Mitrevski 1 Dime Mitrevski Mgr. Kateina Prajznerov, Ph.D.

AJ15001 US Literature: 1865 to 1910 20 November 2010

The Use of Language in Connection to Social Identity in Mark Twains Puddnhead Wilson and Eugene ONeills The Iceman Cometh

Although the design to compare two American authors such as Twain and ONeill, who belong to utterly different social and cultural contexts, is by itself a challenge, a good starting point would be J.H. Raleighs claim that, in terms of appropriateness and functionality of language, Eugene ONeill did for the American drama what Mark Twain had done for the American Novel (370). Being thus leveled, there is always the possibility of juxtaposing these two authors in terms of their use and approach of language, and so exploring the differences in the way how each of them is using language to express social identity. Namely, in this paper I will argue that each of these two authors in the works we are to examine is using various registers of language in relation to social identity. More specifically, my task will include ascertaining that, while in Twains Puddnhead Wilson the specific register a character uses is closely connected to the social class they belong to, in ONeills The Iceman Cometh the register of a character is rather related to their ethnic or cultural background as a form of social identity, the issue of class being not as relevant. In order to achieve my goals, I will proceed with comparison and contrast of the respective language registers of several characters existing in both of the works examined; thus, I shall be first comparing the registers of Tom Driscoll and his mother, Roxanne, so as to highlight the connection between class and language variety in Puddnhead Wilson; furthermore, I shall compare the registers of Hugo Kalmar, Rocky Pioggi and Joe Mott by providing a brief linguistic account on each of them, and so illustrate the importance of ethnicity and culture to social identity as projected in this work of ONeill. These comparisons should constitute the main body of this paper. At the conclusion,

Mitrevski 2 however, I shall attempt to provide some reasons as to why this difference exists by relying on information about the social context these two authors wrote in.

Class, Caste and Race in Puddnhead Wilson and How They Connect to Language

There is an abundance of criticism dealing with the issue of class and race in Twains works, a part of which is dedicated specifically to Puddnhead Wilson (ex. see Fiedlers essay As Free As Any Cretur in Smith 1963); none of the literature I have come across so far, however, has tackled the issue of language in connection with these categories of social identity taking place in this work. Let me then, through a brief analysis of the language varieties used by the mother-son couple of characters, Roxy and Tom Driscoll, explore the role that language plays in class determination. We may have to agree with Fiedlers statement that Twain creates in Roxy a creature of passion and despair rare among the modern imagesthat pass for females in American literature (Fiedler, in Smith 1963, 131). We can also support this argument by referring to the tremendously strong initial description of Roxy in the books Chapter 2, (book cit.) where she is attributed a shapely, intelligent, and comelyeven beautiful face, and an easy, independent carriagewhen she was among her own caste1. Yet, this very paragraph also represents the same Roxy as being meek and humble in contrast to white people, which undoubtedly sorts Roxy into the class of slaves, and later servants. More importantly, a statement in that same paragraph raises the question of language: From Roxy's manner of speech, a stranger would have expected her to be black Before I proceed with interpreting this statement, let me give an example of Roxys manner of speech:

Dey ain't but one man dat I's afeard of, en dat's dat Pudd'nhead Wilson. Dey calls him a pudd'nhead, en says he's a fool. My lan, dat man ain't no mo' fool den I is! He's de smartes' man in
1

Smith (Smith, in Messent, Peter and Louis J. Budd (eds), 438) argues that the term caste is used by Twain to refer to social convention, not to inherent qualities, unlike the term race, which refers to the genetic faculties of an individual. This issue is very complex and broad, so in this paper we shall use the terms class and caste solely in the sense of social convention, by which a person belongs to a certain social group. Nevertheless, one should also bear in mind that, in the social context of Mark Twain, class, as part of a widespread stereotype, would often entail race determination, for ex. the class of slaves, and later that of servants was almost always strongly associated with black people.

Mitrevski 3 dis town, lessn' it's Jedge Driscoll or maybe Pem Howard. Blame dat man, he worries me wid dem ornery glasses o' his'n; I b'lieve he's a witch. But nemmine, I's gwine to happen aroun' dah one o' dese days en let on dat I reckon he wants to print a chillen's fingers ag'in; en if HE don't notice dey's changed, I bound dey ain't nobody gwine to notice it, en den I's safe, sho'. But I reckon I'll tote along a hoss-shoe to keep off de witch work. (book cit.)

Here is one of Twains celebrated phonetic renditions of certain dialects this time the speech named by him as Missouri Black Dialect. A simple observation will certainly reveal the linguistic features of Black English, as spoken in the supposed time the narrative takes place: (1) phonetically, there is the change from // to /d/ (dey, dis, etc.), and the omission of /d/ (an), /r/ (mo') or / t/ (smartes'); (2) morphologically, there is the use of ain't instead of the standard auxiliary form isnt, and of I's instead of the contracted pronoun-auxiliary group Im. These features being representative enough, we do not even need to proceed with the lexical and syntactic levels of analysis. Having thus identified the language variety used by Roxy, I am able to interpret the statement I have referred to before. Even though other marks such as genetic heritage of a race (Roxy is said to be one sixteenth black) officially determine Roxys place in societys class system, her social identity, as perceived by others, is deduced primarily from the register of language she is using. Thus, if neither appearance, nor manner, nor any piece of information can help someone determine Roxys social identity in terms of class she belongs to, language is the sole marker of her social identity. Contrary to this, the case of her own son, Tom Driscoll, displays the upper end of the social ladder of the time. His issues of identity run deeper than those of Roxy: he is genetically only thirty one part black, and initially thought of as a member of the same class as Roxys; yet, throughout the book, he undergoes several identity changes (considered interchangeably as a white, a black, a man and a woman). Nevertheless, the language variety he speaks is perhaps the main marker of the social identity of the grown-up Tom Driscoll: he is considered a member of the social class of masters, which was, in the time, very often considered as equivalent to the race of white men in America. In a situation when both appearance (he looks as white as any other white man) and supposed family origin support his

Mitrevski 4 affirmed social identity, language variety is another evidence which strongly confirms his place in the social ladder and should have Wilson failed to provide the key prove of Toms genetic background (his infant fingerprints), Tom Driscolls social identity would have most likely remained unchanged. And here is a sample of his variety a fairly cultivated register, elaborate syntax, minimal if nonexistent contractions, clear intonation and a vocabulary implying good education (Caesars ghost!, treacherously):

Caesar's ghost!, commented Tom, with astonishment. "It beats anything that was ever heard of! Why, a man's own hand is his deadliest enemy! Just think of thata man's own hand keeps a record of the deepest and fatalest secrets of his life, and is treacherously ready to expose himself to any black-magic stranger that comes along. (book cit.)

As the narrative revolves, one can also sense that Toms language variety follows the shifts in his identity; at one point, he is even explicitly said to have dropped gradually back into his old [] ways of [] manner of speech (book cit.), which is a good example for Twains inclination to modify his characters speech variety in accordance with the state of his social identity. In conclusion, I can maintain that, even though they share the same genetic heritage through their relation as mother and son, Roxy and Tom Driscoll for the most of the narrative (except for the very beginning and very end) belong to different social classes, for which the specific language variety they speak is the most relevant determinant. In other words, their social identity is in great deal determined by their personal speech variety.

The Mosaic of Harry Hopes Inn

Not only do the Gelbs state as a fact that for a background for his Iceman Cometh ONeill has made a use of the months he had spent at Jimmy-the-Priests when he was 23 (Gelb, 109), but it is often maintained that he felt a sense of camaraderie with people in all walks and stations of life (Gagnon

Mitrevski 5 2003, 39). His claim that all the characters in this play he had known previously as real persons (ONeill, in Alexander, 358) highlights, in a way, his attention to authenticity and realism of everything presented in his work, including characters, language and social identity. Therefore, my design is to perform a brief analysis of the respective language varieties used by the characters of Hugo Kalmar, Rocky Pioggi and Joe Mott, thus exploring the connection between their social identity and language. The night bartender and pimp, Rocky Pioggi, is described at the beginning as a NeapolitanAmerican in his late twenties(ONeill 1947, 14) a piece of information relevant for his social identity. This initial description frames his ethical background, and further in the text ONeill creates some sort of a consistent language-image of his character by attributing to him a specific language variety spoken by the Italian immigrants of the time:

ROCKY--(genially again) Sure, I'm a bartender. Everyone knows me knows dat. And I treat you goils right, don't I? Jees, I'm wise yuh hold out on me, but I know it ain't much, so what the hell; I let yuh get away wid it. I tink yuh're a coupla good kids. Yuh're aces wid me, see? (63)

Apart from the ordinary phonetic change from // to /d/ (dat) and the usual contractions (I'm), the speech variety of Rocky is also making a consistent use of the pronunciation of yuh / j /, and of the phonetic blends (coupla), both of which can be occasionally still spotted among the Americans of Italian descent. His own register is also lexically enriched by the use of some slang phrases (yuh're aces wid me). Joe Mott is a middle-age paragon of the black peoples pursue of position in the American society at the turn of the century. The days of the first Ku-Klux-Klan and the Reconstruction era being far behind, a new situation is taking place, in which black people like Joe struggle to make it in the big cities of New England. The cultural mosaic of New York and the living environment and condition it imposes have strongly influenced Joe Motts language, mostly in terms of vocabulary (he is actively using the novelties such as Comrade or Socialists); yet, the main linguistic occurrences of the Black English remain in order to mark clearly Joe Motts social identity in terms of ethnic/racial background:

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JOE--Me neider. If dere's one ting more'n anudder I cares nuttin' about, it's de sucker game you and Hugo call de Movement. (He chuckles--reminiscently) Reminds me of damn fool argument me and Mose Porter has de udder night. He's drunk and I'm drunker [] You say--how about my cut, Comrade? And you gets de five. So you don't shoot no Socialists while I'm around. Dat is, not if dey got anything. Of course, if dey's broke, den dey's no-good bastards, too." (He laughs, immensely tickled.). (23)

Lastly, we come across Hugo Kalmar, perhaps one of the most curious and picturesque of all the roomers at Hopes. Said to have been based on the person of Hippolyte Havel (see Alexander 1953), Hugo is depicted as "one time editor of Anarchist periodicals" and as "a small man in his late fifties" (ONeill 1947, 10). Thus defined, his background is rather colorful he is the stereotypical Anarchist and, judging by his speech, a Frenchman. Let us examine an example of his discourse:

HUGO--(raises his head and peers at Rocky blearily through his thick spectacles--in a guttural declamatory tone) Capitalist swine! Bourgeois stool pigeons! Have the slaves no right to sleep even? [...] Hello, leedle Rocky! Leedle monkey-face! Vere is your leedle slave girls? (with an abrupt change to a bullying tone) Don't be a fool! Loan me a dollar! Damned bourgeois Wop! The great Malatesta is my good friend! Buy me a trink! (17)

A linguistic analysis seems to be superfluent for determining the speech variety of Hugo it is, roughly said, European, for along with the predominant traits of French (the pronunciation of vere and leedle, and trink), it also hints some Italian influence (Malatesta, referring to both the noble Italian family in Dantes Comedy and perhaps to the Italian lexeme mal di testa, meaning a headache); moreover, there are some features (the agramaticalliness of the sentence vere is your leedle slave girls, or the suspicious usage of loan) which tend to imply the overall image of a European with a poor command of English.

Mitrevski 7 One can undoubtedly carry out an in-depth study of the speech variety of each of this plays characters, thus summarizing the rich spectrum of the 1912 New York society as perceived by ONeill. It is a world of ethnicities and cultures, which embraces the wide variety of all the meridians around the world. The social identity of each of the characters in this world is rooted in their cultural and ethnic background, whose heritage is encoded in the language they use. Bearing in mind their former occupations (a local politician, a Police Lieutenant, a circus man, a Boer War correspondent, a proprietor of a gambling house, a Captain of British Infantry, etc.), we can recall that the phrase onetime is often present, the implication being that once upon a time, they had all belonged to different social classes. That time is, however, far behind them at the present time (New York 1912), the importance of class to ones own social identity has been replaced by the importance of ethnic and cultural background. More importantly, this kind of social identity has its most vivid and most relevant manifestation in the language use of a character.

Conclusion

The language in ONeills Iceman Cometh has established a sort of faade between the reader and the characters of the play; the un-masking of each of them gradually reveals to us the fact that we are all doomed (Gagnon, 39), regardless of our social class. In such a social leveling, what is left of the individuals social identity, is only their origin ethnical and cultural which can often be, and often is, as in the case of Joe Mott, a conglomeration of varied characteristics existing in one being, creating a cultural complexity that deepens the character (same, 170). Such is ONeills vision of society when writing his Iceman in the year 1939: versatile, colorful, and fragmentary; it is a modern society of dreamers and drunkards, paralleled with Eliots Hollow men, to whom the world of strict social classes and codes has become a legend, a story they tell. Hence, the role of language is not to differentiate the individuals in terms of social class and position, but in terms of cultural and ethnic background. Twain, on the other hand, is a son of the South, who grew up in a slaveholding community and household; thus, he struggled throughout his life with the racial prejudices he had known as a boy

Mitrevski 8 (Howe, 498). Unlike in the days when he used to passionately explain to an Englishman that the words gentleman and lady also include the bar-maid, butcher, burglar, harlot and horse thief (Twain 1992, 832, in Concerning the American Language, 1882), and so praise the democratization of language and it becoming available to all the social castes, in Puddnhead Wilson Twain seems to be evoking the childhood memories of his, throwing light on the darkest days of slavery there is a strict division of classes, and each of them speaks its own language. In that sense, Twains own principle that effective English must be appropriate to the writer, the reader and the subject (Hoben, 167) can, in the context of Puddnhead Wilson, be interpreted as Twains specific inclination in writing, in which he is driven by the urge to render the individual speech variety of each of his characters solely in accordance with the language variety spoken by the class they belong to. Still, one can always find inconsistencies with a thesis thus projected; the exceptions from these two seemingly opposite attitudes towards language and its relevance to social identity can be found in both of the works. There is, particularly, one aspect of their attitudes towards this issue that finds its manifestations in the speech variety of both David Wilson and Larry Slade. Through these characters, both of the authors seem to maintain, regardless how latently, an understanding of the impact that nurture, education (formal or non-formal) and life experience has on an individual. Therefore, Wilson is a paradigm for a self-made man, whose education has polished his discourse, which is explicitly demonstrated by his expos in Chapter XXI (Twain 1982, 1044-1054). Larry Slade is, likewise, one of the most eloquent characters in The Iceman Cometh (see his soliloquy in ONeill 1947, 31-32) he seems to have gained such eloquence through the years spent in the Movement, which most likely included giving speeches and other forms of public communication. Both of the characters seem to function as a pivot to all the differences in social identity taking place in their respective literary and social contexts, thus echoing Twains believe that training and association can achieve strange miracles (Howe, 498).

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