Compare And Contrast The Two Ways Of Seeing A River

Two Ways of Viewing the River

When Mark Twain starts his career as a riverboat captain, he is enthralled and captivated by the grandeur of the Mississippi River. He is aware of the hidden dangers lurking beneath the water’s swirling surface, but his first impressions of the river’s majestic beauty clouds his perspective. Twain eventually recognizes that the river, although beautiful, was a dangerous, treacherous waterway with no compassion for people or the boats that traveled its route. Twain’s gradual change in attitude towards the river, from the first stages of beauty and the innocence of nature to gaining wisdom to respect the river can be applied to developments in a love affair. A couple keep company with each other, but ignore signals that can lead to trouble later. Relationships can follow similar patterns such as Twain’s, as he understands that the river is a mistress to be admired and feared. The factors that operate within a relationship can be …show more content…
He loses the innocence of the beauty of the river as constant danger and responsibility replaces the familiarity in pleasure for the water. His job is to safely transport cargo and people and he respects the hidden dangers of the lovely, meandering Mississippi River. To summarize, (transition to connect the analogy of the river with a romance) when a romance ends “all the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out…”(Twain) can be compared to Twain’s view of the river. Moments of sadness are highlighted by memories of laughter, whispered conversations, and soaring emotions to soften the bitterness in realizing that something beautiful is disappearing. Twain understands that the loss of innocence is a necessary part of working the river, but is still able to put into perspective the magnificent beauty and power it