The Best Short Works of Mark Twain
Page 80
In his fiction, Twain also cleverly uses the eyes of outsiders to offer new perspectives to expose the similar flaws of such “civilized” fictional communities as St. Petersburg, Dawson’s Landing, and Eseldorf—types, all, of real communities. Twain also strives to expose similarly debilitated subgroups within these larger communities by looking within the larger society at such smaller groups as boy’s gangs, aristocratic families, and mobs. By such exposure, Twain demonstrates that even modest familiarity with the patterns which govern group behavior will reveal the difficulty of an individual’s achieving or maintaining moral integrity while a member of such a community, for the individual in each group is usually plied into conformity by a habit of unthinking acquiescence to the accepted code of the group and is trapped by a lack of courage to oppose this code when or if his conscience is aroused. Such communities are especially flawed, Twain suggests, because they nurture a moral apathy that anesthetizes the more acute and responsive individual conscience.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” “Cannibalism in the Cars,” “Jim Baker’s Bluejay Yarn,” “A True Story,” and “A Day at Niagara” are examples of stories in which Twain, as narrator, introduces another character’s story. What effect is Twain able to achieve with this technique of “framing” the story?
“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” suggests that every man has his price. What events lead to the town’s downfall? Do you agree with Twain that it only takes the right circumstance to show people are dishonest, and quite corruptible, at heart? How does Twain define “morality” in this and other stories?
How does Twain represent women in stories such as “Extracts from Adam’s Diary,” “A True Story,” “Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven,” and “The $30,000 Bequest”?
In “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” what differences in character and cultural background are apparent between the first narrator and Simon Wheeler? How do these differences affect your interpretation of the story? How do they affect the humor in the story?
How does Twain use religious imagery and biblical stories to comment on organized religion? From reading Mark Twain’s short stories, would you consider him a spiritual person?
In “How to Tell a Story,” Twain tells us the key to writing a good humorous story is “to string incongruities and absurdities together in a wandering and sometimes purposeless way, and seem innocently unaware that they are absurdities.” Does he follow his own prescription in his stories? How does Twain employ this technique in narratives such as “A True Story”?
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE INTERESTED READER
If you enjoyed The Best Short Works of Mark Twain, you might also be interested in the following:
Mark Twain Tonight (DVD, 1967). An amazing oneman performance by Hal Holbrook. You could swear you are sitting at one of Twain’s lectures.
The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns (DVD, 1990). A very watchable PBS miniseries on the Civil War.
The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor. This collection includes thirty-one stories by preeminent southern writer Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964). O’Connor, like Twain, was a master of dark humor and crackling irony. In literary terms, she did for the South of the mid-twentieth century what Twain did for the United States of the last half of the nineteenth century.
The Thurber Carnival by James Thurber. This is a magnificent collection of the best short work by humorist and cartoonist James Thurber (1894–1961), a worthy and talented follower in the tradition of Twain.
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NOTES
“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
1. straddle-bug: A type of long-legged beetle.
2. fag end: Slang for the last part of a race.
3. fo’castle: Refers to the section at the upper deck of a steamboat where the crew is housed.
4. bully-rag: Bullying.
5. Andrew Jackson: Twain believed Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), the seventh president of the United States, had been a disastrous president.
6. Dan’l Webster: Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was an American politician who became leader of the Whig party in 1836. The Whigs were a political party from roughly 1834 to 1856, and opposed Jackson’s politics. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the party throughout most of this period.
“The Story of the Bad Little Boy”
1. milksops: Slang for timid or cowardly men or boys.
2. aqua fortis: Literally, strong water, though also a term for nitric acid.
“A Day at Niagara”
1. The noble Red Man . . . accoutrements: Twain is commenting on the romantic portrayals of Native Americans in popular fiction, particularly in the work of James Fenimore Cooper, with novels such as The Pioneers (1823) and The Last of the Mohicans (1826).
2. faix: Faith.
“Journalism in Tennessee”
1. Mush-and-milk journalism gives me the fan-tods: Soft journalism will cause the chief editor to throw a fit.
“Science vs. Luck”
1. seven-up; old sledge: Card games similar to whist, also called “all fours.” Points are scored in four ways: for the high trump, the low trump, the jack of trumps, and the game.
“Buck Fanshaw’s Funeral”
1. helpmeet: A helpmate, or partner; in this case, a lover.
2. “No Irish need apply”: Refers to the discrimination against Irish immigrants and the signs that hung in shop and factory windows during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: “Help Wanted—No Irish Need Apply.”
“A True Story”
1. “I wa’n’t bawn in the mash . . . Blue Hen’s chickens, I is!: Aunt Rachel’s mother was proud of who she was and she wanted her daughter to feel this same pride. She wasn’t one to be made fun of because of the color of her skin or where she came from. Repeating this phrase helps Aunt Rachel calm herself in her own times of trouble as she recalls her mother’s strength. Twain distinguished himself from other writers of this period by his use of humor and his masterful skill in portraying the common American speech.
“Luck”
1. Crimean War: The Crimean War (1854–1856), between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, England, France, and Sardinia, resulted over the dispute concerning the holy places in Palestine.
“The Death Disk”
1. Oliver Cromwell: Cromwell (1599–1658) was the English general and statesman who led the parliamentary army in the English Civil War.
“A Horse’s Tale”
1. Buffalo Bill: Nickname of William Frederick Cody (1846–1917), American showman famous for his Wild West Show.
2. Army of the Frontier: Civil War Union Army of the Frontier, as opposed to the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi.
“Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven”
1. Peters: St. Peter, one of the Twelve Apostles who, according to Gospel, holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Originally Simon, he was the first to profess his faith that Jesus was the Son of God, and renamed Saint Peter.
2. Charles Peace: Charles Peace (1832–1879) was a notorious British burglar and murderer whose life and execution became the subject of several films and dozens of popular novels.
3. Captain Kidd: William Kidd (1645–1701) was a Scottish sea captain who became a famous pirate after he was hired by wealthy British merchants to attack pirate ships on the Indian Ocean. Kidd was later executed in London for his crimes. Legend has it Kidd buried a treasure somewhere along the Connecticut River.
4. Homer: Ancient Greek epic poet credited with authorship of the Iliad and Odyssey (circa 850 BC).
&nb
sp; 5. Mahomet: Muhammad, Arab prophet who founded Islam.
6. Zoroaster: Ancient Persian prophet.
7. Langland: William Langland (1332–c.1400), English poet.
8. Chaucer: Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400), English poet best known as the author of The Canterbury Tales.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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