The essays in this volume represent a wide range of approaches to one of the most popular of all American novels. Michael Bell re-examines the crucial issue of romanticism versus realism in the book. Janet McKay discusses the linguistic subtleties of the novel, showing the social implications inherent in Twain's brilliant use of the vernacular. Lee Mitchell draws on post-structuralist theories to question Huck's own assumption that words themselves can represent the social world. Steven Mailloux combines sociopolitical perspectives and the methods of contemporary 'reader-response' analysis to identify how humour is generated in Huckleberry Finn and to enrich our understanding of the novel's topical impact.

From 1929 to the latest issue, American Literature has been the foremost journal expressing the findings of those who study our national literature. The jouranl has published the best work of literary historians, critics, and bibliographers, ranging from the founders of the discipline to the best current critics and researchers. The longevity of this excellence lends a special distinction to the articles in American Literature.
Presented in order of their first appearance, the articles in each volume constitute a revealing record of developing insights and important shifts of critical emphasis. Each article has opened a fresh line of inquiry, established a fresh perspective on a familiar topic, or settled a question that engaged the interest of experts.Partial Contents
The Literary Background of Howells's Social Criticism (1942)/George Arms
A Note on Howells and The Smiling Aspects of Life (1945)/Edwin H. Cady
Howells, the Atlantic Monthly, and Republicanism (1952)/Louis J. Budd
The Ethical Unity of The Rise of Silas Lapham (1960)/Donald Pizer
Point of View in Howells's The Landlord at Lion's Head (1962)/William McMurray
The Architecture of The Rise of Silas Lapham (1966)/G. Thomas Tanselle
Howells and Ade (1966)/Jack Brenner
The Dark Side of Their Wedding Journey (1969)/Marion W. Cumpiano
William Dean Howells, George William Curtis, and the Haymarket Affair (1969)/Clara and Rudolf Kirk
Savagery and Civilization The Moral Dimensions of Howells's A Boy's Town (1969)/Tom H. Towers
Transformations: The Blithdale Romance to Howells and James (1976)/Robert Emmet Long
The Wilderness Within: Howell's A Boy's Town (1976)/Thomas Cooley
Invalids and Actresses: Howells's Duplex Imagery for American Women (1976)/Sidney H. Bremer
William Dean Howells and Charles W. Chestnut Criticism and Race Fiction in the Age of Booker T. Washington (1976)/William L. Andrews
Howells's Oresteia The Union of Theme and Structure in The Shadow of A Dream (1977)/Barbara L. Parker
An Interoceanic Episode: The Lady of the Aroostook (1977)/John W. Crowley