作为一种文学体裁,自传在西方文学史上有着悠久的历史,最早可以追溯到罗马末期奥古斯丁的《忏悔录》,随后也有不少优秀的经典作品流传于世。传主们通过书写人生,留下文字供后人评判,也通过自传来认识自我、探索人性,正是因为自传文体的特殊魅力,自古以来吸引了无数人著书立传,自传的写作和自传文学理论日益繁荣起来。19世纪末,美国文学家马克·吐温开始尝试书写自传,并不断探索自传书写的新的形式和内容,终于在临终前留给后人一部独具一格的《马克·吐温自传》。本文将立足于自传文学的基本理论和方法对这部伟大的著作进行解读。 As a literary genre, autobiography has a long history in the history of Western literature. The earliest traces can be traced back to Augustine’s confession recorded in the late Roman period, followed by many outstanding classic works. It is because of the special charm of autobiographical style that the writers have written their lives, leaving words for future generations to judge, and also through the autobiography to understand themselves and explore human nature, has attracted countless people to write letters, autobiographies and autobiographies since ancient times Literary theory is increasingly prosperous. At the end of the 19th century, American writer Mark Twain started to try his autobiography and constantly explored new forms and contents of his autobiographical writings. Finally, he left his descendants with a unique “Mark Twain autobiography” before his death. This article will be based on the basic theory and method of autobiographical literature to interpret this great book.