马克吐温的写作风格.docx

马克吐温的写作风格.docx

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马克吐温的写作风格

ThelanguagestylesintheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn

TheadventureofHuckleberryFinnisthebestworkthatMarkTwaineverproducedintheearlytime.Ittellastoryabouttheunitedstatesbeforethecivilwar.AtthattimeAmericahadgreatnationalfaults,fullofviolenceandevencrueltly,yetstillretainthevirtuesof‘somesimplicity,someinnocence,andsomepeace.MarkTwainusedhisspeaciallanguagetodescipethesocietyalongthemississippriverandrevealedpeaplekeantothefreedomandhappiness.Inthisbookcolloquiallanguageandstaireareverysignificant,throughwhichMarkTwaindescripethecharacter,narratetheevent,andcreatthememorablecharactersinallofAmericanfiction.MarkTwainwasthefirstimportantwritertoconsistentlyusetheAmericanspeechratherthanEngland’sEnglish.Hishonor,whetheritwasaimedatpureentertainmentoratsocialsatire,wasirresistible.Hisrealism,anddetailsinfluencedmanylaterAmericannovelists.ThatwaswhyErnestHemingwayoncesaid“allmodernAmericanliteraturescamefromonebookwrittenbyMarkTwaincalledTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.”AnditbecameTwain’smasterpiece.

HuckleberryFinnisaveritablerecreationoflivingmodels.Thetwomajorcharacters,HuckandJim,representthetwosidesofthedilemma:

Huckstrikesoutforanabsolutefreedom,whileJimrequirestogainhisownfreedom,soHuckqualifyhisfreedombyenteringintothepursuitofJim’s.Itstartsoutasacomedy,an‘AsYouLikeIt’withaherodrawnfromthebottomofsocietyratherthanthetop.Theportrayalofindividualincidentsandcharactersachievedintenseverisimilitudeofdetail.Seriousproblemsarebeingdiscussedthroughthenarrationofalittleilliterateboy.Thefactthatthewildernessjuxtaposedwithcivilization,thepeoplehalfwildandhalfcivilized,manyofwhomareworse,vulgar,arebrutal.travels.Inthisnovel,riversareroadsthatmove,andtheroaditselfisthegreatestcharacterinthisnoveloftheroad.Thehero’sdeparturesfromtheriverandhisreturnstoitcomposeasignificantpattern.TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinnshowsusthemajorachievementsofhisart:

themasterfuluseofdialects;humorandpathos,innocenceandevil.ThisnovecreatethemostmemorablecharactersinallofAmericanfiction.

IUseofColloquialLanguage

Thebookiswritteninacolloquialstyle,inthegeneralstandardspeechofuneducatedAmericans.Moreover,theproseofHuckleberryFinnestablishedtheprosevirtuesofAmericancolloquialspeech.Ithassomethingtodowitheaseandfreedomintheuseoflanguage.Mostofall,ithastodowiththestructureofthesentence,whichissimple,direct,andfluent,maintainingtherhythmoftheword’sgroupofspeechandtheintonationsofthespeakingvoice.MarkTwain’scolloquialstylehasinfluencedalargenumberofAmericanwriters.

1.1Vernacularlanguage

Itisnotgrandpompous,butsimple,directlucid,andfaithfultothecolloquialspeech.Speakinginvernacular,awildanduneducatedHuck,runningawayfromcivilizationforhisfreedom,isvividlybroughttolife.Thegreatstrengthofthebookalsocomesfromtheshapegiventobythecourseoftheraft’sjourneydowntheMississippiasHuckandJimseektheirkindsoffreedom.MarkTwainwroteinhisunpretentious,colloquial,andpoeticstyle.Heusedvernacularlanguage,dialectwithspellingrepresentingpronunciation.Partofthiscomesfromhisinterestinhumor.ThedirectnessofthelanguageisaveryinfluentialpointinTwain’sstyle.MarkTwainsaid,“Iusedialectstuffbytalkingandtalkingittillitsoundsright.”Hewantedhiswritingtohavethesoundofeasy-goingspeech.InHuckleberryFinnthefountainheadoftheAmericancolloquialprose,hewrotesevendifferentdialectsandeachcanbedistinguished.Ifthereaderisalinguist,hecanexaminethedifferentpronunciationsthatTwainhasshown.Inhisowntime,dialectwritingwasconsideredhumorous.Peoplegotabiglaughoutofreadingthesemisspellwords.Anotherfeatureofthebook,whichhelpstomakeitfamousisitslanguage.ThebookiswritteninthecolloquialstyleinthegeneralstandardspeechofuneducatedAmericans..MarkTwain’sintroductorynoteonaccentsisanindicationofhisconsciousattempttoachieveaccuratedetail.“Inthisbook,”hesays,“anumberofdialectsareused,towit:

theMissouriNegrodialect;theextremeformsofthebackwoodssouthwesterndialect;theordinary‘pikecountry’dialect;andfourmodifiedvarietiesofthislast.Theshadingshavenotbeendoneinahaphazardfashion,orbyguesswork;butpainstakingly,andwiththetrustworthyguidanceandsupportofpersonalfamiliarity,withtheseseveralformsofspeech.”“Painstaking”and“nothaphazard,”thoughtheypossessahumorousring,denotetheconscientiouseffortonthepartoftheauthor,andtrustworthinessandfamiliarityandtheauthor’sawarenessofdialectsinusingwhichrevealhisattempttoreproduceactualdailyspeechwithadegreeofaccuracy.ArecentandveryinfluentialrecastingofHuck’svernacularvoicehasidentified.

Wemayquoteapassagefromthismasterpieceasanillustration:

“Itookthesackofcornmealandtookittowherethecanoewashid,andshovedthevinesandbranchesapartandputitin;thenIdonethesamewiththesideofbacon;thenthewhisky-jug.Itookallthecoffeeandsugartherewas,andalltheammunition;Itookthewadding;Itookthebucketandgourd;tookadipperandatincup,andmyoldsonandtwoblankets,andtheskilletandthecoffee-pot/Itookfishlinesandmatchesandotherthings-everythingthatwasworthacent.IcleanedouttheplaceIwantedanax,buttherewasn’tany,onlytheoneoutatwoodpile,andIknowwhyIwasgoingtoleavethat.Ifetchedoutthegun,andnowIwasdone.”

Thewordsusedhereare,perhaps“ammunition”whichisetymologicallyFrench,mostlyAnglo-Saxoninorigin,andareshort,concreteanddirectineffect.Sentencestructuresaremostofthemsimpleorcompound,withaseriesof“then”and“ands”andsemi-colonsservingasconnectives.Therepetitionoftheword“took”andthestringingtogetherofthingsleavetheimpressionthatMarkTwaindependsolelyontheconcreteobjectandactionforthebodyandmovementofhisprose.Whatismore,thereisanungrammaticalelement,whichgivesthefinalfinishtohisstyle.ThewholebookapproximatestheactualspeechhabitofanuneducatedboyfromsouthAmericanofthemid-nineteenthcentury.

ThevernacularlanguageintheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinninitiatedthenewstyleoflanguageinAmericannovels,andhashadsignificantinfluenceuponAmericanwritersoflatergenerations.

1.2LocalColor

Twainisalsoknownasalocalcolorist,whopreferredtopresentsociallifethroughportraitsofthelocalcharacterofhisregions,includingpeaplelivinginthatarea,thelandscape,andotherpeculiaritieslikethecustoms,dialects,costumesandsoon.Twainreferstotheelements,whichcharacterizealocalculture,suchasspeech,customs,andalsoaparticularplace.Localcoloristsconcernedthemselveswithpresentingandinterpretingthelocalcharacteroftheirregions.Theytendedtoidentifyandglorify,buttheyneverforgottokeepaneyeonthetruthfulcoloroflocallife.

Twaindepictedsociallifethroughdescriptionsoflocalplacesandpeopleheknewbestandbelievedthat“themostvaluablecapital,orculture,oreducationusableinthebuildingofnovelsispersonalexperience.”Yet,sometimesTwainwroteasentimentalstory,notbecausehewassentimental,butbecausehewantedtoshowthereaderhowstupidsuchastoryreallywas.ThereaderhastobeverycarefulwhenheorshereadsMarkTwain.Twainoftenplayedtrickonthereader.Heoftensaidthingswhenhemeantjusttheopposite.ThisistheironythathegotthehumorfromtheFarWest.Hewoulddothingsthathedidjusttomakefun,butthereadermightthinkthathereallymeantit.Thenthereaderwasthetender-footwhotakenin.

Marktwainpreferredtorespectsociallifethroughportraitsoflocalplaceswhichheknewbestanddrewheavilyfromhisownrichfundofknowledgeofpeopleandplaces.TheAdventuresofhuckleberryFinnisonesuchexample.Finnislivingbreathingpersonality.ItisthroughhisuseoflanguageandhisactivitiesthatTwaincreatescharacterandsetsdownobjectivetruth:

Finnisuneducated;hedislikescivilizedwaysbecausetheyarerestrictiveandhypocriticalhethinks.

Meanwhile,localcolormixedromanticplotswithrealisticdescriptionsofthingswhichwerereadilyobserved,withthecustoms,dialects,sights,smellandsoundsofregionalAmerica.AftertheCivilwar,localcolorhadfurtherdeveloped,Inthisbook,thiskindofliteraturemainlydescribesthelocallife,thekeynotewasoptimistic,andthelanguagewasnarrativehumorous.Thecharactershecreatedwerehumorousandfullofwittiness.Frommypointofview,Americanliteratureissocharmingforthiskindofworks.

MarkTwainuseLocalcolorismtomakeSherbornacold-bloodedkillerandHuckasaint（andTomagood）.Letmerepeatitasasaint，however,Huckisnomorebentonsocialreform,nomoreoptimisticaboutit,thanissherburn.SolocalcolorismisavariationofAmericanrealism,andalsoadescriptionofasmallrefinedregion.Twain,breakingoutofthenarrowlimitsoflocal-colorfiction,describedthebreadthofAmericanexperienceasnoonehadeverdonebefore,orsince,andhecreatedTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn,amasterpieceofAmericanrealismthatproverbstobeoneofthegreatbooksofworldliterature.

1.3humor

MarkTwain’shumorisremarkable,too.ItisfuntoreadTwain’works,formostofhisworkstendtobefuuny,