Mark Twain 马克吐温

MarkTwainHewascalledthegreatestAmericanhumoristofhisagetheLincolnofAmericanliteraturethetruefatherofournationalliteratureMirrorofAmericanAbouttheauthorPennameMark,twain,meaningtwofathomsdeepandsafewater,wastheleadsmanscallontheMississippiRiver.ItwasadoptedaspennamebySamuelLanghorseClemens,wholivedfrom1835to1910.LifeExperienceMarkTwainwasborninthebackwoodsofFlorida,Missouri,thesonofanunsuccessfulVirginianstorekeeper.WhenMarkTwainwas4yearsold,hisfamilymovedtoHannibal,Missouri,ontheMississippi,wherehebegantocherishthedesireofbecomingapilotonariverboat.In1847,hisfatherdied,hediscontinuedhisschoolingandwasapprenticedtoaprinter.Laterhebecameatrampprinterandfulfilledhishisboyhooddreambyworkingasariverboatpilot.Thetwoexperiencehadanimportanteffectonhislaterwriting.Asaprinter,hehadathisfingertipsthehumorousstoriesandanecdotespopularinpublicationsofthetime.Byassimilatingthevarioustechniquesofthiskindofwritinghedevelopedhisowntalentstobeagreathumorist.Asariverboatpilot,heattainedabroadunderstandingofhumannaturethroughcontactwithallsortsofpeople--frommerchantsandslaveownerstoslavesandtrampsandtohustlersandgamblers.Thecivilwarbroughthisriverboatlifetoanend.Hewentsoldieringfor2weekswithagroupofConfederatevolunteersandthenmadefortheWest.InNevadahewasdrawnintothegoldrush,triedprospecting,mining,andspeculating,buedidnotsucceedinmakingfortune.In1862heleftforVirginiaCitywhereheacceptedajobasreporterandstartedhiscareerasajournalistichumorist.In1865,hepublishedTheCelebratedJumpingFrogofCalaverasCounty,whichwasinstantlysuccessful.In1870,hemarriedOliviaLangdonwhobelongedtogenteelsociety,thefollowing20yearswerehismostproductiveperiod.In1891,hewenttoEuropeandbegananemigrantlifewhichlastednearly10years.In1894,hewasdrivenintobankruptcyduringaneconomiccrisisintheUS.Heresumedhiswritingtodischargehisdebts.In1900,hewaswarmlywelcomedbacktotheUnitedStates.Butinhislastyearshegrewseriouslybitteranddeeplypessimistic,ascanbeseeninhisworkTheMysterriousStranger（1916）andWhatIsMan（1906）.hisworksTheCelebratedJumpingFrogofCalaverasCountyTheGildedAgeThePrinceandthePauperThe$1,000,000PoundBank-NotePersonalRecollectionsofJoanofArk1LifeontheMississippi2TheAdventureofTomSawyer3TheAdventureofHuckleberryFinn(thesethreewereconsideredasTrilogyofMississippi）Backgrounds1,FamilyBackgroundIntheautumnof1939,hisfamilyhadtomovetoHannibal,Missouri,wherehespenthisboyhoodandwhichwouldlaterprovidethesettingforHuckleberryFinnandTomSawyer.Whenhewas22(1857),TwainreturnedtoMissouri.HeworkedasariverpilotuntiltheAmericanCivilWarbrokeoutin1861.Asariverboatpilot,heattainedabroadunderstandingofhumannaturethroughcontactwithallsortsofpeople.Hefoundhislifeduringthisperiodbothinstructiveandintreasting.Hesaid,Igotpersonallyandfamiliarlyacquaintedwithaboutallthedifferenttypesofhumannature......2,CulturalBackground（1）AmericanRealismcameinthelatterhalfofthe19th-centuryasareactionagainstRomanticism.Itstressestruthfultreatmentofmaterial.Itexpressesconcernfortheworldofexperience,forthecommonplace,forthefamiliarandthelow.ThethreedominantfiguresofthisperiodareMarkTwain,HenryJamesandWilliamDeanHowells.Early19th-centuryAmericanwriterstendedtobetoofloweryandsentimental,partiallybecausetheywerestilltryingtoprovethattheycouldwriteaselegantlyastheBritishcould.However,Twain'sstyle-basedonvigorous,realisticcolloquialAmericanspeech-gaveAmericanwritersanewappreciationfortheirnationalvoice.Twainwasthefirstmajorauthortocomefromtheinteriorofthecountry,andhewellcaptureditsdistinctive,humorousslangandiconoclasm.(2)Bildungsroman成长小说InitiationnovelInliterarycriticism,aBildungsromanisaliterarygenrethatfocusesonthepsychologicalandmoralgrowthoftheprotagonistfromyouthtoadulthood(comingofage),inwhichcharacterchangeisextremelyimportant.ThebirthoftheBildungsromanisnormallydatedtothepublicationofWilhelmMeister'sApprenticeshipbyJohannWolfgangGoethein1796.AlthoughtheBildungsromanaroseinGermany,ithashadextensiveinfluencefirstinEuropeandlaterthroughouttheworld.ThomasCarlyletranslatedGoethenovelintoEnglish,andafteritspublicationin1824,manyBritishauthorswrotenovelsinspiredbyit.Inthe20thcentury,itspreadtoGermany,Britain,France,andseveralothercountriesaroundtheglobe.ABildungsromanrelatesthegrowinguporcomingofageofasensitivepersonwhogoesinsearchofanswerstolife'squestionswiththeexpectationthatthesewillresultfromgainingexperienceoftheworld.Thegenreevolvedfromfolkloretalesofadunceoryoungestsongoingoutintheworldtoseekhisfortune.Usuallyinthebeginningofthestorythereisanemotionallosswhichmakestheprotagonistleaveonhisjourney.InaBildungsroman,thegoalismaturity,andtheprotagonistachievesitgraduallyandwithdifficulty.Thegenreoftenfeaturesamainconflictbetweenthemaincharacterandsociety.Typically,thevaluesofsocietyaregraduallyacceptedbytheprotagonistandhe/sheisultimatelyacceptedintosocietytheprotagonist'smistakesanddisappointmentsareover.Insomeworks,theprotagonistisabletoreachoutandhelpothersafterhavingachievedmaturity.ThisnovelisgenerallyacknowledgedasaclassicinitiationstoryinAmericanliterature.