馬克吐溫遊記中的他者再現與美國帝國擴張之影響

Abstract

馬克吐溫以他描寫非裔美國人的小說聞名於世，但除此之外，他還是美國擴張時期重要的旅遊作家和活躍的反帝國主義者。本論文著重於討論他在旅行中與他者的相遇，特別是與東方文化的接觸。他在不同時期所寫的遊記中的他者再現反映出其寫作風格的改變，而這些改變往往與美國擴張的歷史背景有關，因此，透過分析這些他者再現，本論文企圖呈現他在旅程中所追尋的美國身分認同，以及他對美國人與他者之間關係的反思。透過文本分析，我認為，這些旅遊經驗及與他者文化的接觸，可說是成就他晚年反帝國主義思想的重要一環。 本論文由四章組成，第一章探討馬克吐溫在1860年代的海外旅遊經驗，他以夏威夷為主題的演講、以及在《老憨出洋記》(Innocents Abroad) 中的中東印象是他最早的他者再現。第二章著重於他與美國西部華工的接觸，在描寫華人移民時，馬克吐溫的寫作風格與敘述語氣已不同於之前。第三章針對馬克吐溫《赤道旅行記》(Following the Equator)中的印度，討論他在此遊記中所展現的欣賞他者文化的新角度。第四章則說明他的反帝國主義思想是源於這些先前旅遊經驗。 跟隨著馬克吐溫的腳步探討他在遊記中的他者再現，本論文連結了他的種族關懷、旅遊文學與反帝國主義經歷，呈現了他思想的轉變，勾勒出他成長的軌跡，試圖以一個更為全面性的角度來討論馬克吐溫。

Mark Twain is generally known for his novels about African-Americans, but actually, he is also a significant travel writer and active Anti-Imperialist during the age of American expansion overseas. The thesis focuses on his traveling encounters with the Others, especially the East. By chronologically displaying his changing writing styles when representing the Others and analyzing these representations with the history of American expansion, I present Twain’s quest for an ideal American identity as well as his reflections on the suitable relationship between Americans and the Others during his journeys. Based on the textual evidence, I propose that Twain’s traveling experiences are of significance among various factors contributing to his anti-imperialist thoughts in the late years. The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One discusses Twain’s first experiences traveling abroad during the 1860s. His lectures on Hawaii and the Middle East images in Innocents Abroad (1869) serve as his earliest representations of Others. Chapter Two focuses on Twain’s encounters with and descriptions of Chinese laborers in American West, his writing style and narrative tone having changed when representing Chinese Americans. Chapter Three deals with Twain’s travelogues about India in Following the Equator (1897), in which Twain develops a fresh perspective to admire the culture of Others. Chapter Four presents Twain’s anti-imperialist thoughts as the legacy of his former traveling experiences. Following Mark Twain’s steps and exploring his traveling representations on the Others, the thesis displays his transforming thoughts and charts out his trajectory of growth, connecting Twain’s racial concerns, travel literatures and anti-imperialist career, trying to provide an all-round perspective on the writer.