The Humor Behind Mark Twain

By Dana RhodesPd. 7

A Misanthrope?

Famous American author Mark Twain is widely considered to have been a misanthrope.

Misanthrope: a hater of human kind.

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not

bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a

man.”- Mark Twain

Twain Vs. Everything Else

Mark Twain was against many institutionalized ideals. Religion Slavery Government Human Nature Education System Pretty much everything!

Satirical Twain

Mark Twain’s style of writing includes numerous uses of satire.

Satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

Satire Today

Satire is all around us!

Ex: Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, Tosh.O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8zuaykEY2A

Satire in Huck Finn

Twain uses numerous examples of satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

“St. Petersburg” is the fictional river town Twain uses in the novel. It’s used to satirize the dreams of splendor in the South.

More Satire in Huck Finn

NOTICE“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be

prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be

banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.”BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR

PER G.G., CHIEF OF ORDINANCE.

Bashing Slavery

Many situations in Huck Finn are designed to scoff at the American people.

Twain focuses a lot on the issue of slavery.

Twain has always disagreed with the American view of slavery, even though his father owned slaves when he was growing up.

Bashing Slavery (Cont.)

Twain mocks slavery and makes a strong statement about the way slaves were treated.

Family Feud

So much Satire in one novel!

The Family Feuds – based on a real feud of the time between two families, the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Satirizing Religion

“There warn’t anybody at the church, except maybe a hog or two,…If you notice, most folks don’t go to church only when they’ve got to; but a hog is different.”

“A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”

Pokes fun at contemporary society.

Satire of romanticized chivalry and idealization of the Middle Ages.

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” Tone: Satirical and nostalgic.

Pokes fun at society’s hypocrisy.

Mocks individuals, but tends to focus on flaws in the character that is understood to be universal.

Satirizing Society (Tom Sawyer)

Shows social authority does not always operate on wise principles.

Institutions fall prey to the same kinds of mistakes that individuals do.

Satirizing Society (Cont.)

Tendency toward indulgence.

Ridicules the ability of the collective tendency toward generosity and forgiveness to go overboard.

Satirical Quotes from Mark Twain

“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a

member of congress; but I repeat myself.” -Mark

Twain

“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to

open one’s mouth and remove all doubt” -

Mark Twain

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice.

Then he made school boards.” -Mark Twain

Twain the Lecturer

1866-1895:Mark Twain traveled the country giving lectures.

Humorous, informative, and a sense of eloquence.

Might consider him today to be a “stand-up comedian.”

In his time, Mark Twain would be considered a “stand-up philosopher.”

Had a “love-hate” relationship with his tours.

The Importance of Twain’s Humor

It is important to understand Twain’s sense of humor to understand many concepts in Huck Finn.

Also important to understand Twain’s humor in order to understand Twain himself.

“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”

-Mark Twain

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  The Spell of the West. Mountain Feuds.

http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wars/mountain.html December 6, 2013

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Property of Google Images

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http://www.redcarpetcrash.com/tv-the-colbert-report-welcomes-sir-paul-mccartney-for-a-one-hour-special-episode-wednesday-june-12/ December 5, 2013 

Dave Granlund. Mark Twain Censored. http://www.davegranlund.com/cartoons/2011/01/07/mark-twain-censored/ December 5, 2013 

Teaching Huck Finn: Novices Need Not Apply. Stanford University. http://bookhaven.stanford.edu/2011/01/teaching-huck-finn-novices-need-not-apply/ December 5, 2013

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Christine. Examples of Satire in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” http://classic-literature.yoexpert.com/read-and-study-books/what-are-some-examples-of-satire-in-%22the-adventure-644.html Yo Expert.December 5, 2013

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Thomas S. Vernon. XXII Samuel Clemens. http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/twainver.htm December 5, 2013 http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/onstage/maps/tourmapsf.html December 5, 2013  “The Trouble Begins at 8:00” http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/onstage/lectures.html December 5, 2013 “Mark Twain On Stage” http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/onstage/onstgehp.html December 5, 2013 “Humor Glossary and More” http://www.pbs.org/weta/onstage/twain2002/teachers/glossary.html. On Stage at the

Kennedy Center. The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. December 5, 2013

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