Mark Twain's Use Of Satire In American Literature

Improved Essays
Mark Twain, American humorist and novelist, riveted the world of literature through his vivid narrations of adolescent mischief and heart-pulsing adventure. Hidden beneath the cracks, one can elicit sophisticated commentary on man's shortcomings, which probe satire, but, often bitterly, delineate the roots of human behavior. Additionally, the many facets of Twain include: an incomparable humor, revolutionary use of vernacular language, detailed exploration of the realities of American life, unequivocal irreverence and skepticism, and a profound grappling on issues of race complemented by fearless opposition to the injustices and outrages of an imperialistic age. Crafting an epistemology prompted by some deep, heartfelt sentiment, Twain posited strong faith in the clarity and purging possibilities of the written word. His historical significance is compelling: kings and queens may cycle through the many pages of history, but few firebrands are …show more content…
Under the blanketed surface of this criticism of the societal structure, Twain aims to edify the public about the limited nature of the rigid societal structure: circumscribing the identity and curbing the freedom of individuals. Nonetheless, he wants individuals to seek liberation from the manacles of control and pressure. Twain recognizes such individuals who have the ability to challenge the established beliefs and norms as true

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Both stories are regionalist fiction because they both use dialect in the character’s dialogue. What makes the stories different is how they express their writing style. In Mark Twain's story he uses humor in different ways. One example of it is yarn and the other is hyperbole. Hamlin Garland's story uses local colors.…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Huck Finn Paper In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which takes place in the highly racist and immoral antebellum south, Mark Twain creates, uses and abuses an intelligent and compassionate run-away slave named Jim for the sake of satire. Twain uses Jim's identity as a slave, and friendship with Huck, to satirize aspects of human nature, superstition, and Racism. In Chapter two, Twain write a scene which satirizes gullibility and pride.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Not all people are blind to the fact that this type of literature should be shared and accordingly incorporated with a student's learning agenda. Imagine all the things you may come to realize and learn by simply reading it. Twain’s writing took a turn and made a huge transformation after writing this piece. He later discontinued writing stories but began to reflect his social conscience in his…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mark Twain and Frederick Douglas are known as two of the greatest writers in American History. Both writers write about the past as a way of sharing their stories about a dark time period, one plagued by slavery. Even though both writers excel in their abilities to capture the reader’s attention, they achieve their purposes in different ways. While Frederick Douglas attempts to remain objective, Mark Twain’s writing is filled with subjective prose, eliciting the ways in which authors can take either approach and still have writing that engages the reader. To begin with, Frederick Douglas attempts to remain an objective narrator.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Twain wants Americans to realize their oblivion to their deceptive lives and change their behavior and they way they perceive black…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Twain’s use of irony does a phenomenal job at painting a realistic picture of the people during his time period, and therefore is effective. By using irony Twain is able to subtlety mock and poke fun at the serious situations that people in the 1800s face everyday in order to bring attention to the important lesson behind the everyday practices; just because something is accepted doesn’t mean it is morally…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although Mark Twain’s use of satire and irony see to oversaturate the book and make it seem like the made up adventures of a rambunctious young teen, it’s implied meanings of moral development and societal norms will teach many more students how to look deeper into books for years to…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mark Twain 's satirical novel, Huckleberry Finn, accurately portrays a time in history…and one of its evils, slavery.” The novels of that time period truthfully expose the evils of the world. The general public…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Human Flaws In Huck Finn

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Daniel Morton Mrs. Kottra American Literature and Composition Honors 28 January 2015 Teacher and scriptwriter Leo Rosten once proclaimed, “Satire is focused bitterness.” In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain focuses his bitterness on groups and individuals who show weaknesses, doing so by exploiting them and exaggerating their faults to extreme measures. By pointing out people’s defects, Twain hopes that people will recognize the problem and fix that particular trait or habit. Jim and Huck Finn constantly get involved in ludicrous episodes on their journey to freedom, and they frequently encounter people who exemplify these human weaknesses.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In this bibliography of Mark Twain, it is stated that, "Twain tried his hands at different businesses, but they all failed. He never achieved the wealth he expected. " This detail is helpful in order to understand the bigger ideas in the article. Throughout the selection, it is widely mentioned that Twain was often changing and trying new jobs. One other idea from the selection is that what Twain really wanted was to be rich.…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Is Huck Finn A Hero

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The selection of a young illiterate child as the novel’s main character in comparison to Jim helps portray the world more realistically. However, Twain starkly displays the racial differences by allowing an obviously less experienced young child to lead the mature adult. This stark difference influences the reader to view the social conditions of the time as ridiculous. By using an ignorant narrator, Twain ridicules the social conditions of the…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Huck Finn's Watershed

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages

    No matter the reason he decides to leave society, Twain makes it thoroughly clear that society’s restricting…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Also, through Twain's depiction of African Americans, he provides the potential for satire...in the service of truth. W.H. Auden (1996, p.65), referring to Jim's escape, wrote "When I first read the book I took this to be abolitionist satire on Mark Twain's part. It is not that at all. " Twain was not trying to spread abolitionist propaganda with this book but was pointing out the cruelty he saw against blacks. Nowhere, however, in the novel is the satire of man's cruelty to man more predominant than the tarring and feathering of the king and duke.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Huck’s stay at the Grangerfords represents another instance of Twain poking fun at American tastes and at the conceits of romantic literature. For Huck, who has never really had a home aside from the Widow Douglas’s rather spartan house, the Grangerford house looks like a palace. Huck’s admiration is genuine but naïve, for the Grangerfords and their place are somewhat absurd. In the figure of deceased Emmeline Grangerford, Twain pokes fun at Victorian literature’s propensity for mourning and melancholy. Indeed, Emmeline’s hilariously awful artwork and poems mock popular works of the time.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    With this, the reader is able to get a better understanding on how Twain satirized the…

    • 1271 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays