Adventures in Adolescence: Twentieth-Century Adaptations of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Abstract

Mark Twain has had considerable influence upon the authors that have followed him. Little criticism has been written concerning the specific influence of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on novels of this century, although much has been written on his general influence on writers. It is the aim of this paper to take a few diverse examples of twentieth-century novels and compare them in general terms as well as examine them in light of mythological criticism, which is most appropriate to the novel. The novels for comparison include: Faulkner's The Reivers: A Reminiscence; Hemingway's short story collection, The Nick Adams Stories; J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye; The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow; The True Adventures of Huck Finn by John Seelye; and The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.