英语论文网

Chapter Three The Mississippi River and National Identity .................... 31

A.The River as a Territorial Premise ........................... 31

B.The River as a Economic Foundation ........................... 34

C.The River as the Cultural Icon .................... 39

Conclusion .................................. 46

Chapter ThreeThe Mississippi River and National Identity

A.The River as a Territorial Premise

From the map,the whole Mississippi River system is like a knotted tree,firmlyabsorbing the entire North American continent,and becoming the body of the nation.Toget the ownership of the Mississippi River,the United States government spent decadesfighting with France,Britain,and Spain.Until 1789,“the United States established agovernment for the Mississippi Territory”(Libby 37).Since then,the Mississippi Riverhas become the legal territory of the United States and has widely occupied the memoryof the American people.In 1803,when Congress formally created Mississippi territory, the United States was a young nation struggling to forge unity at home and respectabroad.As a kind of emotional activity,identity cannot be built on a castle in the air.Itsexistence needs to be materialized on an exact piece of land.Just as in the novel,theMississippi River provides a passage for Huck and Jim to escape.In forming the currentUnited States territory,this magic river also furthers American people’s penetration andprovides a territorial prerequisite for the Westward Movement,which is of greatinfluence and significance to the development of American national character andidentity.

Conclusion

As the nation’s iconic presence,the Mississippi River has been depicted inAmerican culture to construct America’s personal and national identities since theindependence of the United States.For Mark Twain,this significant river occupies anindispensable position in his literary writing.It contributes to not only providingstory-space,but also fueling the unfolding of plots.As his most well-knownmasterpiece,the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,without a doubt,mirrors thepanoramic view of the Mississippi River basin before the Civil War.Since the wholejourney is along the Mississippi River,it is not appropriate to discuss the formativeprocess of the protagonists’personal identities and America’s national identity withoutthe presence of this great river.Based on relevant identity theories,the thesis hasanalyzed the topic of identity in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from individual andnational perspectives.The complete experience of floating down the Mississippi Rivercorresponds with the development of both characters’and America’s national identities.

From the point of view of literature,the major role of the Mississippi River can begenerally recognized as a story-space that promotes the development of the plot andhighlights the themes.From the perspective of identity,this river provides internal andexternal conditions for personal and national identities.When the river serves as astory-space,it connects with all the major plots that impac本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。