The Mysterious Stranger II

After having finished this tale, I do not feel any more resolved one way or another. After Margret and Father Peter got sorted, there seemed to be just more incidents of Satan's interference in the course of events. Each trip, each event only emphasized the smallness of humanity. It only made human beings seem more and more like to the insects that Satan keeps comparing them to. It really is a very dim tale. I cannot help but wonder about Mark Twain after having read this. Does he endorse this view of humanity or is he dramatizing and romanticizing it?

I think the most interesting aspect of this tale is the way Mark Twain defines and uses the "Moral Sense." Contrary to what the reader may be inclined to think, Satan talks about the ability to judge right from wrong in a decidedly negative way. Moral Sense, for Satan, explains the cruelty in life, the confusion, the hate, the bad ends that people make for themselves and one another. I think that, apart from presenting this argument in possibly the most morbid way EVER, Twain is making "good judgment" relative to a particular person, time or place. In this way, Twain is troubling the notion of the existence of a (capitalized) Moral Sense; there are only moral senses. Twain takes a bleak view of this relativity and, through Satan, shows that the absence of an absolute Truth of morality must mean that there is no morality at all, that humanity is doomed no matter what sort of judgment a person uses.

I do not believe in any absolute truths; there are some things that are true in my mind, and others that are not. I think there are very few things that can be true for every member of humanity because, as Mark Twain says, training is everything. However, I do not know how such a morbid view of this sort of relativity came into being! I do not believe the philosophy on life that Twain is advertising. I do not buy into it. I think it comes from a selfish, jaded place.

On the other hand, I liked the creativity of the piece and found it engaging. I think it will be a good while before I ever want to read it again, though. It is so depressing!

Along the lines of depressing strangeness, below is a clip from a clay-animation kid show about "The Mysterious Stranger." It is pretty disturbing; it shows the scene from the beginning where Satan makes the tiny clay people and then smashes them like flies when they become annoying.

"The Mysterious Stranger"

I have read 50 pages of this story, but I am still waiting to find out how it is a romance. Other than that, I think the story is engaging and an interesting view of humans' encounters with Satan. I was especially struck by Satan's argument that even though God sees every sparrow that falls from the sky, Satan says that it falls anyway, so what it the point of seeing it. It was an interesting sentiment for how people believe in God even though suffering exists in the world. Twain does not make a resolution about this (so far) because the woman becomes distracted by the money in her pocket and forgets her faith arguments for the moment.

I want to finish this book so that I will find out what the point is! I like how Twain is bringing up so many questions about faith and the nature of suffering. I just hope that he ends up resolving things or at least answering his questions. Twain tends to leave things open-ended and unanswered, which can be good and stimulating, but in this case, I may really need/want answers in the end!

The Turning Point of My Life

This piece of writing follows Puddn'head Wilson well, but this time Mark Twain is turning his critical lens of social constructivism on himself. Twain wrote this at the end of his life, and with the whole of his life weighing down upon him. With most of his family dead, Twain tended toward bitterness and was much less self-important than he was in his younger days. In this writing, which was his last published work, Twain shows some humility in celebrating the ties in his life. He mentions his family and upbringing as more responsible for how he became Mark Twain than his own agency. This stands in contrast with the Mark Twain I thought I knew. For reading his stories and listening to his biography, I had come to view Mark Twain as a person suffering from arrested development. I thought he was a man who had never fully matured out of his Tom Sawyer phase. I felt sorry for his wife and children for having to deal with his antics and immaturity. I felt like Twain chose to do whatever he wanted without much regard for his family. His life out west seemed very sporadic and unplanned. He did not mellow when he moved East and settled down with Libby. His defiant, rebellious nature is evident in his writings.

But this piece is different. This piece does show a mellow Twain; albeit, he still maintains a critical eye and a sense of irony. He traces his identity to the people around him and his experience with others. He celebrates the connections between himself and other people. This is not the Twain that got run out of towns in the West, nor the Twain that had misadventures in Europe. This is a more likable Twain, a more mature Twain, a Twain that has finally been able to soften and reflect upon himself. I think that the deaths of his beloved family members helped him understand just how much joy they brought to his life during their lives.

I also think that Twain could no longer hide from his own age and growing frailty. I think that old-age was a scary reality for Twain, and that he did not want to face it. While he surrounded himself with children, he could pretend to be one of them. I think the "angelfish" helped him try to feel young again and they reminded him of being surrounded by his wife and daughters.

"The Turning Point in My Life" is a very appropriate piece for Twain to end with.

Puddn'head Wilson Revisited

More than any other we have read thus far, Puddn'head Wilson makes me think. Despite having read it, reread passages, and seeing clips from the movie, I am still curious about what it is that Mark Twain is trying to say. I do not feel as though I have closure at the end of the story. I can appreciate that effect because I think it is a sign that the story is well-written and engaging. However, it is rather bothersome that it will not leave my mind.

I think that the way that Twain incorporates racial issues is much more subtle in Puddn'head Wilson than in Huckleberry Finn. I think that the additional exploration of gender issues and gender as performative complicates the issue of race. Chambers and Tom also perform race in the same way gender is performed. Though Puddn'head Wilson's quote, "training is everything," flavors the entire story, I cannot help but question the ways in which Twain is problematizing concepts of race and gender as essentialist.

For the most part, the townspeople represent the larger social dynamic of Twain's day. The idea that a gentleman occurs through "good breeding" was prevalent. Likewise, a person as white as Roxy was believed to be a slave just because of a tiny amount of Black blood in her ancestry. "Tom" (Chambers) is brought up as a gentleman, but he grows up to be irresponsible, rash, selfish, and deadly. Meanwhile "Chambers" (Tom) was raised like a slave, but is meek, modest, polite, and patient. I think that "Chambers'" character fits the model for "training is everything" more than "Tom." Chambers was a faithful, dutiful slave to Tom because that is what he was raised to be. When he found out that he was a "gentleman," he could not automatically come to embody the education and social formalities that that role entails. He felt estranged by his new identity and place in life. For him, his "training" defines who he is.

Tom complicates this argument because Twain is trying to make a second argument with his character. While Tom's training does shape who he is in that a slave would not be expected to act out with the kind of agency Tom shows, Tom does not fulfill the role of "gentleman." Judge indicates that he never was able to reform Tom to fit the role he desired for him, the role of a gentleman. Through Tom's character (and even the Judge's violent nature) Twain is questioning those thing that make a man a "gentleman." For example, a duel is considered chivalrous, but it is only ritualized brutality. At first the reader is lead to believe that Tom's (Chambers') tiny bit of Black blood has prevented him from learning to become a gentleman, but then Twain debunks many of the aspects of what makes a gentleman to show that Tom's behavior was really not so uncommon even among the gentry. Even after Roxy reveals that she is really Tom's mother, which makes him a slave, Chambers continues to act the part of "Tom." This emphasizes the aspect of social roles being performative. Tom shows that gender roles can be acted out as well through cross-dressing.

But Twain also points out through Roxy's character that the ability to change roles does not hold true across the board. As a "gentleman," Tom is at the top of the social ladder. He can become a woman or a slave. However, Roxy cannot perform anything but a slave despite her appearance. Likewise, the real Tom cannot perform the role of "gentleman," because he began as a slave.

I am still intrigued with this story!

"Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy" and "The Sandwich Islands"

"Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy"

This essay painted a sad picture of the social norms in San Francisco in Mark Twain's day. The essay argues that it is "disgraceful" to punish a boy for stoning a "chinaman" because everything about his society has led him to believe that it is right to do so. The boy in question actually has good intentions ("good" intentions meaning that he wishes to comply with the cultural norms of his society) and did not consider violent harassment against a Chinese man to be be a crime against humanity. This essay puts in perspective the extent to which the "white man" dehumanized the Chinese immigrate workers in California. However, it also voices Twain's critical attitude toward qualifying someone's "goodness" by noting his or her style of dress, how often he or she attends Sunday school, and to what extent he or she works at Bible study. In almost all of the pieces we have read for class, Twain seems at odds with his Christian faith and its manifestations in society. He continues to critique the closed-mindedness that so often accompanies Christians, though he often infuses his stories with elements of his own Christian spirituality. This story juxtaposes a socialized sense of Christian behavior and righteousness (i.e. stoning the Chinese man is right and good in the eyes of society and God) with a true sense of justice, which condemns violence against humanity (and humanity includes all peoples).

"The Sandwich Islands"

In this essay, Mark Twain begins to describe the islands with his observations, but shifts his observations to geography, then turns to culture and morality, next to bureaucracy, and ends with describing a rather unproductive economy. He describes the islands as a set of attributes as if it were at auction. He even includes descriptions of the "heathens" as being part of the package. Though the people are part of his description, they are not given any agency. The only characters that are given any description specifically are the "white men" that have assumed roles of power in running the island.

The essay ends by exposing Twain's description as the viewpoint of neo-colonialism. He is so overtly stating the vision of the islands and the native people as existing to be exploited that he mocks the neo-colonialist standing. He brings up the argument of annexing Hawaii into the United States. He says, "By annexing we would get all those 50,000 natives cheap as dirt, with their morals and other diseases thrown in." He has just implied that the native sense of morality is like a disease even though he previously stated that the natives have already been "Christianized." Though in his description, he has highlighted many wonderful and beautiful aspects of Hawaiian culture, this last part of the essay condemns all those native elements by presupposing the imposition of Americanism upon the islands through annexation. It is a bleak view of the forceful commercialization of Hawaii by the United States.

Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unmQl3wK83M

This is a video for an animated version of the short story. It is entertaining and another example of how Mark Twain influences our society.

Mark Twain says of Captain Stormfield, "He made no statement which he did not believe to be true." Then proceeds to tell the reader that, while Stormfield believes what he is saying is true, Mark Twain does not. This introduction makes the reader suspicious of Stormfield and curious to investigate what his tale may be. Yet another clever literary devise, a brilliant use of narrator by Twain.

The Story beings by contrasting with the typical notions of death. As Captain Stormfield lays near death, the doctor, carpenter, and shipmates talk about how dispose of his body after he dies. What is worse, they talk about how Stormfield is bound for hell. This turns the typical death sequence on its head. Usually, when familiars are gathered at the bedside of a dying person, there are tender words or perhaps tears. Twain has Stormfield's familiars bent on getting him dead and disposed of.

The journey to Heaven echos Stormfield's experience as a sailor. When he spots Solomon Goldstein, Stormfield uses terms that would be shouted on board a ship as they drift along through space. The classic images of a floating, white, glowing ghost is used in Twain's story. However, all of the life experiences and personalities of the ghosts are maintained.

When Stormfield arrives at his destination, he is surprised to find that Heaven is not what he expected; not what had been preached about. He spends some time trying to explain to Peters about earthly notions of heavenly customs: harp, wreath, halo, etc. Of course, he later comes to discover that such customs are specific to each mand and woman. Not everyone has the same vision of the afterlife, and Heaven must cater to everyone.

Also, Twain challenges the notion of "eternal rest" by making people have needs and restlessness in Heaven the same way people do when they are on earth. In fact, Twain politicizes Heaven into another version of Earth. Heaven consists of every individual's own satisfactory past-time and choice of existence. There was old age not because there was no alternative, but because people came to resonate with that reality. There was diversity because people could not help being whatever it was that they were. There was still division of races and misunderstanding.

Reading about Twain's argument about Heaven reminded me of a Buddhist tradition called "The Perfection of Wisdom." This school believes that nirvana equals samsara, and that liberation comes from becoming enlightened to this, not from getting out of samsara into a separate place called nirvana.

"Ghost Story" and "The Esquimau Maiden's Romance"

"Ghost Story"

In the beginning of this tale, I felt genuinely afraid! When the narrator was merely being robbed of his covers by an unknown, unseen something, I felt real suspense. However, Mark Twain betrayed his true satirical agenda when he carried on to add in every single sort of nightly terror imaginable.

First it was the heavy footprints, but then there were scrapings and crashes, moaning and screaming, more footsteps and more feelings of being watched by unseen eyes. There were too many phantom breathers in the room and when Mark Twain introduced the small orbs, I was positive that it was all a joke!

By the time the giant footsteps had returned, I was ready for some dialogue. However, I was expecting something more like the halting sputters of the fear-crazed idiots that we find in horror films. Mark Twain's narrator promptly beings bullying the offending spirit. Furthermore, I think for modern readers, this story needs some explanation.


The Cardiff giant was a preserved body that was found in Wales, and then taken for scientific research. Indeed, it was reburied. I had to look up this information because I felt like Mark Twain intended for his readers to know who the Cardiff giant was. Initially, I did not understand how the ghost being recognizable as the Cardiff giant made him any less terrifying. After reading about it, I can see that the fame of this discovery made the Cardiff giant public knowledge. A reader in Twain's day would not have missed knowing about this discovery and the history surrounding it.

I liked Twain's imagery and his description of the giant. I think this is my favorite piece of Mark Twain's work that we have read so far in this class!

"The Esquimau Maiden's Romance"

After reading this story, and thinking about Mark Twain's, what I assume to be, fictional conversation with Lasca, I still do not know what message I am supposed to take from this story. I think Twain is definitely romanticizing the Inuit way of life, but is he doing it just to provide for a fun story or is he intending to make some sort of social critique?

Perhaps Twain is using this "exotic" Inuit setting to pose questions about the way society defines wealth. For the Inuits, wealth is a set of practical tools and resources. Twain introduces a society that differs from that of his readers in that Inuits do not value their luscious furs for materiality or luxury; they value them because they are warm and water resistant. Twain does not reveal whether or not the Inuit posses a monetary system other than the swapping of goods and services. The pinnacle of this value system is the fish hook.

The fishing is a integral part of the practical, everyday process of getting food in Inuit life, but I think Twain takes a departure from his painting of the Inuit as an "exotic" utopia with his idea of the fish hook. Firstly, Lasca gives the impression that foreign, metal fishing hooks are more valuable than the Inuit ones. Thus, Twain introduces a physical representation of American materialism within the Inuit society. Then Lasca tells how her father showed off his fish hooks in a moment of pride and vanity, and that he keeps them in a hoard. If he is hoarding, then he is not using; the impracticality of hoarding wealth simply for the sake of putting a value on oneself is as deplorable and problematic in American culture as Twain represents it to be withing his fictional society in this little story.

I cannot help but try to search for a lesson, message, or deeper meaning when I read Mark Twain's stories. I feel that he had to have some agenda in his writing aside from simply turning a profit. So much of his personality is embedded in these tales. From what we have learned about him, he seems like he was a very conflicted man for most of his life. I think his inner confusion manifests itself in his work; there always seems to be a lack of resolution. Mark Twain prided himself on being both an identifiable icon and a social changeling, but I wonder if he had trouble defining himself within a society that he so often troubled.