Twain the Romantic
Twain was many things as a writer- a satirist, a truth-teller, a critic- but he was not a romantic. The romantic era, in its heydey, was a time of literature dominated by grand ideas and mystic visions. Though many others joined this fantasy-ridden trend, many authors were critical of the romantic ideas that often lacked realistic properties. Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was one of these critical authors. Through that particular piece of literature, Twain criticized the exaggerated use of romanticism through romantic characters while countering them with a realist.
Romanticism is most easily seen in the characters contained within a story. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, …show more content…
These families represent the American Civil War, which is also criticized along with romanticism. The Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords are fighting on account of "trouble 'bout something, and then a lawsuit to settle it; and the suit went agin one of the men, and so he up and shot the man that won the suit..." even though they are not sure of what the issue was because it "was so long ago" (98). These feuding families are represented as polar opposites, with the Grangerfords being an upright and pious family while the Shepherdsons are depicted as entitled and lowdown. Yet, these two families join together every Sunday at the church with their guns "kept... between their knees" to pray and talk about brotherly love and "faith and good works and free grace" (99). Twain is once again using these characters as examples of the hypocritical nature of a romantic south. The two families believe in the beautiful picture of brotherly love and redeeming grace, yet they fight because that is just what they have always done. They once again see the truth of the situation and yet choose to ignore it to follow their own ideas of heroism and
Twain was many things as a writer- a satirist, a truth-teller, a critic- but he was not a romantic. The romantic era, in its heydey, was a time of literature dominated by grand ideas and mystic visions. Though many others joined this fantasy-ridden trend, many authors were critical of the romantic ideas that often lacked realistic properties. Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was one of these critical authors. Through that particular piece of literature, Twain criticized the exaggerated use of romanticism through romantic characters while countering them with a realist.
Romanticism is most easily seen in the characters contained within a story. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, …show more content…
These families represent the American Civil War, which is also criticized along with romanticism. The Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords are fighting on account of "trouble 'bout something, and then a lawsuit to settle it; and the suit went agin one of the men, and so he up and shot the man that won the suit..." even though they are not sure of what the issue was because it "was so long ago" (98). These feuding families are represented as polar opposites, with the Grangerfords being an upright and pious family while the Shepherdsons are depicted as entitled and lowdown. Yet, these two families join together every Sunday at the church with their guns "kept... between their knees" to pray and talk about brotherly love and "faith and good works and free grace" (99). Twain is once again using these characters as examples of the hypocritical nature of a romantic south. The two families believe in the beautiful picture of brotherly love and redeeming grace, yet they fight because that is just what they have always done. They once again see the truth of the situation and yet choose to ignore it to follow their own ideas of heroism and