With writings such as “The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crimes in Connecticut”, Red Badge of Courage , and “The Slave Auction”, the 19th century can first appear to be radically transformed solely by fiction and poetry. However, solely emphasizing fiction and poetry pigeon-holes autobiographical writings, especially those by Mark Twain and Hamlin Garland. Through the efforts of Hamlin Garland and Mark Twain, autobiographical writing can now be seen with moments of acute observation, and internal conflicts or interactions among persons. The authors, thus, created a radical type of realism for the 19th century that tore down the extolment of agrarian life, war, and the rumors of their character.
In Hamlin Garland’s Son of the Middle …show more content…
The short story describes a casual account of his war experience with comedic style when stating (163) “They ought not to be allowed to state why they didn’t do anything, and also to explain the process by which they didn’t do anything. Surely this kind of light must have a sort of value.” The comic misadventures, Twain describes, have literary techniques in his fiction stories of irony and weird analogies. Twain focuses on his perspective, not just chronological events. Quickly, this comedic narration dramatically shifts when Twain and his comrades kill a stranger, stating “The man was not in uniform and was not armed. He was a stranger in the country; that was all we ever found out about him…And it seemed an epitome of war; that all war must be just that- the killing of strangers against whom you feel no personal animosity.” After reading other texts by Twain, one would expect Twain to glorify death. Instead, Twain begins to question his actions. The passage shows a shift when he first sees the stranger and after his death. The stranger first appears as a dream and then becomes humanized. And with that shift, Twain turns his autobiography into a discussion of conflict and war. Thus, readers feel remorse for Twain rather than anger towards his violent
In Hamlin Garland’s Son of the Middle …show more content…
The short story describes a casual account of his war experience with comedic style when stating (163) “They ought not to be allowed to state why they didn’t do anything, and also to explain the process by which they didn’t do anything. Surely this kind of light must have a sort of value.” The comic misadventures, Twain describes, have literary techniques in his fiction stories of irony and weird analogies. Twain focuses on his perspective, not just chronological events. Quickly, this comedic narration dramatically shifts when Twain and his comrades kill a stranger, stating “The man was not in uniform and was not armed. He was a stranger in the country; that was all we ever found out about him…And it seemed an epitome of war; that all war must be just that- the killing of strangers against whom you feel no personal animosity.” After reading other texts by Twain, one would expect Twain to glorify death. Instead, Twain begins to question his actions. The passage shows a shift when he first sees the stranger and after his death. The stranger first appears as a dream and then becomes humanized. And with that shift, Twain turns his autobiography into a discussion of conflict and war. Thus, readers feel remorse for Twain rather than anger towards his violent