@article{article_1413566, title={Huck as a Perpetual Outsider: American National Identity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn}, journal={Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi}, volume={9}, pages={81–94}, year={2019}, author={Albayrak, Gökhan}, keywords={Huckleberry Finn, American Exceptionalism and National Identity, American Exceptionalism}, abstract={Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been regarded as a manifestation of the American exceptionalist myth which has profoundly influenced American national identity. Drawing on this interpretation, this article asserts that Mark Twain’s novel not only valorises the ethos of American exceptionalism, but also undermines it. The American exceptionalist perspective is predicated upon the constructed opposition between the Old World and the New World. This American myth is alleged to originate from the American Puritans’ belief in their errand into the wilderness and to draw upon the frontier experience. The polarity between civilization and nature established by the American myth corresponds to the clash between culture and savagery that structures Mark Twain’s novel. Hence, it provides ground for the discussion of this novel within the context of the American exceptionalist myth. The discussion concentrates on Huck’s relationship with his female guardians and his father, and his encounter with Jim and this paper argues that Huck’s experience is in accord with the American myth in terms of his flight from the domesticating dynamics of civilization and his venture into the wilderness, whereas his narrative also subverts the American ethos in regard to the confusion of identities and the permeability of boundaries.}, number={2}, publisher={Akdeniz University}