The Persistent Maverick Analysis
The Transcendent Maverick
Mark Twain, American humorist and novelist, captured a world audience with stories of boyhood adventure and with commentary on man's shortcomings that is satirical while it probes, often bitterly, the roots of human behavior. Additionally, the many facets of Twain include: his incomparable humor, his revolutionary use of vernacular language, his exploration of the realities of American life, his irreverence and skepticism, his profound grappling with issues of race and his fearless opposition to the injustices and outrages of an imperialistic age. Illuminating a moral prompted by some deep and sincerely felt sentiment, Twain held strong faith in the clarity and cleansing possibilities of the written word. Maverick, …show more content…
He reiterates the dark satire on society in Advice to Youth when he says, “Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these percepts, and by and by, when you have built, you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everybody else’s (“Youth” 564).” Through his advise given to the youth he brings forth the point that conformity that the adults advocate is a fallacy. Additionally in The War Prayer, Twain again illuminates the prevalence of societal conformity through the details of patriotic celebrations, meetings, and ceremonies that attest to the almost universal popularity of the cause for which the country is about to go to war and illuminates the patriotic zeal that unites the populace into a “single-minded mass” (“Patriotism” 566).
This recurring theme of conformity reflects Twain’s anger stemming from the mass blindly abiding by the set political and societal dimensions established in the society. But his writing reveals more about the mind and art of Twain than its clearly anti-war, anti-chauvinistic theme indicates. Through the voice of his character, Twain echoes his own ideals and personality. This attack on conformist attitude paints his desired picture of a world in which he visualizes each individual with a unique identity, and this uniqueness can only come when each individual designs his or her own
Mark Twain, American humorist and novelist, captured a world audience with stories of boyhood adventure and with commentary on man's shortcomings that is satirical while it probes, often bitterly, the roots of human behavior. Additionally, the many facets of Twain include: his incomparable humor, his revolutionary use of vernacular language, his exploration of the realities of American life, his irreverence and skepticism, his profound grappling with issues of race and his fearless opposition to the injustices and outrages of an imperialistic age. Illuminating a moral prompted by some deep and sincerely felt sentiment, Twain held strong faith in the clarity and cleansing possibilities of the written word. Maverick, …show more content…
He reiterates the dark satire on society in Advice to Youth when he says, “Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these percepts, and by and by, when you have built, you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everybody else’s (“Youth” 564).” Through his advise given to the youth he brings forth the point that conformity that the adults advocate is a fallacy. Additionally in The War Prayer, Twain again illuminates the prevalence of societal conformity through the details of patriotic celebrations, meetings, and ceremonies that attest to the almost universal popularity of the cause for which the country is about to go to war and illuminates the patriotic zeal that unites the populace into a “single-minded mass” (“Patriotism” 566).
This recurring theme of conformity reflects Twain’s anger stemming from the mass blindly abiding by the set political and societal dimensions established in the society. But his writing reveals more about the mind and art of Twain than its clearly anti-war, anti-chauvinistic theme indicates. Through the voice of his character, Twain echoes his own ideals and personality. This attack on conformist attitude paints his desired picture of a world in which he visualizes each individual with a unique identity, and this uniqueness can only come when each individual designs his or her own