Between Realism and Naturalism: Huck Finn

Lecture with Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck, Universität Freiburg | Im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung "Stephen Crane's Times"

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was originally supposed to be a companion piece to the successful Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but the book turned out rather different, and whereas Tom Sawyer still enjoys an unbroken career as a boys' favourite, critics and scholars generally agree that Huck Finn is an important landmark text in U.S. literary history, but there is a wide variety of opinions as to why that should be the case. The lecture will try to shed some light on these controversies, and offer a reading that includes both realist and naturalist elements.

Text: Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)

In cooperation with: English Department, University of Freiburg