Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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0111 1 1111 1 111 11 1 1 111 11111111111 1111111 111111111 1111111111 1111 11111111111 1 1 11111111 1 1 11 11 111111111 1111 1111 11,,,,Un!f 7, I l,!Nl,,,,,,,,,0,1Wfff,,.111110,1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 1 1 11 1 111 111111111 THE HIIMORIST AND THE LANGUAGES Throughout Mark Twain's life, we find that while he was an indifferent Philologist, he did show a decided interest in the vagaries of languages. As his travels included a goodly portion of the world, he had opportunity to observe and form first-hand opinions concerning languages. Mark Twain was fond of poking fun at the American use of the English language. He was a close observer of speech-types, and he recorded de- finitely, in phonetic spelling, the odd speech and pronunciation of the Yankee, the Negro, the native Missourian, the California prospector, and the Virginian, to mention only a few of his favorite subjects. His characters are quite definitely placed as to the locality by their speech. His studies in American dialect are not difficult to read and, although they seem to flow in an unbroken stream, must have required intense study to insure the degree of accuracy which they achieve. In presenting native characters, he is lenient and does not resort to the sarcasm and ridicule of which he was the master. However, when he does record a ludicrous per- sonage he does so with such fidelity that the subiect has little room to plead prejudice or unfairness. On the whole, Mark Twain treated the American types sympathetically and created a host of lovable characters without stressing too much their laughable peculiarities. When Mark Twain left the American scene, he was not so lenient, sparing only the British subiects. He made very little comment and left few humorous dialogues on the British use of the English language. Al- though the scenes of two of his books, The Prince and the Pauper and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, are laid in England, he seems to have avoided treating the characters in the same manner that he used in his books with American scenes. On going to the tropical islands during his travels, he was delighted with the speech of the natives. In his comment on Hawaii, he mentions the soft, liquid quality present and the flow of syllables which so pleased his ear. Mark Twain did not express much interest in the Latin tongues. His comments on Italy mention little of the types of speech and are concerned mainly with the places of historic and scenic interest. Ioan of Arc is the onlv one of his main works which deals with any European country except for those laid in England. lt contains little unusual dialect and is of an essentially serious nature. We find that Mark Twain's favorite linguistic seems to be the complicated and unusual declensions. X Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q N Q Q Q Q Q X X Q Q Q X Q Q N KXXXXXNNXXNXXXXXXXX sw... - - xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxQ xx xxxxxxxxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmxmmxxxxxxxxxxsxxxxxxxxxvxxxxxxxxxxxxxxvw NX QxwasxxxxfnxxxxxxxxmmwwsxxxxxxvtxxxmmxmxxxxxmxmxmxxmxxxxxxmmmmxxxQsmxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxxmxxxxxmxxxxmxxxxxmxxxxxwmmxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx R S 5 Q3 D W rf D' N .3 B2 N U1 N l'l 5 W F' G . 5 93 D 'U 9 5 rr 5' I E' U-l 91' U3 -'Z' 5' xxxxx X X Q Q Q 51 Q Q 5 Y S f 1 X' if 1 5 1 i 1 I 1 if ,, 4 1 11 .2, 1 2 4, f Pi! : if V1 If 1 Z. flu, ff no ff ff , 'Q 11 11 1 Nw 5 ,1 W WAWW 'W W. Z , ?11111ff,111:vy W Wg1y11gg , ,W , M W W W! M y,,,m111,111ff wwf' WMM' WMWWZ ,,,,,,,,,, ,,,, 1 ' a 2 , I 1 mf I Sif

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x Sf x x I s :- X X N X N shi Mg up lx: xx .xx :XX ,QXXX Rs rx ms ss N s X .....,x x,xx N. X S 11g 1 1 1 11111111 0 1111 111001111111 1 1101 Q 710llAIWOflffffaffffffy!0000f0ffZlfff0WlZf ffflfffWf fff fgf fyfyyfllfl WIIIIIWIH W 11100001 f lfllfgllf lllflfl00Wf0ff WWW fyffff ffl!! 0 fi! ffffgf Z 4 ,M 3 I Z f ? I Z f 1 ? 5 f 4 4 1 3 4 A xxxxxxxxXNXxXXNNNXNXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmxNNxxxxxxkxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxwxxkxxxxxmxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x xxxx x xxx MARK TWAIN'S DAUGHTER CONTRIBLITES AN ARTICLE My father, Mark 'lWa1l1, adored youth, and to the day of his death was inspired Dy the presence not Ollly or young men and women, but even ol children. ny inspired, l mean that me careless Joy or youtn aroused his instinct to create. lt was a spark on which his genius took fire. And then, being himself endowed with vlvacious energy, ne naturally preferred the companionship ol those who were 3150 filled w1tl1 vivacity. I-le missed that faculty in most people his own age. Another quality my father enjoyed in the disposition of boys and girls was their unself-conscious interest in things outside of themselves. l-low they thrilled at the sight of a bird in its nest, a boat on the river, a kite in the wind! How they yelled out their joy when they zipped down a long white hill stretched full-length on a double ripper! 'l'he spontaneous, natu- ral happiness of youth should serve as a spiritual example to older men and women. Unfortunately there are those among children who are anything but unselfconscious. 'fhey derive their chief pleasure from showing off. And this quality my father abhorred as if it were a loathesome disease, as indeed it sometimes is. Undue consciousness of self is an incalculable stumbling block in every walk of life-large or small. When father discovered un- due self-interest in adults, he was repelled but not surprised. ln children he did not expect itg therefore this unlooked for misfortune heightened the evil effect. One of the great attractions about Huck and Tom is their ability to get fun out of adventures that do not inspire vanity, that, on the contrary, cultivate energy, ingenuity, imagination, and courage. These boys' deeds are not always of a virtuous nature, but at least they are not clouded by the sickening fumes of vanity. Mark Twain had a love of adventure that kept him young within the border of old age. There was nothing stagnant about his mind and heart. They were continuously in action, In spite of the fact that he talked willingly and brilliantly, he was inclined to sympathize with the man who said: Get out and do something-work, sweat, hike, hump yourself-starve if need be. But dig on and deliver. Then talk if you want to, but the chances are you won't feel so much like it. Although my father loved to play hookey when a boy, he did not desert school to pass an idle day. By no means. He crammed it full of work so exacting, that had he been ordered to attack such projects by any- one but himself, he would have felt abused and outraged. Work and humor were Mark Twain's instruments of happiness, and he kept them faithfully sharpened. 0114, 11111111111111 x Ns QX K .wXmN S N , gxxp FX M 1111 Nxxxxxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx XXX XXXXXXXNXNNXKXXXWNXXWAXXVAXXXXXXNKXNXXXXNXXXXXNKXXXXNNNXXXXXXNXXXXXXXXXXXXXN xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmXmXmXXXNW

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