Mark Twains Controversial Masterpiece
Mark Twain’s Controversial MasterpieceMark Twain’s Controversial Masterpiece
Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, grew up on a Southern plantation inhabited with slaves, with whom he befriended. Such childhood relationships and experiences were the foundation of many of his novels. Twain’s work is characterized by “broad, often irreverent humor or biting social satire” (Encarta). His writing is also known for “realism of place and language, memorable characters, and hatred of hypocrisy and oppression” (Encarta). These writing qualities were all expressed in his controversial novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Ernest Hemingway proclaimed that “all of American literature comes from one great book, Twain’s Huck Finn” (qtd. in Matthews 454). Huckleberry Finn is about a young boy who escapes his abusive father and travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. Jim is the primary focus of the debate about the novel, because of the racial issues that surround him. Other controversial elements include Huck’s practice of morals, Twain’s use of humor, and portrayal of Southern life and dialect. Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, has often been considered his masterpiece, but some critics have given negative reviews since its first publication.
Throughout the novel, Twain incorporates “pleasant humor” (Howells 456). It is a difficult task to produce a book, combining subtle humor with the serious issue of slavery, as Twain accomplished. Brander Matthews also supports the novel in saying that “Huckleberry Finn is a very amusing volume, and a generation has read its pages and laughed over it immoderately” (455). Despite these praises, some critics feel there is little or no humor present in the novel at all. They say, “It is an amusing story if such scrap-work can be called a story” (“Early Reviews”). Huckleberry Finn was also said to contain only “monotonous humor” (“Early Reviews”).
While Brander Matthews may continue to say that “it is very much more than a funny book; it is a marvelously accurate portrayal of a whole civilization” (455), many critics disagree with both aspects of Matthews’ statement. Mark Twain was attacked for his attempt to “dirty minds when young people are trying to define and develop their morals” (Wright). Critics believe that Twain was mocking society continuously throughout Huck Finn. Examples are the killing of Boggs in front of his daughter, the people’s cowardliness to lynch Sherburn after he murdered Boggs, Twain’s portrayal of Shakespeare through the Royal Nonesuch, and the king and the duke’s abuse of gullibility and human nature. The king also cheats an entire congregation out of money when he says he wants to convert to their religion. Twain mocks religion by Huck’s reluctance to pray and by saying it was a waste of time. During Huck’s stay with the Grangerfords, he learns of a family feud that eventually destroys two entire...
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