"Huckleberry Finn" as a crossroads of mythsthe Adamic, the quixotic, the picaresque, and the problem of the ending
ISSN: 1133-7397
Année de publication: 2001
Titre de la publication: English Studies in Spain: Aspects of Literature and Culture
Número: 8
Pages: 61-70
Type: Article
D'autres publications dans: Links & letters
Résumé
The aim of the paper is to discuss once more the controversial ending of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective afforded by comparative literature and myth criticism. Huck Finn has been related to the myth of the American Adam, but also to the picaresque hero and to the quixotic figure. The paper claims that the myth of the American Adam as formulated in Huckleberry Finn results from a creative and ironic crossing of the picaresque and quixotic myths. Huck’s Adamic nature is defined by a blending of both picaresque and quixotic qualities and in relation to pícaros and Quixotes presented by Twain in the novel. The ending plays a very important part in establishing Huck’s compound mythic identity.