Mark Twain and the Conflicted Metaphor of Nature

Abstract:In 1978, William Rueckert coined the term “ecocriticism,” defining it as “the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature.” He proposed three postulates about literature, which are all metaphors. Taking a cue from Rueckert, this article examines the metaphorical nature of Mark Twain’s nature writing, looking at the way his works function as stored energy, as energy pathways, and as both fossil fuel and renewable resources, using passages from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, “Old Times on the Mississippi,” and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Unlike Rueckert’s rather sunny postulates, this article sees a darker side in Twain’s works, a recognition that is revealed in his conflicted metaphors of nature. Just as Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain have long been considered divided, we as humans are divided: we are both a part of and apart from nature, a bifurcation and conflict that is contained in Twain’s metaphorical language.