Determinism in Mark Twain : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University
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Date
1994
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Massey University
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Abstract
Determinism in Mark Twain In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and The Mysterious Stranger, Twain illustrates the determinism of forces that he sees as being perpetuated largely through the heredity and conditioning of cultural ethics. Twain makes the inference that the exercise of free will is impossible in any civilised state and that true freedom and democracy can never be anything more than philosophical ideals to struggle for in vain. At best, Twain sees any state of freedom as purely temporary, and in the works discussed asserts that the only real escapes lie in sleep, dreams, insanity, and death. The inability of Twain's heroes to escape or even outwit cultural and other environmental forces to find their own freedom thus emphasizes the power of determinist forces.
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Twain, Mark, 1835-1910, Criticism and interpretation, Free will and determinism -- In literature