.
  • Schmitz N. (1991). “The Paradox of Liberation in Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 99-107.
  • Smith H. N. (1991). “A Sound Heart and A Deformed Conscience”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 61-78.
  • Trachtenberg A. (1991). “The Form of Freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. L. Champion,
  • The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 87-98.
  • Trilling L. (2004). “Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 5-16.
  • Twain M. (1948). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York 1948.
  • Wieck C. F. (2007). “Huck and Jim on the Mississippi: Going with the Flow?”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 43-54

Daimi Bir Yabancı Olarak Huck: Huckleberry Finn’in Maceraları Adlı Romanda Amerikan Ulusal Kimliği

Year 2019, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 81 - 94, 30.12.2019

Gökhan Albayrak

Abstract

Twain’in Huckleberry Finn’in Maceraları adlı romanı, Amerikan ulusal kimliğini derinden etkileyen Amerikan istisnacılığı mitinin bir tezahürü olarak görülmüştür. Bu yorumdan yola çıkarak, bu makale bu romanın sadece Amerikan istisnacılığını takdir ve temsil etmekle kalmadığını, aynı zamanda bu söylemin altını oyduğunu da iddia etmektedir. Amerikan istisnacılığı, yeni dünya ve eski dünya arasındaki yapay bir zıtlığa dayanmaktadır. Bu Amerikan mitinin, Amerikalı Püritenlerin yabanıl doğayı düzenleme, evcilleştirme görevine dayanan inançlarından kaynaklandığı ve sınır deneyiminden beslendiği ileri sürül- mektedir. Amerikan istisnacılığı miti tarafından kurulan uygarlık ve doğa arasındaki kutupluluk, Twain’in romanını biçimlendiren kültür ve vahşet arasındaki çatışmaya denk gelmektedir. Bu yüzden, bu romanı Amerikan istisnacılığı bağlamında okumak ve tartışmak çok verimli olmaktadır. Bu tartışma önce Huck’ın kadın vasileriyle ve babasıyla olan ilişkisine odaklanıp, daha sonra Jim ile olan dostluğuna yoğunlaş- maktadır. Bu çalışma, Huck’ın yaşantısının, medeniyetin uysallaştırıcı dinamiklerinden kaçması ve yabanıl doğaya doğru bir yolcuğu arzu etmesi açısından Amerikan istisnacılığı ile örtüşürken, diğer taraftan da bu anlatının kimliklerin birbirine karışması ve sınırların geçirgenleşmesi açısından da Amerikan istisnacılığı mitini alt üst ettiğini savunmaktadır.

Keywords

Huckleberry Finn Amerikan İstisnascılığı ve Ulusal Kimliği Amerikan İstisnascılığı

References

  • Abrams M. H. (2000). “The Romantic Period”. Eds. M. H. Abrams & S. Greenblatt, The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York (2000) 1-21.
  • Bercovitch S. (1978). The American Jeremiad. Madison 1978.
  • Bloom H. (2004). “Introduction”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 1-4.
  • Bloom H. (2007). “Introduction”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 1-6.
  • Doyno V. (2005). “Plotting and Narrating “Huck””. Eds. P. Messent & L. J. Budd, A Companion to Mark Twain. Malden (2005) 387-400.
  • Eliot T. S. (2004). “An Introduction to Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom. Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 17-24.
  • Fiedler L. A. (2004). “Huckleberry Finn: Faust in the Eden of Childhood”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 5-40.
  • Fiedler L. A. (1991). “Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Huck Honey!”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport, CT. (1991) 39-43.
  • Hemingway E. (1935). The Green Hills of Africa. New York 1935.
  • Jehlen M. (1995). “Banned in Concord: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Classic American Literature”. Ed. F. G. Robinson, The Cambridge Companion to Mark Twain. Cambridge (1995) 93-115.
  • Kravitz B. (2007). “Reinventing the World and Reinventing the Self in Huck Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 171-192.
  • Loux M. J. (2006). Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction. New York 2006
  • Marx L. (1991). “Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 50-60.
  • Messent P. (2007). The Cambridge Introduction to Mark Twain. Cambridge 2007.
  • Obenzinger H. (2005). “Going to Tom’s Hell in Huckleberry Finn”. Eds. P. Messent & L. J. Budd, A Companion to Mark Twain. Malden (2005) 401-415.
  • Pinsker S. (2007). “Huckleberry Finn and the Problem of Freedom”. Ed. H. Bloom. Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 67-74.
  • Railton S. (2004). Mark Twain: A Short Introduction. Malden 2004.
  • Restad H. E. (2015). American Exceptionalism: An Idea That Made a Nation and Remade the World. New York 2015.
  • Segal H. G. (2007). “Life without Father: The Role of the Paternal in the Opening Chapters of Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 27-42.
  • Schmitz N. (1991). “The Paradox of Liberation in Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 99-107.
  • Smith H. N. (1991). “A Sound Heart and A Deformed Conscience”. Ed. L. Champion, The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 61-78.
  • Trachtenberg A. (1991). “The Form of Freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. L. Champion,
  • The Critical Response to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Westport (1991) 87-98.
  • Trilling L. (2004). “Huckleberry Finn”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Major Literary Characters: Huck Finn. Philadelphia (2004) 5-16.
  • Twain M. (1948). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York 1948.
  • Wieck C. F. (2007). “Huck and Jim on the Mississippi: Going with the Flow?”. Ed. H. Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. New York (2007) 43-54
There are 26 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Language Studies (Other)
Journal Section Araştırma Makaleleri
Authors

Gökhan Albayrak

Publication Date December 30, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Volume: 9 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Albayrak, G. (2019). Huck as a Perpetual Outsider: American National Identity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi, 9(2), 81-94.
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Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi
Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi
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