Mark Twain's Travel Literature

The Odyssey of a Mind

• Author(s): Harold H. Hellwig,
• Publisher: McFarland
• Pages: 227
• ISBN_10: 0786436514
  ISBN_13: 9780786436514
  
• Language: en
• Categories: History / United States / State & Local / West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY) , Literary Criticism / General ,

Description:...

This critical study analyzes major concepts in the travel literature of Mark Twain and notes how his oeuvre (including his classic works of fiction) revolves around travel as a central issue. The book focuses especially on his representations of time, place, and identity in the travel works Roughing It, A Tramp Abroad, The Innocents Abroad, Life on The Mississippi, and Following the Equator. All receive an in-depth analysis, noting Twain's strong sense of nostalgia for the disappearing American frontier, his growing concern over the assimilation of Native American cultures, and his continual search for a sense of personal and national identity. One appendix provides a complete list of the travel literature contained in Twain's personal library.