Mark Twain was a 19th century American author known for his realistic yet satirical style. Some of his major themes included:
1) Opposition to hypocrisy in religion, politics, and social conventions.
2) Emphasis on the common man and appreciation for the ordinary and mundane.
3) Use of humor, from gentle satire to cruel irony, to expose social ills while embracing the duality of human nature.
Mark Twain was a 19th century American author known for his realistic yet satirical style. Some of his major themes included:
1) Opposition to hypocrisy in religion, politics, and social conventions.
2) Emphasis on the common man and appreciation for the ordinary and mundane.
3) Use of humor, from gentle satire to cruel irony, to expose social ills while embracing the duality of human nature.
Mark Twain was a 19th century American author known for his realistic yet satirical style. Some of his major themes included:
1) Opposition to hypocrisy in religion, politics, and social conventions.
2) Emphasis on the common man and appreciation for the ordinary and mundane.
3) Use of humor, from gentle satire to cruel irony, to expose social ills while embracing the duality of human nature.
Mark Twain was a 19th century American author known for his realistic yet satirical style. Some of his major themes included:
1) Opposition to hypocrisy in religion, politics, and social conventions.
2) Emphasis on the common man and appreciation for the ordinary and mundane.
3) Use of humor, from gentle satire to cruel irony, to expose social ills while embracing the duality of human nature.
C=Critical Survey o !ong "iction CT#=Critical Tem$er # CT%=Critical Tem$er % CT&=Critical Tem$er & '='ay M#=Modern American !it( volume # M%=Modern American !it( v) % T*EMES 8A+ T th,arted -y -eing o-liged to conorm to culture 8A+ intense $leasure in the variety o the ,orld 8A+ concern ,ith res$onsi-ility or evil 8A+ hostility to $ol.esta- church and to,ard medievalism 8A+ ree.,ill/ determinism/ $essimism/ sym$athy or individs 8A+ o$$osition to $ol( rel( econ tyranny/ o$$ to a-uses o machines 8A+ o$$ to unrighteous customs and la,s o caste 8A+ revulsion against some o the e0cesses o democracy 8A+ o$$osition to im$erialism 8A+ cham$ion o li-erty 8A+ la-or unions sole $resent hel$ or ,ea1 vs) strong 8A+ yet not a socialist 8A+ conlict -et, ree ,ill and determinism 8A+ em$h on American innocence 8A+ shit rom conident o$timism to -itter cynicism 8A+ *"+ all civili2ation a hateul error 8A+ *"+ every ma3or e$isode ends in violence( oten death 8A+ *"+ 4# cor$ses 8A+ *"+ *5s a-ility to see -oth good and evil and acce$t them 8A+ *"+ selishness vs) sellessness/ convene this vs) idealism 8A+ *"+ $resents a com$lete $ortrait o society 8A+ C+ T6* almost as t,o halves o T,5s $syche C+ T re$s strong desire or security( success C+ * re$s dee$ly ingrained desire or reedom rom convention C+ river-oat $iloting oered T, -oth reedom and res$ecta-ility C+ easy to imagine T gro,ing u$/ im$oss to imagine * doing so C+ TS im$lies that childhood can only -e savored ater the act C+ TS relevant to Am5s transition rom youth and rontier days C+ *"+ youth7age/ secure7reedom/ ,ildnerness7civ/ innoc7corru$t C+ *"+ * re$s common man( ,7out roots C+ *"+ moral re3uvenation in Edenic ,ilderness C+ C8+ am-iguity a-t ,hether modern or eudal is good or evil CT#+ orthright $etty -ourgeois 9:; CT#+ *" em$h on amiliar 3ourney moti CT#+ *" the irst e0istential hero/ acce$ts his terri-le reedom CT#+ *" relects o-sessive Am theme o loneliness/ man5s ate CT#+ river as god/ villagers5 $iety/ T5s romantic imag/ <5s su$erstit CT#+ *"+ ree do,n,ard movement ironically ta1es <im south CT#+ deals ,ith the everyday and common$lace CT#+ T,5s reormist im$ulses conlicted ,7 his determinism CT#+ conlict -et, vulgar and reined( real and ideal CT%+ ho$ed an indiv cd challenge commun -ut still -e a mem-er CT%+ in C8( T, cdn5t reconcile indivd and commun/ novel ails CT%+ T,5s em$h on the 3oys o lie CT%+ achieved critical distance to,ard the south CT%+ gradual movement a,ay rom southern -igotry CT&+ -y the end o *"( T ,as court 3ester o the rich CT&+ ,ea1 humor o *amlet $arody de$ends on 1no,ledge o Sh CT&+ such humor latters the educated CT&+ -ourgeois $rovide standards o measurement at end o *" CT&+ academically correct s$eech in *" lin1ed to social ills CT&+ t,ins( dou-les sym-ols o duality o human -eings CT&+ used dou-les to =uestion $resence o sel to itsel CT&+ T5s later re-ellion vs uninter$5d truth and individ autonomy CT&+ re3ection o cult o conormity CT&+ <im emerges -riely( -ut T shoves him -ac1 into nigger CT&+ ,illingness to diminish *" rather than let * attac1 racism CT&+ readers have right to -e angry at T or ,hat he does to <( * CT&+ >evasion? cha$ters deli-erately $ro-lematic( unsettling CT&+ >evasion? cha$ters im$ortant or the =uestions they raise CT&+ >evasion? cha$ters orce readers to decide '+ rage or social 3ustice and e=uality '+ aggressive Am nationalism '+ materialistic Ams lac1 much o Eur relish or living '+ $ersonal e0$erience oten his $oint o de$arture '+ insight into child $sychology/ more $ro-lems ,ith adults '+ in TS( mor-idity( guilt( ears( deceit o childhood '+ underlying commonness o human nature '+ *"+ $eace and storm( $retence and reality( desertion( reunion '+ *"+ cro,d vs) individ/ tendency o evil to destroy itsel '+ later $essimism inluenced -y 'ar,in and Calvinism '+ everything is ated/ thus no one can -e -lamed '+ man1ind and individs are ,7out $ur$ose and $ros$ect '+ sometimes sentimental in his v, o ,omen( as in < o A '+ late $essimism M#+ ca$acity or $roound admiration/ he cd $raise ,ell M#+ ear o solitude/ tortured conscience/ sel.contem$t/ sel.accus M#+ -itterness the eect o creative miscarriage( -al1ed $rnslity M#+ loneliness o childhood relected in his ,or1/ alien rom am M#+ recurrent nightmare o -eing utterly cut o M#+ re=uent em$h on lonesome strangers M#+ stands a$art rom cro,d yet longs to -e its leader M#+ *"+ ideal o innate gdness leading to -rotherhood M#+ *"+ rat=reedom/ shore=determinism M%+ dou-ted $oss o $rsnl reedom ,7in social setting M%+ dis$arity -et, e0$ectation and reality/ raudulence ST8!E( STR@CT@RE( TEC*NIA@ES 8A+ $iloting hel$ $romote $recise o-servation and memory 8A+ actually tested his oral style on audiences every night 8A+ s$on lo, o narr/ organicism/ de$arture rom unities 8A+ de$endence on e0$erience and o-servation/ actuality 8A+ authentic characteri2ation/ realistic dialogue/ ,ea1 $lot 8A+ situation and incident shd develo$ organically 8A+ em$h on dialogue Ba-t 8CD in his -est -oo1sE 8A+ structural em$h on scene/ stage directions 8A+ attn to costuming/ em$h on one 1ey trait rathan round 8A+ ,riting the ,ay $eo$le tal1 8A+ gulli-le and s1e$tical -y turns/ realistic and sentimental 8A+ *"+ total a-sence o mor-idness 8A+ *"+ $icares=ue trad( es$ Smollett5s transl o 'A 8A+ *"+ satire on chivalric medievalism 8A+ T a -itter enemy o sentiment 8A+ T sometimes romantic( sometimes realistic 8A+ narrative shd -e ree( ,ith no la,/ little interest in $lot 8A+ *"+ e$ic re$resentation( rom lo,est to highest 8A+ *"+ alternation o land and river 8A+ *"+ organi2ed -y re$etition and variation C+ Tom assoc5d ,ith rom lit( *uc1 ,ith realistic C+ $ervasive attac1s on rom lit( yet T, has rom im$ulses C+ *uc15s voice re=uently com$ared to Whitman5s C+ em$h on vernacular voice C+ sometimes $ure un( sometimes $ure gloom C+ TS un/ *" mid,ay/ 9W gloomy C+ TS+ novel o sim$licity and com$le0ity C+ irony( sometimes gentle( sometimes not C+ oten $airs chars+ Tom7Sid/ Tom7*uc1/ $rince7$au$er C+ change o $laces -oth in 969 and in 9W C+ ending o *" has some $ro-s( struc5l( them5ly( rhet5ly C+ *"+ delicate -alance o lyricism and satire C+ *"+ attac1s T5s -1ish rom/ endorses *5s rom yearnings C+ *"+ cha$ #4 resolves the central =uestion too early C+ C8 lac1s idyllic radiance o earlier -oo1s C+ allegorical tendencies( es$ in C8/ ideas 3u0ta$osed CT#+ *"+ com$laints against contrived ending o <im5s esca$e CT#+ *"+ orm is $icares=ue/ de$artures and returns to river signi CT#+ *"+ -eneits rom mounting sus$ense CT#+ *"+ sim$le( direct( luent $rose/ rhythm o s$ea1ing voice CT#+ *"+ return to inal ocus on Tom gives -1 symmetry CT#+ *"+ * a vaga-ond/ hence( he can only disa$$ear CT#+ *"+ last ith diminishes *5s victory/ aint.hearted ending CT#+ *"+ constructed on the $rin o re$etition and variation CT#+ *"+ melodrama mi0ture o real 6 unreal( comedy 6 horror CT#+ *"+ unity de$ends on *5s mind/ sometimes inconsistent CT#+ TS+ -egins ,ell -ut ends in ta,dry melodrama CT#+ T, inca$a-le o a sustained eort/ ragmentary success CT%+ sa, di -et, right ,ord and almost right as immense
CT&+ variety o T5s humor( rom cruel comedy to chilling irony CT&+ sel.assured( conidential( unhurried tone CT&+ an a$$reciation o >characters?+ sim$le( natural '+ honest voca-ulary and cadence o Am s$eech '+ inde$endent o and irreverent to,ard :ld World heritage '+ gro,ing im$ro-a-ility as his imagination ela-orates '+ sometimes coarse and indelicate comedy '+ re=uent satirical em$h M#+ sometimes T5s humor antastic( ar-itrary( mechanical M#+ oten humor irresisti-le( rooted in truth( sincere( melancholy M#+ strain o earnestness in his ,or1/ ,estern strain M#+ sets do,n ,hatever comes ne0t to his mind/ li1e thin1ing M#+ instinct or something chaotic( ironic( em$iric M#+ could -oth $raise ,ell and curse ,ell M#+ terse( sim$le( accurate( unorced style M#+ alternation -et, comic and serious e$isodes M#+ oten relies on -urles=ue to urnish com/ sometimes a ault M#+ alive( naFve ,ay o tal1ing that seems un$redicata-le M#+ this 1ind o style demands a certain 1ind o s$ea1er M#+ anti.conven style dictated anti.conven s$ea1ers M#+ reedom o s$eech lin1ed to reedom o action M#+ genius or the $articular rathan a-stract M#+ care or the individual detail and right ,ord M#+ -y end o career( una-le to com-ine his humor and censure M#+ *"+ humor dee$ened ,ith $athos/ romance -alances realism M#+ *"+ heroic7hum-le/ loyal( good 7 selish( craven M%+ ne, chars( e$s( themes oten introduced a-ru$tly