Twain: Interpreter or Creator?
It must be recognized that one of the great American artists was Samuel Langhorn Clements. Writing under the pseudonym Mark Twain, he had no canvas but a sheet of paper. He had no brushes, palate, or paints. Yet he had a great sense of his own world and the adventure that remained in his version of America. The imagery that he drew and the relationships that he created within his stories came alive the day that he wrote them. They are still more alive today than ever. Mark Twain’s writings are about a time in American history that was controversial, to say the least. There were trying times especially in the south. Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876 and its later sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry
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We must not feel that to question this is to single out this book over many others that are much more offensive. We are not the first generation to question the coarse nature of the text. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has not always occupied its present high place in the canon of American literature. The story offended and disturbed many of its early reviewers too. It is not just the exorbitant use of the “N” word that offends. It is the careless and renegade actions of Huck Finn. The reality is that throughout much of the book Huck falls back on his old ways in a heartbeat. When Tom Sawyer arrives on the scene Tom is neglected, made fun of, and basically overlooked. But the reality is that this is exactly the way almost any thirteen-year-old boy today might behave set apart from the watchful eye of a supervising adult. Yes, that would be exactly the rafting adventure that would take place. We must calculate into this picture the influence of surrounding role models and their sway over the characters. Peer group pressure is an incredibly powerful force, no matter your age. In general, we tend to care what other people think of us. We see this in Huck’s change toward Jim when Tom Sawyer is around. Numerous studies have shown educated, intelligent people acting in bizarre ways just to fit in with those of which they