Abstract: Mark Twain，an outstanding American writer in 19th century, was commonly considered a great humanist. His attitude toward the Indians was impersonal and just and he expressed moral support to their unfair experiences. But, we could also see that the author would show, intentionally or unconsciously, the superiority complex of his race and his culture when he described the images of the colored people. Through a panoramic summarization and analysis of the colored ethnic group images in Mark Twain’s texts by the way of neo-historical criticism, on the one hand, we could reevaluate the historical and cultural status of Mark Twain, on the other hand, the association of the studying of Mark Twain’s texts and neo-historical criticism also makes this critical way of more extraordinary meaning.
Key Words: Mark Twain; superiority; the colored ethnic images; neo-historical criticism
Introduction 1
1. Background 2
1.1 A Brief Review of Studies on Mark Twain’s Two Adventures 2
1.2 The Theoretical Basis, Framework, Methods and Significance of the Thesis 4
2.Neo-Historical Criticism and Mark Twain’s Texts 5
2.1 The Concept of The Neo-Historical Criticism 6
2.2 Different Histories Constructed in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 6
2.3 Different Histories Constructed in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer 8
3. The Status of the Ethnic Groups in American Society 9
3.1 The Images in Mark Twain’s Texts 9
3.2 The Slavery in Mark Twain’s Texts 12
3.3 Huck and Mark Twain's Racist Roots 13
3.4 Mark Twain’s Illogicality of His Mind 13
4. Conclusion 15
Bibliography 17
