Similarities in James Thurber´s The Dog that Bit People and Mark Twain´s A Toast to the Oldest Inhabitant: The Weather of New England

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

Why do the words that authors use in their writing help set the overall atmosphere of the story? In the story, "What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything," a young boy named Willie and his cautious mother, who were abandoned by their father, come across a beggar, and Willie grows curious of his character, thus leading him to question him. After a series of encounters, Willie learns that the homeless man was not what he seemed, but a man of wisdom. In the story, “Dark They Were, And Golden Eyed” by Ray Bradbury, a party of humans arrive in Mars and try to build their new lives there after an apocalypse on the Earth. One of the humans, Harry Bittering, is skeptical about Mars and how living there may not be the best idea. In both “Dark They Were,

Yet another style of Shelley’s writing, descriptive diction, makes the novel feel life-like to readers. Phrases depicting M. Waldman such as “short but remarkably erect” and “voice the sweetest I had ever heard,” adds details to the image and character of Waldman. Without utilizing descriptive diction, Shelley’s novel would lose a sense of

The diction being very ornate as the author uses unusual word pairings that pair well with the

The author emphasizes the tone and the theme of the novel by using a variety of diction words that include repetition of words, archaic words, connotation, and abstract diction. Primarily, the usage of

Diction is just one of the literary elements used in this short story which convey the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby.

What makes a being more evolved? Who are we to say that humans are the most evolved or even the least? It is believed by some that we are descended from the "higher animals", whereas others believe that we have ascended from the "lower animals". In Mark Twain's essay, "The Lowest Animal" (1896), he portrays the idea that the human race has no hope, as we have too many flaws. It is undeniable that we have our flaws, but what creature on this planet does not? The human race may not be perfect, or reaching perfection anytime soon, but it does progress and develop as time goes on. As humans, we are neither substantially higher nor lower than animals. Although foolish actions are performed towards each other and our planet, we have also

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.

“Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding” writes Agnes Repplier, a famous essayist, about her feelings about humor and irony. In addition, irony happens in everyday life, even though it may not be evident. Besides the irony that happens in everyday life, it can also be presented in short stories such as: Sherman Alexie’s “Because My Father Always Said He Was The Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ At Woodstock,” Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Gabriel Garcia MArquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children.” Although all three stories have different characters and conflicts, there are numerous situations of irony that are

Murphy uses powerful sensory language that draws on the reader's senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Three examples of visual details include: “The sun came up, as it had every day since the end of May, bright hot, and unrelenting” (Murphy 1). “The swamps and marshes south of Philadelphia had already lost a great deal of water to the intense, heat, while the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers had receded to reveal long stretches` of their muddy, root-choked banks” (Murphy 1). Finally, a third example is, when Murphy writes, “deep holes were dug at various street corners to collect runoff water and

A very dull and boring story can be made into a great story simply by adding in something that is unexpected to happen. When the unexpected is used in literature it is known as irony. An author uses irony to shock the reader by

In the two short stories, both the authors use situational irony to convey the exact opposite

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.

In Thurber’s work, when Muggs dies, it says, “On the board I wrote with an indelible pencil ‘Cave Canem’,” (262). This shows Thurber’s use of precise diction to show satire. Thurber uses latin to show humorous writing because “Cave Canem” means Beware of the Dog. For example, in “A Toast to the Oldest Inhabitant: The Weather of New England,” Mark Twain states, “I like to hear rain on a tin roof, so I covered part of my roof with tin, with an eye to that luxury. Well, sir, do you think it ever rains on the tin? No, sir; skips it every time,” (255). This shows Twain’s use of precise diction when he uses the words “skips it every time,” because the rain can’t skip something every time. This also shows how his use of precise diction helps him create fantastic hyperboles that stir one’s imagination. Twain and Thurber’s use of precise diction helps depict

This bitterness and sarcasm is revealed as strong characteristics of the narrator. Throughout the majority of the story, the narrator continues shows his distaste for any "happy" situation. Much like the hyphenated asides, Carver implements fragmented sentences behind description, to show the narrator pausing for a moment of color commentary.