My Final Blog (for now)

I saved this last blog to reflect over the past semester and what I have learned. In the beginning, I honestly thought that the learning would contain facts, dates, and concrete information. Why not? This was a course designed to study Mark Twain’s life and works. Was I ever wrong!

Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is that our class was filled with such intelligent, caring, and free-spirited individuals that provided my brain with more stimulation than it’s had in YEARS! It was a privilege to engage in controversial discussions led by Dr. Williams, who never seemed surprised over where the topics led.

If you would have asked me six months ago about Mark Twain’s writing style, I would only be able to rely on Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for reference material. It is unbelievable that I could learn so much about Mark Twain’s morals and values just by reading his works. But I did. It was as if you could trace his life through his works, and I was concerned that he was going to die a cynical man. But in my heart I think he was at peace with the world, content to join his family in heaven.

For the rest of the class, I am jealous of the wonderful future you have ahead of you. I never experienced this great adventure called a “college experience”, but you have made me feel welcome, and somehow I was able to grow as a person because of your vast intelligence and compassion. I will never forget any of you, and wish all of you the very best.

And as for Dr. Williams, I will see you in the fall learning theory. This will be the third class instructed by you, and for the record I’d take another three!

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Well, once again there's proof that the book is always better than the movie. Pudd'nhead Wilson was much more enjoyable to read than to watch. Movies frequently cut whole sections of a novel/novella in an attempt to keep the movie short. This does not work with Pudd'nhead Wilson because whole subplots were omitted, leaving a shallow and predictable storyline.

The movie failed to acknowledge Ton Driskoll's use of costumes to commit his thefts. Also, the book indicated that Tom and Roxy worked as a team to commit the thefts, as the movie merely hinted of the crime spree that Tom planned and executed, and played down Roxy's role.

Dave Wilson (aka Pudd'nhead Wilson) was presented as a veritable Sherlock Holmes in the movie, and the origin of his nickname was never even addressed. Wilson had respect throughout the movie, but in the book he is portrayed as a bumbling fool that earns the town's respect at the end.

There was no duel in the movie, and Judge Driskoll's murder was only briefly addressed in the movie. The book gives details of the planning and execution of the robbery/murder committed by Tom. Tom's persona in the movie was one of a spoiled adult/child who fell on hard times. The book shows Tom's sinister side, and how calculated he could be when breaking the law.

The movie was an insult to an educated person's intelligence. It accomplished only one thing: enjoyment with no thought required.

However, the book was fascinating in the way it paid such close attention to detail and kept the reader's mind racing.

My Debut as a Literary Person

Last week we read three essays from The Complete Essays of Mark Twain. Of the three, I thoroughly enjoyed “My Début as a Literary Person”. In the introduction, Mark Twain stated that he did not consider himself published until his work had appeared in a magazine. Humorously, after being published in a magazine, his name had been misspelled so technically he was still not published.
The article that was quasi-published pertained to the burning of the clipper-ship “Hornet” in 1866. Mark Twain had the opportunity to interview the survivors when they reached the Sandwich Islands on June 15, 1866. I found the transcripts fascinating, and was amazed how almost half the ship’s occupants survived forty-three days in a mere dingy.

The essay spared no gruesome details, and provided excellent visual description throughout. I could almost feel myself getting hungry as they described the meager food portions, and how as time passed the portions shrunk.

Mark Twain was lucky enough to travel from the Sandwich Islands to San Francisco with survivors, who shared their diaries with Mark Twain. Upon writing this essay, some thirty-three years later, Mark Twain still possesses, and cherishes, the copies that he was allowed to make of the seamen’s most intimate, and vulnerable moments.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Last week I was the lead respondent for Mark Twain’s short story entitled, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”. This story, published in 1899, was about a town that is supposedly incorruptible. A stranger had visited the town and was “wronged” by the townspeople. The stranger devised a plan to corrupt Hadleyburg and show the residents that they were not infallible to greed.
One night the stranger dropped off a sack of gold coins at the residence of Edward and Mary Richards. The stranger explained that he had visited the town previously in a state of poverty, and that a resident had given him $20.00 and some good advice. He wished to repay the kind citizen with the sack, which allegedly contained $40.00.
The result is a fiasco of sorts when the nineteen most upstanding citizens show a personality that was nonexistent prior to the stranger’s visit – GREED! Each citizen rationalized in their mind why they should get the money. In the end, the bag contained lead coins plated in gold. All the citizens learned that the town WAS corruptible, and vowed to learn from this charade.
Some of the themes portrayed in this work are hypocrisy, morality, individual versus society, and the Eden Myth and the “fortunate fall”. Many scholars compare this story to the temptation in Eden, and the lesson learned after eating the forbidden fruit. One of the biggest questions is whether this story is a story of revenge or redemption. The stranger’s intent was to seek revenge on the town of Hadleyburg, but he inadvertently redeemed the town by opening their eyes to their shortcomings and making them aware of them in future conflicts.
I enjoyed the story, and wish Mark Twain had written more “fable-like” pieces.