C=Critical Survey o !ong "iction CT#=Critical Tem$er # CT%=Critical Tem$er % CT&=Critical Tem$er & '='ay M#=Modern American !it( volume # M%=Modern American !it( v) % T*EMES 8A+ T th,arted -y -eing o-liged to conorm to culture 8A+ intense $leasure in the variety o the ,orld 8A+ concern ,ith res$onsi-ility or evil 8A+ hostility to $ol.esta- church and to,ard medievalism 8A+ ree.,ill/ determinism/ $essimism/ sym$athy or individs 8A+ o$$osition to $ol( rel( econ tyranny/ o$$ to a-uses o machines 8A+ o$$ to unrighteous customs and la,s o caste 8A+ revulsion against some o the e0cesses o democracy 8A+ o$$osition to im$erialism 8A+ cham$ion o li-erty 8A+ la-or unions sole $resent hel$ or ,ea1 vs) strong 8A+ yet not a socialist 8A+ conlict -et, ree ,ill and determinism 8A+ em$h on American innocence 8A+ shit rom conident o$timism to -itter cynicism 8A+ *"+ all civili2ation a hateul error 8A+ *"+ every ma3or e$isode ends in violence( oten death 8A+ *"+ 4# cor$ses 8A+ *"+ *5s a-ility to see -oth good and evil and acce$t them 8A+ *"+ selishness vs) sellessness/ convene this vs) idealism 8A+ *"+ $resents a com$lete $ortrait o society 8A+ C+ T6* almost as t,o halves o T,5s $syche C+ T re$s strong desire or security( success C+ * re$s dee$ly ingrained desire or reedom rom convention C+ river-oat $iloting oered T, -oth reedom and res$ecta-ility C+ easy to imagine T gro,ing u$/ im$oss to imagine * doing so C+ TS im$lies that childhood can only -e savored ater the act C+ TS relevant to Am5s transition rom youth and rontier days C+ *"+ youth7age/ secure7reedom/ ,ildnerness7civ/ innoc7corru$t C+ *"+ * re$s common man( ,7out roots C+ *"+ moral re3uvenation in Edenic ,ilderness C+ C8+ am-iguity a-t ,hether modern or eudal is good or evil CT#+ orthright $etty -ourgeois 9:; CT#+ *" em$h on amiliar 3ourney moti CT#+ *" the irst e0istential hero/ acce$ts his terri-le reedom CT#+ *" relects o-sessive Am theme o loneliness/ man5s ate CT#+ river as god/ villagers5 $iety/ T5s romantic imag/ <5s su$erstit CT#+ *"+ ree do,n,ard movement ironically ta1es <im south CT#+ deals ,ith the everyday and common$lace CT#+ T,5s reormist im$ulses conlicted ,7 his determinism CT#+ conlict -et, vulgar and reined( real and ideal CT%+ ho$ed an indiv cd challenge commun -ut still -e a mem-er CT%+ in C8( T, cdn5t reconcile indivd and commun/ novel ails CT%+ T,5s em$h on the 3oys o lie CT%+ achieved critical distance to,ard the south CT%+ gradual movement a,ay rom southern -igotry CT&+ -y the end o *"( T ,as court 3ester o the rich CT&+ ,ea1 humor o *amlet $arody de$ends on 1no,ledge o Sh CT&+ such humor latters the educated CT&+ -ourgeois $rovide standards o measurement at end o *" CT&+ academically correct s$eech in *" lin1ed to social ills CT&+ t,ins( dou-les sym-ols o duality o human -eings CT&+ used dou-les to =uestion $resence o sel to itsel CT&+ T5s later re-ellion vs uninter$5d truth and individ autonomy CT&+ re3ection o cult o conormity CT&+ <im emerges -riely( -ut T shoves him -ac1 into nigger CT&+ ,illingness to diminish *" rather than let * attac1 racism CT&+ readers have right to -e angry at T or ,hat he does to <( * CT&+ >evasion? cha$ters deli-erately $ro-lematic( unsettling CT&+ >evasion? cha$ters im$ortant or the =uestions they raise CT&+ >evasion? cha$ters orce readers to decide '+ rage or social 3ustice and e=uality '+ aggressive Am nationalism '+ materialistic Ams lac1 much o Eur relish or living '+ $ersonal e0$erience oten his $oint o de$arture '+ insight into child $sychology/ more $ro-lems ,ith adults '+ in TS( mor-idity( guilt( ears( deceit o childhood '+ underlying commonness o human nature '+ *"+ $eace and storm( $retence and reality( desertion( reunion '+ *"+ cro,d vs) individ/ tendency o evil to destroy itsel '+ later $essimism inluenced -y 'ar,in and Calvinism '+ everything is ated/ thus no one can -e -lamed '+ man1ind and individs are ,7out $ur$ose and $ros$ect '+ sometimes sentimental in his v, o ,omen( as in < o A '+ late $essimism M#+ ca$acity or $roound admiration/ he cd $raise ,ell M#+ ear o solitude/ tortured conscience/ sel.contem$t/ sel.accus M#+ -itterness the eect o creative miscarriage( -al1ed $rnslity M#+ loneliness o childhood relected in his ,or1/ alien rom am M#+ recurrent nightmare o -eing utterly cut o M#+ re=uent em$h on lonesome strangers M#+ stands a$art rom cro,d yet longs to -e its leader M#+ *"+ ideal o innate gdness leading to -rotherhood M#+ *"+ rat=reedom/ shore=determinism M%+ dou-ted $oss o $rsnl reedom ,7in social setting M%+ dis$arity -et, e0$ectation and reality/ raudulence ST8!E( STR@CT@RE( TEC*NIA@ES 8A+ $iloting hel$ $romote $recise o-servation and memory 8A+ actually tested his oral style on audiences every night 8A+ s$on lo, o narr/ organicism/ de$arture rom unities 8A+ de$endence on e0$erience and o-servation/ actuality 8A+ authentic characteri2ation/ realistic dialogue/ ,ea1 $lot 8A+ situation and incident shd develo$ organically 8A+ em$h on dialogue Ba-t 8CD in his -est -oo1sE 8A+ structural em$h on scene/ stage directions 8A+ attn to costuming/ em$h on one 1ey trait rathan round 8A+ ,riting the ,ay $eo$le tal1 8A+ gulli-le and s1e$tical -y turns/ realistic and sentimental 8A+ *"+ total a-sence o mor-idness 8A+ *"+ $icares=ue trad( es$ Smollett5s transl o 'A 8A+ *"+ satire on chivalric medievalism 8A+ T a -itter enemy o sentiment 8A+ T sometimes romantic( sometimes realistic 8A+ narrative shd -e ree( ,ith no la,/ little interest in $lot 8A+ *"+ e$ic re$resentation( rom lo,est to highest 8A+ *"+ alternation o land and river 8A+ *"+ organi2ed -y re$etition and variation C+ Tom assoc5d ,ith rom lit( *uc1 ,ith realistic C+ $ervasive attac1s on rom lit( yet T, has rom im$ulses C+ *uc15s voice re=uently com$ared to Whitman5s C+ em$h on vernacular voice C+ sometimes $ure un( sometimes $ure gloom C+ TS un/ *" mid,ay/ 9W gloomy C+ TS+ novel o sim$licity and com$le0ity C+ irony( sometimes gentle( sometimes not C+ oten $airs chars+ Tom7Sid/ Tom7*uc1/ $rince7$au$er C+ change o $laces -oth in 969 and in 9W C+ ending o *" has some $ro-s( struc5l( them5ly( rhet5ly C+ *"+ delicate -alance o lyricism and satire C+ *"+ attac1s T5s -1ish rom/ endorses *5s rom yearnings C+ *"+ cha$ #4 resolves the central =uestion too early C+ C8 lac1s idyllic radiance o earlier -oo1s C+ allegorical tendencies( es$ in C8/ ideas 3u0ta$osed CT#+ *"+ com$laints against contrived ending o <im5s esca$e CT#+ *"+ orm is $icares=ue/ de$artures and returns to river signi CT#+ *"+ -eneits rom mounting sus$ense CT#+ *"+ sim$le( direct( luent $rose/ rhythm o s$ea1ing voice CT#+ *"+ return to inal ocus on Tom gives -1 symmetry CT#+ *"+ * a vaga-ond/ hence( he can only disa$$ear CT#+ *"+ last ith diminishes *5s victory/ aint.hearted ending CT#+ *"+ constructed on the $rin o re$etition and variation CT#+ *"+ melodrama mi0ture o real 6 unreal( comedy 6 horror CT#+ *"+ unity de$ends on *5s mind/ sometimes inconsistent CT#+ TS+ -egins ,ell -ut ends in ta,dry melodrama CT#+ T, inca$a-le o a sustained eort/ ragmentary success CT%+ sa, di -et, right ,ord and almost right as immense
CT&+ variety o T5s humor( rom cruel comedy to chilling irony CT&+ sel.assured( conidential( unhurried tone CT&+ an a$$reciation o >characters?+ sim$le( natural '+ honest voca-ulary and cadence o Am s$eech '+ inde$endent o and irreverent to,ard :ld World heritage '+ gro,ing im$ro-a-ility as his imagination ela-orates '+ sometimes coarse and indelicate comedy '+ re=uent satirical em$h M#+ sometimes T5s humor antastic( ar-itrary( mechanical M#+ oten humor irresisti-le( rooted in truth( sincere( melancholy M#+ strain o earnestness in his ,or1/ ,estern strain M#+ sets do,n ,hatever comes ne0t to his mind/ li1e thin1ing M#+ instinct or something chaotic( ironic( em$iric M#+ could -oth $raise ,ell and curse ,ell M#+ terse( sim$le( accurate( unorced style M#+ alternation -et, comic and serious e$isodes M#+ oten relies on -urles=ue to urnish com/ sometimes a ault M#+ alive( naFve ,ay o tal1ing that seems un$redicata-le M#+ this 1ind o style demands a certain 1ind o s$ea1er M#+ anti.conven style dictated anti.conven s$ea1ers M#+ reedom o s$eech lin1ed to reedom o action M#+ genius or the $articular rathan a-stract M#+ care or the individual detail and right ,ord M#+ -y end o career( una-le to com-ine his humor and censure M#+ *"+ humor dee$ened ,ith $athos/ romance -alances realism M#+ *"+ heroic7hum-le/ loyal( good 7 selish( craven M%+ ne, chars( e$s( themes oten introduced a-ru$tly