The Mesmerizer Essay

1. The issue Twain is satirizing is that youths are being told how to live and how to act when they get older.

“The Mesmerizer” by Mark Twain is an autobiography about young Twain and his experience with a hypnotist that comes to town. Simmons, the mesmerizer, leads the townspeople to believe that he possesses the ability to control people through hypnosis, having them do whatever he wills them to do. Twain is unable to be put into a trance, so he pretends that he is hypnotized and follows the enchanter’s every command. After watching the mesmerizer go along with his improvisations, Twain realizes that Simmons is also a fraud. Through out the essay, Twain shows how everyone involved is to blame. The mesmerizer is to blame because he takes advantage of young Twain and allows the townspeople to hurt him. The townspeople are to blame because they are credulous and willing to inflict pain upon the participants. Twain is to blame because he deceives the townspeople and takes pride in his lies without shame.

Twain participates in the show knowing that the magician is a fake. He takes part in the deception by pretending he is hypnotized. Hicks is the first person to be “hypnotized” and Twain sees him as competition, but Twain learns Hicks is also pretending. Hicks was unable to be hypnotized into kissing an imaginary girl in public. Twain says, “Whatever Hicks had failed in, I made it a point to succeed in, let the cost be what it might, physically or morally” (2).

Mark Twain is satirizing the advice young people are given by authoritative figures on different issues in life. The words of wisdom used to guide youth usually promote the same ideals and are repeated so often that in some sense they lose their strength. That does not mean though that the issues they touch upon are not important. Twain uses humor to actually make young people go beyond the banality and conformity and ask questions of importance.

A tone is the way the author conveys his or her unstated attitudes toward the story. The tone from the beginning to the end of Samuel is a serious tone. “Some boys are very tough. They’re afraid of nothing. The description Paley gives in the first two sentences makes you feel that the tone is going to be serious. Another example can be when the ladies in subway car become angry when they look at the boys. “Most of them brought their brows together and hoped the boys could see their disapproval”. They convey the serious tone through the way they feel through facial expressions. Thoughts of one of the women passenger’s shows a mothers concern when she attempts to confront the boys. “One of the ladies wanted to get up and say, be careful you dumb kids, get off the platform or I’ll call the cop.” The tone makes the situation serious tone even if it was thought and not an action. In another paragraph her action show the seriousness of the situation when thinks of her own child. “She stood up with determination and went to the door. Her action tells us that tone was not to be taken lightly and it was a serious matter.

Even though the book shows immaturity I think the audience it's intended for is old enough to not be influenced by bad behavior in a book. This leads me into my next point The strength of writing of Mark Twain. Mark Twain’s writing is very unique because of the way he studies the background of the people the books are about. One of the best features of the book is the way Mark Twain uses dialect. "No! W'y, what has you lived on? But you got a gun. Oh, yes, you got a gun. Dat's good. Now you kill sumfn en I'll make up de fire." (Twain). As you can see in the quotes Mark Twain has a magical way of writing and giving an accurate picture of how it was in the mid 1800s.

     The novel ‘The Adventures of Huck Finn’ by Mark Twain is a coming of age novel. Huck’s maturity grows throughout the story. He first starts to show emotions toward a runaway slave, and by the end of the novel, has grown up to the point where, when Jim, the slave, is captured, Huck decides not to play games but to take it serious and rescue him the safest and most logical way. He also decides it give up playing games after his friend is shot to ensure that he would get the medical attention that he needed

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.

I do feel that it is too long-winded and a downfall to such a great novel, but it is very important in reinforcing the message put forth in the rest of the novel; the greatest of which is the shortcomings of modern society and the hypocrisy and arrogance, and even the stupidity of people of Twain’s time.

Style: Twain’s style is marked by the dialects of his characters, by the symbolism of the river and the shore and of Huck’s actions. The dialects help make the characters seem more like real people. The river and the shore motifs come to symbolize Twain’s view of society.

Tone is a major contributor to the work of the “Hate Poem”. “Tone is an aspect of point of view since it has a great deal to do with the narrator. Tone is the narrator’s predominant attitude toward the subject, whether that subject is a place, event, character or idea” (Writing Essays about Literature, Kelley Griffith page 46). When analyzing the “Hate Poem” by Julie Sheehan, “To understand the tone of the poem, we need to listen to the words, as we might listen to an actual conversation. The key is to hear not only what is being said but also how it is being said.” (Kennedy and Gioia) Her use of several styles of irony help with the tone she is trying to convey. She uses the word hate when it has the ability to actually mean it’s

Twain's ideas about society in his article match up perfectly with the problems and actions we commit and witness every day, very relatable. For example, he says “most parents think they know better then you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on your own better judgement.” With this certain situations I can tell you from first hand experience that this will always apply to any teenager and this specific advice will always come in handy. Once you take this certain advice

Twain’s satire is that he wants the kids to take his advice and learn from it. Normally you get advice to be patient and diligent in college or when you get a career, but in this case he gives you this advice to become a batter liar in a humorous and entertaining way.

Thinking back as a teenager, one of the last things you would want to do is listen to an adult giving you advice on how to behave and become an adult. This was exactly what Mark Twain was asked to do in 1882. He was challenged to write a speech to a class of young girls with instructive advice that would be suitable towards youth. The challenge he faced was how to effectively delivery his message to teenagers without sounding like a preaching adult on what not to do. Twain knew he had to deliver his speech in a unique fashion, to be able to captivate his youthful audience. He uses a non-traditional method that was written with a comedic approach aimed toward the teenage audience, similar to a graduation speech. In his essay Twain addresses

Mark Twain uses humor to show all that is wrong with society in many different ways. Humor is mostly shown through hypocrisy in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” which is conveyed through the people in Huck’s life. Twain uses wit and humor to show what needs to be reformed in society.