Corn Pone Opinions Mark Twain Summary

Mark Twain thought that everyone should aside themselves from corn pone opinions. He wanted people to be independent and follow their own values and ideas. His desired for people who could put aside their instinct of wanting to fit in with the crow was and is unrealistic. In today's society we live among corn pone opinions, it's what runs our world. It has infiltrated our morals, believes, fashion and even our government. We the public do not have a choice, but to continue living like this.

The first paragraph introduces Twain’s decision to run for president and willingness to claim responsibility for all of his wrongful actions throughout his life. For example, Twain uses details to illustrate to the readers various questionable actions, including shooting his grandfather, fleeing the Civil War, and burying his grandmother under his grapevine. “…I emptied shot into his legs. I did this because he snored.” Twain’s interpretation of this event is greatly enhanced by his use of details. In addition, Twain also alludes to

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

In Mark Twain 's satirical essay, “The Damned Human Race,” Twain critiques human beings by declaring that “The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.” The motif of cowardice and the cruelty of humanity is also present in another one of Twain’s most famous works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Throughout this novel, Twain passionately decries the immorality and corruption of society through the employment of rhetoric and themes. He utilizes irony to draw attention to the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of many Christians and the detrimental effects this hypocrisy can have on society. He implements pathos to highlight the greed and

The first half of Life on the Mississippi was ideally written and reading the extremely detailed and captivating account of Twain's apprenticeship was quite enjoyable. However, the second part of the book was not as fascinating. The short stories were frequently only two pages long and were not very well connected to be a clear read. Though a few of the characters Twain met on his journey were quite interesting, the majority of them merely served as an example of a certain characteristic which he wished to further discuss. This may be due to the fact that Twain was much older by the time he made the trip in the second half of the book, and he had grown aware of the various faults of humanity and thus wrote more analytically and critically than he did in the first half to reflect his change in character and the change of the times he lived in.

Twain presents an example of how one year a society may wear a certain blouse and it be in style and fashion and the following year society will mock the same exact blouse and become out of fashion. Human beings yearn and desire to be accepted by society; it is in society’s nature to feel this way and it is an escapable feeling that one cannot simply make disappear. People will even go to the extent of disregarding their own personal morals just to gain society’s approval and often, “self-approval is acquired mainly from the approval of other people”. With these actions from society, it supports Twain’s accusation of corn-pone meaning that society is unsophisticated and basically just act as a heard of sheep. Twain emphasizes that society enjoys taking values and morals of human beings and obliterating them and extrapolating them away as if their morals were the sole reason of society being damaged not the society itself. Through the use of examples and rhetoric devices within “Corn-Pone Opinions”, Twain achieves his primary argument of how humans conform to society and act as sheep following their

Mark Twain, although quite the comedian, makes a valid point in “Corn-Pone Opinions”. The observation of humanity and its tendencies to follow what society promotes is a relevant occurrence today. Twain leads on “. . . that it’s born of the human being’s natural yearning to stand well with his fellows and have their inspiring approval and praise . . .” (720). Humans are not equipped to stand their own ground; they prefer to follow the leader. Twain puts it simply, “we are creatures of outside influences; as a rule we do not think, we only imitate” (719). Twain clearly makes his point noticeable to his audience, holding back no opinion throughout the

Twain attempts to show the reader that education is important to improve quality of life and avoid being exploited

To conclude, Animal Farm and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn both employ the use of characters to symbolize malice, devotion, and vulnerability because these symbols can be used as tools to criticize society as well as individuals; however, Orwell chooses to use a third person narrative and a collective protagonist so that a caution to a wider audience can be offered by exploring multiple viewpoints while Twain chooses to use an outsider as his narrator and protagonist so that a lighter satire can be offered. By exploring these two works it is clear that literary pieces can have very versatile purposes which can be reached through the use of various literary devices. Through literacy some of the greatest stories have been told making remarks

Twain 's use of satire is one of the many things that makes this book a classic. By pointing out human weakness Twain helps show flaws in society and how society can be wrong. This book serves as a lesson about forming your own opinions and in Huck’s cause it is about breaking from society’s morals and deciding that slavery isn’t wrong. Huck 's experiences with Jim, helping him escape slavery illustrate this. Huck sees how people can be cruel even when they claim to be civilized. “”Twain 's satirical attack on slavery, hypocrisy, and prejudice in antebellum America compels readers to look not only at slavery and racism, but also at the whole tradition of American democracy””(PBS). Twain satirises the people Jim and Huck meet and the society they are in. Huck and Jim must oppose the “respectable” people they meet along the Mississippi, Miss Watson, Pap, the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, and the Duke and King(Nichols 13) because they don’t agree there ideas and they would take Jim back into slavery. How Miss Watson can be a

Mark Twain, in his writing of “Advice to Youth,” reveals what he believes to be relevant instruction to guide the youth to success. These statements in regard to who he’s speaking to is are as pertinent today as it was in 1882 when the speech was given. This didactic oratory, as it was written to the young, is expressed in the vernacular which allows for a sense of relation from Twain to those he’s speaking to. In addressing this advice, Twain uses several literary techniques including satire, diction, and hyperbole among several others. Specifically used by Twain is Juvenalian satire which bitterly and ironically criticizes society, in this case how children are raised to think and act.

Examples throughout Twain and Wallace’s works establish that the way in which a writer articulates their opinion correlates with the way in which the opinions is received and accounted for. Twain and Wallace both connect the reader visually to the characters in their works, however, Twain leaves room for the reader to form an opinion of the character for themselves. He allows them to decide if they appreciate the gentle energy of the older traveler or the warmth and attentive nature of the wait staff. On the other hand, Wallace’s demanding language leaves no room for interpretation for the reader. His extreme and dramatic phrases ultimately cause the reader to question the value of his opinion, which simply proves that moderate language used in Mark Twain book is more successful than the bold language that David Foster Wallace chooses to

In this essay, Julius Lester talks about the morality of the story itself. Lester talks about how Twain wants the readers to believe certain things that are not credible or with emotions related to fiction stories. Lester mentions how the readers think that Twain is including into his story some sort of a connection between Tom and Jim, when Tom decides to help Huck to free Jim from slavery, but is not what it

Mark Twain’s “Advice to Youth” is more than just a satirical speech. He is advising youth to prepare to join and be competent in adult life. Twain uses satire and sarcasm as an effective tool to be able to communicate and capture his youthful audience. Since conventional sermons about ethics and morals are often heard and overused during this time, Twain was brilliant enough to understand this and develop an effective technique. Without using this technique, his speech and many of his words may of fell on many of deaf ears. His cleverness cannot be argued with the effective method used to communicate and deliver his monumental speech. However, considering that the true purpose of this message is to bring about a positive message to the teenagers, some may consider his purpose more directed towards the adults mocking the old saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’ motto. Twain may have been more focused on tying to point out the errors of adult cynicism, with a view toward making society more honest, cooperative, and rational. The end result, although untraditional and sarcastic, his speech and advice was likely absorbed by the teens because it was delivered in a way those young minds would rather hear and listen to. His satirical and humorous word and phrase choices engaged his audience and strengthened

To fully understand the themes within Mark Twain’s novels we all must first understand his upbringing, where he was born, where he was raised, and what was going on within the era of his life. Samuel