Mark X

Who Killed Huck Finn’s Father?

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Mark X by Yasuhiro Takeuchi, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Yasuhiro Takeuchi ISBN: 9780429867989
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: June 18, 2018
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Yasuhiro Takeuchi
ISBN: 9780429867989
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: June 18, 2018
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In the summer of 1876, Mark Twain started to write Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a detective novel surrounding the murder of Huck’s father, Pap Finn. The case is unresolved in the novel as it exists today, but Twain had already planted the clue to the identity of the killer. It is not the various objects ostentatiously left around Pap’s naked body; they are not the foreground of the scene, but actually the background, against which a peculiar absence emerges distinctively—Pap’s boots, with a "cross" in one of the heels, are gone with his murderer.

The key to the mystery of Twain’s writings, as this book contends from a broader perspective, is also such an absence. Twain’s persistent reticence about the death of his father, especially the autopsy performed on his naked body, is a crucial clue to understanding his works. It reveals not only the reason why he aborted his vision of Huckleberry Finn as a detective novel, but also why, despite numerous undertakings, he failed to become a master of detective fiction.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the summer of 1876, Mark Twain started to write Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a detective novel surrounding the murder of Huck’s father, Pap Finn. The case is unresolved in the novel as it exists today, but Twain had already planted the clue to the identity of the killer. It is not the various objects ostentatiously left around Pap’s naked body; they are not the foreground of the scene, but actually the background, against which a peculiar absence emerges distinctively—Pap’s boots, with a "cross" in one of the heels, are gone with his murderer.

The key to the mystery of Twain’s writings, as this book contends from a broader perspective, is also such an absence. Twain’s persistent reticence about the death of his father, especially the autopsy performed on his naked body, is a crucial clue to understanding his works. It reveals not only the reason why he aborted his vision of Huckleberry Finn as a detective novel, but also why, despite numerous undertakings, he failed to become a master of detective fiction.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Understanding Marxism by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book John Ludlow by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Self-Interest by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Rebecca Dickinson by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book The Chicago Plan and New Deal Banking Reform by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Scale by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Women, Oppression and Social Work by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Postwar Urban America by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Confucianism by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Knowledge, Ideology & Discourse by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Revisiting Moroccan Migrations by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Community Organizing Against Homophobia and Heterosexism by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book The Concept of Violence by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Financial Management for Local Government by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Cover of the book Uncertain Worlds by Yasuhiro Takeuchi
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy