Salem State University - Clipper Yearbook

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Mark Twain. It is surprising to note to how many people the name Mark Twain stands simply as that of a man who wrote nonsense, and who did rather unusual things. It is not only surprising, but really lamentable, when we consider how much real enjoyment they miss by not knowing him better. It is true, he had a love for strong effect, and especially for strong per- sonal effect, which led him to do rather striking things. This expressed itself in his dressing, which was at times eccentric, to say the least. For instance, he possessed a seal-skin coat which he almost invariably wore fur- side out. During the last part of his life he wore a complete suit of white serge at all times of the year, seeming to delight in the publicity which it gave him. He was never so happy as when clothed in his Oxford gown, which he wore on all possible occasions. It amused him greatly to see how he shocked supersensitive souls by these pranks, which were his way of expressing the boy element in his nature. For a literary man, Mark Twain was singularly lacking in those branches of culture which are usually considered necessary to the make-up of an author. He had no acquaintance with the classic Greek and Latin, and knew just enough German and Italian to make himself amusing. His schooling was brief and desultory, and deserves very little credit for his later fame. His style is entirely his own. He writes just as he must have thought, with very little regard for what went before or what is to fol- low. He quite frequently breaks off in the midst of a chapter, of a paragraph, even, and discusses a topic almost entirely foreign to the subject in hand, and after having discussed it to his heart's content, comes back to the original theme, and proceeds as calmly as if he had never left it. An illustration of this is shown in that chapter of the Connecticut Yankee in which the king and the Yankee are travelling incognito, and the Yankee is attempting, with very little success, to drill the king in his part. After telling us that the Yankee's instructions are simply so many words, as far as the king is con- cerned, Mark Twain begins a discourse on the utter futility of words in gen- eral, passes from that to a consideration of the law of work, and then comes back to the king and his minister. A great deal of his charm lies in his treatment of characters, and espe- cially of his boy characters. They are so essentially boyish and natural that they are delightful in themselves, and exceedingly valuable to us in interpret- ing their author's own nature. It is impossible to read '4Tom Sawyer without seeing in him a portrayal of Mark Twain himself, and in his happy-go-lucky philosophy that dauntless spirit which served to carry Mark Twain through the many misfortunes of his later years. 19

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Miss Goldsmith: Give me an example of taking a risk. Miss Cahoon: Coming into class without your lesson prepared. Mr. Arc-hibald,'after Miss Keene has sung an exercise while beating time vigorously with her pencil: Sing it again and omit the bass drum. Miss Giddings is so strict a vegetarian that she won't eat animal crackers. Heard in botany: Heat keeps the germs inactive, but when cooled down they are as bright and cheery as ever. Miss K: Turn up your coat collar if you're cold. Ruth: Will that keep my feet warm? Mr. Vinal: Now, Miss Chase, you may criticise the recitation. Miss Chase, drawling: Oh! it's very good, it's just like mine. Miss Martin: Miss Ellis, when the man has spent all the money which he needed for his living, what does he do next? b Miss Ellis, energetically: I should think he'd better go to work and earn 801118 IUOFC. Miss Titxromh, who has waded through a muddled recitation: Oh! dear, I can't think! I've just come up from the practice school. liow thc Juniors run their class meetings: one hundred nine votes, ninety-nine present. Give a sentence expressing a wish which is not fulfilled in the future. I wish I could get an A in English. ,fx -is -t 1 72 2 ff 'ii X . ,rg f r fi bar.-.ss sniff' , .' s- -1-J r -as ., art-5,x,, IH

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His women characters, however, with the exception of Joan of Are, are not so successful. They possess no characteristics which make them stand 'out clearly as individuals, but are all built on the same plan. When we attempt to recall one of the women in Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer, We cannot be quite sure whether it is Tom's mother, Aunt Polly, or the widow of whom We are thinking, for they all represent the same type. We can never lose sight of the fact that he is a Westerner, for his works are continually reminding us of the fact. Not only in his humor is this shown, but in the serious undertone which is fundamental in all his writings. For some reason or other, this is characteristic of the VVest, and Mark Twain is its exponent, and withal, a very able exponent. In Life on the Mississippi, we have the story of how he met Horace Bixby and decided to become a pilot, and how he set himself the gigantic task of learning the 1200 miles of the Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis so well as to make no mistake, even in the dark. To the surprise of his friends, he succeeded, and succeeded so well that he never cost his em- ployers a dollar for damages in his whole career. This well illustrates the dogged perseverance of the man. Mark Twain's gospel of equality, is best shown in his Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Here he is at his best. The scheme of transplanting a nineteenth century Connecticut man to the Court of King Arthur, an institution of the sixth century, is so unusual as to attract attention, but it does more than attract, it holds the attention. To follow the East Hartford man through his many trials and daring attempts for instance, when he sets about defeating Merlin's plans with gunpowder, and to live for a time in the atmosphere of his quaint, idiomatic pungent humor, is to be as well entertained as if one were before the footlights of any theatre. The following quotation taken from the beginning of the story, well illustrates the point: I made up my mind to two things, if it was still the nineteenth cen- tury and l was among lunaties and couldn't get away, I would presently boss that. asylum or know the reason why, and if, on the other hand, it was really the sixth century, all right, l didn't want any softer thing. l would boss the whole country inside of three months, for I judged l would have the start of tho best educated man in the kingdom by a matter of thirteen hundred years and upwards. Mark Twain's humor is the thing by which he is most universally known. lint it is not mere humor, for there is always an inner meaning to it which, if it does not appear at the first reading, becomes evident after a little con- sida-ration. llis aphorisms are particularly good illustrations uf this. They arf- so quaint in form that they invite laughter, but one soon sees that they are striking in their meaning, for instance, lVhen in doubt, tell the truth. Instead '70 P'