摘要

很多學者相信馬克吐溫是一位著名的幽默作家；然而，根據我的觀察，他的寫作風格在他的寫作生涯中其實是有轉變的。假若讀者按照創作時間的先後順序閱讀──《湯姆‧梭野的冒險故事》，《賀柯貝里‧芬的冒險故事》，＜使黑德里堡鎮墮落的人＞與＜三萬元的遺產＞──可以清楚得知馬克吐溫改變了他對人性的觀點──從樂觀到懷疑，乃至於最後的悲觀。藉著作者的自傳佐證論點，這篇論文將探討吐溫在主要作品中對人性的觀察。他在主要作品中，對於人性的觀察包含了一種雙重的意義，亦即人的本性與道德觀念。
我的論文將從介紹我對馬克吐溫的觀察開始。在第二章，我以小說家的早期作品，《湯姆‧梭野的冒險故事》來闡述作者對於人性的樂觀。我也使用亞當‧史密斯（Adam Smith）的道德情感理論（The Theory of Moral Sentiments）來強化我的論點。在這部小說中，讀者能清楚地看到湯姆‧梭野（Tom Sawyer）與賀柯貝里‧芬（Huckleberry Finn）象徵人性的善良。這兩個角色擁有很多正面的特質，例如同理心及理性。此外，讀者也能看到敘述者對於社會正義的信心，因為惡棍最後必定面對他應有的制裁。值得注意的是賀柯與其他村民皆具有一種高貴的道德觀念與分辨善惡的能力。然而，在論文的第三章，我將指出賀柯對善良的了解在作者中期的作品《賀柯貝里‧芬的冒險故事》中被挑戰。因此，此章將討論這部作品中作者對於人性善良的懷疑。不可否認地，賀柯帶引讀者去思考奴隸制度的議題。在這部小說中，賀柯幫助吉恩（Jim）脫逃數次；然而，在每一次的幫助後，他總是對他自己的行為感到非常困惑。讀者也能看到白人與黑人角色的對比。例如兩個騙子（公爵和國王）（duke and king）與吉恩，以及賀柯的父親與吉恩的差異。這些對比說明了作者對於人性的懷疑。同時，應該要注意的是小說家並未繼續用客觀的第三人稱觀點創作；反之，他在最後的寫作生涯中採取一種血淋淋和直截了當的創作風格。因此，這篇論文的第四章將聚焦於＜使黑德里堡鎮墮落的人＞與＜三萬元的遺產＞，檢視作者對於人性的悲觀。在這些短篇故事裡，讀者能清楚地看到人們醜陋的缺陷，諸如貪婪，浮華及狡詐。有鑒於這些缺點，作者很可能在他生命的尾聲對於人性感到悲觀。換言之，在創作生涯的後期，吐溫開始對於人性感到悲觀並且深信人是惡的，充滿缺點，同時也缺乏區別善惡的能力。
總結來說，我希望我的論文能幫助學者了解作者如何在他的寫作生涯中改變他對於人性的觀點──從樂觀到懷疑，最後到悲觀。希望能對讀者對吐溫作品的理解能略有貢獻。


關鍵字：馬克吐溫、樂觀、懷疑、悲觀、人性。

Abstract
Many scholars believe that Mark Twain is a well-known humorist; however, according to my observations, his writing style changes throughout the course of his career. If one is to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” and “The $30,000 Bequest” in chronological sequence, it becomes apparent that Twain’s views change from optimism, to doubt, and finally to pessimism. This thesis will focus on Twain’s major works to discuss the novelist’s observations regarding human nature by drawing on Twain’s autobiography to support my argument. The novelist’s observations of human nature include a double meaning, namely temperament and conscience, which he writes about in his major works.
My thesis begins with an introduction to my observations about Twain. In the second chapter, I examine the novelist’s early work, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, to illustrate his optimism towards human nature; I also use Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments to strengthen my argument. In this novel, readers can see clearly that Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn represent all that is good about human nature. Both characters possess many good qualities, for example, sympathy and reason. Moreover, the reader can also ascertain the narrator’s confidence in social justice, as a ruffian must face his deserved punishment in the end. It is worth noting that Huck and the other villagers have a noble conscience and have the ability to distinguish between good and evil. In the third chapter of my thesis I will point out, however, what Huck learns about goodness is challenged in the The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel written during the middle stage of the author’s career; thus, this chapter will focus on this novel as a means of exploring Twain’s doubts about the goodness of human nature. It is undeniable that Huck leads readers to think about the issue of slavery. In this novel, Huck helps Jim to escape several times; however, each time after he does so, he always feels confused about his action. One can also see some contrasts between the white and black characters, such as the two deceivers (the duke and king) and Jim, as well as Huck’s Pap and Jim. These contrasts illustrate Twain’s doubts about human nature. It should also be noted that the novelist does not continue to write from an objective third person point of view; conversely, he adopts a brutal and straightforward writing style during the later stages of his writing career; hence, the fourth chapter of this thesis will focus on “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” and “The $30,000 Bequest,” as a means of examining Twain’s pessimistic view on human nature. In these short stories, one can see people’s ugly flaws, such as greediness, vanity, and cunningness. In view of these flaws, it is quite likely that the novelist began to feel pessimistic about human nature in the last part of his life. In other words, later in his writing career Twain began to feel pessimistic about human nature and came to believe that humans are evil, riddled with flaws, and lack the ability to distinguish between good and evil.
To conclude, I hope my thesis can assist scholars to see how Twain’s views on human nature changed from optimism, to doubt, and finally to pessimism in his writing career, which may contribute to a better understanding of Twain’s works.

Key words: Mark Twain, optimism, doubt, pessimism, human nature.

Table of Contents

Chapter I. Introduction …………………………………………… 01
Chapter II. Mark Twain's Optimism towards Human Nature … 18
Chapter III. Mark Twain's Doubts about Human Nature …… 39
Chapter IV. Mark Twain's Pessimism towards Human Nature … 63
Chapter V. Conclusion ……………………………………………… 86
Works Cited …………………………………………………………… 91

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