Mississippi State University

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are said to be the most famous pair in all of American literature. Although they share a common bond of being orphans, the two are complete opposite. How could two polar opposite people wound up being the best of buds? Well the Adventures of Tom Sawyer can tell you how. Tom’s mother has passed away and he lives with his Aunt Polly. He is a boy with a great mind for schemes and it is told through his adventures in the novel. Throughout the book he is constantly getting…

In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path," Phoenix Jackson has a sick grandson. He is very ill and in need of medicine. Phoenix shows dedication throughout the story by going on a journey and getting the necessary medicine for her grandson despite the many obstacles along the way. She embodies the characteristics of a strong African American woman who faces challenges along her path. Phoenix Jackson is characterized throughout the story by her devotion, pride, and perseverance. One way, Phoenix Jackson…

Introduction The I-35W bridge was fully constructed and opened in November 1967 over the West Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the length of the bridge was 1907 feet and its maximum span length was 458 feet. It had 8 traffic lanes and a height of 64 feet above the water. On the evening of August 1st, 2007 this steel arch deck truss bridge collapsed during rush hour. This paper will investigate the cause of this failure and provide…

In the late 1800’s, Mark Twain wrote a book about a young boy who realizes many qualities about himself and the rest of the world while traveling down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave. Twain’s book, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” is a Bildungsroman - a coming-of-age story - in which the main character, Huck, represents the naif. The naif had multiple epiphanies during all of his exploits in which he encountered many problems from the places he visits. These epiphanies were often…

Finn by Mark Twain takes place in the time period of 1830s-1840s. The novel is about a young boy named Huck that tries to find his way through life without much support from anyone; he eventually goes on the run and find himself going along the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. Twain shows the culture and the lifestyle of the time period very well; but is often criticized for the examples of racism when doing so; this book should be read in schools without sensory for the…

Is it true that this “popular public figure and one of America’s best and most beloved writers,” as Thomas V. Quirk, a Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Missouri in Columbia, described him in an Encyclopedia Britannica entry, appreciated diseases and epidemics and -- goodness! -- liked the prince of darkness? As it turned out, aside from writing, Mark Twain - the pen name of novelist, travel writer, and humorist Samuel L. Clemens (1835-1910), cherished cats. In fact, he once…

River in thirty-two hours at an average speed of about 5 miles-per-hour. Another steamboat designed also by Fulton and R. Livingstone in 1811 was “New Orleans” carried the passengers on the lower Mississippi River. Many more similar boats offer their service between New Orleans, Louisiana and Natchez, Mississippi and traveled at the rates of eight miles per hour downstream and three miles per hour upstream. As a result of fast growing steamboat industry, between 1814 and 1834, New Orleans…

Twain Assignment “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” Two view of Mississippi provides an interesting insight into the mind of a veteran in steam boating. In life human reasoning is guided by perspective and experience. Decisions are often based on how one comprehends situations leading to a particular behavior. While it is argued that learned abilities often morph to instincts due to the repeated practice, some situations defy the norm forcing one to act depending on their understanding of…

society to nature or the pastoral. The pastoral setting is often depicted on pasture with sheep, a shepherd, and serenity, but the pastoral setting, in this novel, is instead portrayed as that natural, but the turmoil of the Mississippi River. Yes, the image of the Mississippi River contradicts with the original image of the pastoral, but it is a useful component of the novel in providing Huck and Jim a way of escape from society rules and ideology. The dilemma Huck faces with his friendship…

(Famous Twain Quotes. (n.d.). When he was in his boyhood home in Life on the Mississippi he meet up with a man whom had moved there just a year after Twain left the town. He told Twain all about the various people in the town where they were how they were doing and the success or shortfalls they had. He was able to fill Twain in on…