A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE THEME, THE PLOT, AND THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ CHARACTER IN MARK TWAIN’S THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER AND THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

Abstract

This thesis tries to compare and analyze the similarities and the differences of the theme, the plot, and the main characters’ character in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer tells about the hopes, plans and dreams of children. Then, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells about race and slavery at that time in America. There are some similarities of the theme, the plot, and the main characters’ character in these novels, but also there are some differences of them. This thesis uses structural approach because it will make the understanding of the similarities of the chosen aspects clearer. Both novels will be analyzed from the intrinsic aspects to know completely the meaning of the chosen aspects discussed. After knowing each aspect of the novels then comparison both of them are applied. The method of analysis in this thesis is inductive method. It analyzes the data from the specific cases to the general conclusion. The application of the method in this thesis begins from analyzing the theme, the plot, and the main characters’ character structurally. The data are collected from several books and encyclopedia dealing with theory of comparative study. In addition, a number of data taken from internet resources are applied to support the analysis of the thesis. This thesis contributes to understanding about the similarities and the differences of Mark Twain’s works. The results of the research show that these similarities imply first that there is intertextual relation among both novels, particularly in the theme, the plot, and the main characters’ character.