Mark Twain And Thurber Comparison Essay

1. Twain uses a lot of humor and sarcasm throughout his story to create his satire.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens better known by the name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, and served an apprenticeship with a printer and then worked as a typesetter, contributing articles to the newspaper of his older brother Orion Clemens. He became nothing less than a national treasure. He captured a world audience with stories of boyhood adventure and with commentary on man's faults that is humorous even while it probes the roots of human behavior. One of his most famous essays (satire) that I will analyze is, “A Presidential Candidate”, which was written on June 9th, 1879, in which he evokes a sarcastic tone to mock presidential candidates by using syntax, diction, irony, and examples from his own past.

     "Mark Twain, which is a pseudonym for Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born in 1835, and died in 1910. He was an american writer and humorist. Maybe one of the reasons Twain will be remembered is because his writings contained morals and positive views. Because Twain's writing is so descriptive, people look to his books for realistic interpretations of places, for his memorable characters, and his ability to describe his hatred for hypocrisy and oppression. HE believed he could write. Most authors relied on other people and what they said, but because Twain was so solitary, he made himself so successful. 1"

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.

Many critics agree that Twain's skilled use of the satirical literary style, defines himself as a writer. "If the prevailing spirit of Mark Twain's humor is not a sort of good-natured self-satire, in which the reader may see his own absurdities reflected, I scarcely should be able to define it" (Howells). This similarity was present in all three short stories.

Mark Twain’s logical fallacies wash over his readers like depression in the mind. They creep in like a soft voice heard just by the ears at first, but soon they take over the entire limbic system. Attacking the amygdala in a verbal hijacking, rendering the host unable to feel conversely. Satire is by definition Mark Twain’s View of the man in “The Damned Human Race.” It’s his use of ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices and follies to scorn (Merriam-Webster.com). Mark Twain’s approach to prove his hypothesis that; man is at the bottom of evolution, is enticing but not successful.

In 1907 Bernard Shaw remarked to Archibald Henderson that, "Mark Twain and I find ourselves in the same position. We have to make people, who would otherwise hang us, believe that we are joking (Clemens 5)." This point is well illustrated by the fearless Twain

One writing that Mark Twain is not as famous for, but is still a well known piece of work for showing the use of humor in his writings is, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. This work starts off slow without much humor until later on in the writing. The humor picks up as Twain includes bits of sarcasm to the mix. The humor in this short work is not so hidden or subtle as it may have been in some of Twain’s other writings. One example of this sort of dry humor is, “And Smiley says, sorter indifferent like, ‘It might be a parrot, or it might be a canary, may be, but it an't it's only just a frog.’” (Jumping Frog). This shows a side and type of writing that is not usually seen with Twain. Usually the humor in his writings was always sort of hidden away and harder to pick out, but in this work, it is more obvious that he is trying to make it humorous. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” may not be as widely known as some of Twain’s other work, but it is a good example of how he includes humor into his writings to catch the reader’s attention and to provide some comic relief from, at times, tense situations.

Mark Twain was a world renowned novelist and a beloved American Writer. He wrote things about what was happening in the world around him and is also a huge part of American Literature. Although Mark Twain is a famous novelist his home life, background/achievements, and greatest accomplishments are what made him who he is today.

Obviously, Frederick Douglass and Mark Twain came from completely different background. Twain is an American who was born in Missouri. Douglass, and African American was born into slavery in Maryland. It would make sense that their style of writing is as different as their backgrounds. Twain, who was more privileged than Douglass has more humor and emotion in his writings, while Douglass left out his emotion, and his writing is more objective. Both of these styles contribute to the overall feel and purpose of their stories and memoirs. Twain’s purpose was to tell his readers his experiences on the Mississippi River, and have them relate or feel like they were a part of it. Douglass wanted his readers to know what his experiences were, but unlike Twain, he didn’t want it to feel relatable. Instead, Douglass wanted his readers to understand what the

"I heard an owl, away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a whippo-will and a dog crying about somebody that was going to die; and the wind was trying to whisper something to me, and I couldn't make out what it was" (Twain 13). Twain often ridicules American society in the early 1800's. He pokes fun at various subjects throughout the novel, such as human brutality, women's roles in society, and slavery within christianity. Satire plays a major role in Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain is important to American literature because of his novels and how they portray the American experience. Some of his best selling novels were Innocents Abroad, Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In these books, Mark Twain recalls his own adventures of steamboating on the Mississippi River.

An author's diction can also aid in creating a humorous short story. Mark Twain uses the words "sumptuous variety," "dazzling uncertainty," "peculiar," "utterly disproportioned," and "bewitching" when describing the weather in New England (521-523). These words expand upon the reader's understanding of the uniqueness of the weather, the hyperboles, and the understatements. Similarly, Thurber's unique diction shows with the words he uses to describe

"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure" (Twain). This quote is from Mark Twain. He is a very famous author who has written such classics as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain’s real name is Samuel Clemens, and was known to have experienced different many things in his lifetime. He has worked as a miner, printer, river pilot, and more (www.cmgww.com). This tells us that he must have known many things, and possibly how he came up with this quote.

Another type of humor Twain uses is parody which is portrayed by the character Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer bases his whole life and actions on books and makes simple matters over complicated. An example of this is when he creates an oath for his gang of robbers. It states, “Everybody said it was a really beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said, some of it,