Mark Twain Satire

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as, Mark Twain was a humorist and romantic. Twain is classified as writer in the Romantic and Realistic Period (Dendinger). Twain got a copious amount of inspiration for the settings of his novels and short stories from his travels in Europe and his boyhood. Mark Twain’s travels, boyhood, and pessimistic attitude greatly affected his writings and are what make him one of America’s greatest and most well-known authors (Pullen). Growing up in Missouri, Twain’s boyhood was full of adventurous experiences and he spent a lot of time outside and around the Mississippi River. These experiences greatly affected his writings. One prominent aspect of Twain’s stories is that most protagonists are young

His short fiction can be divided into different categories: short stories, sketches, and tales. Twain wrote some humorous short fiction purely for fun like “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” but others are satiric and criticize people and ideals of the time like The Innocents Abroad (Dendinger). Twain uses a wide tonal range throughout his works. In his early works, Twain uses humour and satire to show ignorance of humans and ideals of society, an example being, The Innocents Abroad. In his later works, like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Twain’s tones include a serious concern about human conduct and pessimistic gloom, his humour slowly fades and the tones of his works are less happy and increasingly dark. It is often said that Twain’s best works were all written before the 1880’s. After the 1880’s, Twain’s work became increasingly more pessimistic, and his published works in the 1890’s are his least popular and least read. This slow change from humor and happiness to pessimistic gloom is evident throughout Twain’s writings as time passed. In Twain’s early work, some could be cruel and satiric, like The Innocents Abroad, but there is a definite increase in his satiric attacks on human error and the amount of violence in his works published prior to 1890. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, which is published in 1889, is a good example of this pessimistic change in Twain’s

In the book, Twain expresses his interest in European civilization by placing the setting in England. In The Prince and the Pauper, the story is centered around two characters; Tom Canty and Prince Edward, who look almost exactly alike even though they were not actual twins. The two boys live completely opposite lives. Tom, the pauper, lives with his father who is abusive and treats Tom poorly. Edward, the prince, lives just that the life of a prince. The two boys represent two main themes inside their characters, respectability and freedom. These themes are common in Twain’s characters, as he often creates dualistic characters with contrasting natures. In the beginning of the novel the boys meet for the first time, and decide to switch clothes after Tom tells Edward that he has always wanted to be prince. Edward, who is now dressed as a common person, is mistaken as the pauper and thrown out of the castle. Thus beginning the main conflict of the novel, each boy returning to their own life and getting their identity back. Twain uses several minor themes in this novel including irony, exaggeration, and satire. Twain uses satire to criticize society, both of the time of the setting of the novel and his own. One major theme of The Prince and the Pauper is abuse and the effects it has on the victim. Tom is heavily abused by his father and part of the reason he is so eager to switch lives with Edward. After the