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Mark Twain's Essay, Two Views Of The River

615 Words3 Pages

The scene of Mark Twain’s essay, Two Views of the River, takes place on the Mississippi River where Twain navigated the waters. Throughout the essay, Twain describes the river and the different experiences that affect his views of it. In describing his overall attitude, he provides imagery of the river, shifts his perspective, and uses figurative language to appeal to all audiences. Throughout the essay, Twain describes the river in immense detail, appealing to all senses. He uses colors such as “blood” to describe the river’s color and the word “radiating” to describe its movement. These details prove his attitude towards the river during his first innocent encounter. As the essay continues, Twain begins to describe the river as only being …show more content…

In the first two paragraphs, Twain gives human qualities to the river to describe its actions. For example, he mentions that the river has a “ruddy flush” to describe its color. By giving the river human qualities, readers can see how Twain views the river. Towards the end of the essay, Twain presents a metaphor that encompasses his entire belief of the river. Mark mentions that he and the river resemble a doctor with their patient. The doctor’s knowledge causes them to not be able to see the beauty or romance in the patient. Twain extends this to his profession. Mark continues using figurative language by using rhetorical questions. He presents the question, “And doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade?” to show, in a literal sense, the doctor’s struggle in how knowledge has affected his love and admiration for the field. In a figurative sense, Twain is referring to himself and his experience when knowledge hindered his ability to see the beauty in nature. These techniques revealed Twain’s attitude by showing his overall feeling of how knowledge affects one’s view of nature. In Two Views of the River, Mark Twain uses a combination of imagery, a shift in perspective, and figurative language techniques to reveal his attitude towards the river. Together, they reveal that Twain believes the

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For instance, “That slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights, if it keeps on stretching out like that; those tumbling ‘boils’ show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there…that tall dead tree, with a single living branch, is not going to last long, and then how is a body ever going to get through this blind place at night without the friendly old landmark?” (44-51). Here, the reader is able to comprehend that by contemplating about the negative aspects of the river and how it would result in certain obstacles for a pilot of a steamboat, Twains initial view of the Mississippi River was ultimately diminished. Therefore, the author contemplates whether possessing knowledge about the beauty of an aspect and its true connotation truly belittles it compared to only seeing its beauty without thinking. Likewise, Twain contemplates the position of doctors relating their possible viewpoints towards a patient with his circumstances.

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Each other shows how their region is different in their writing; Twain compared to Jewetts’ has many differences in their settings and some comparisons as well. Twain’s setting is shown about his life on the Mississippi River and how he

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Twains essay “Two Ways of seeing a River” shows a complex usage of literary tropes. Throughout the text twain establishes a love for the beauty and features of the river; however, The text transitions this voice to one in which only the purpose of the river is seen. The river becomes linked to twain through these viewpoints. This allows for a Pedagogy to develop in which a Master-Student relationship is created. To create the pedagogical link between twain and the river we must first begin to construct the context, which through irony the text begins to craft the master and novice perspective.

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