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The story of an hour of verbal irony
MARK TWAIN’S WRITING STYLE Mark Twain was one of the most important American writers of the 19th century
The story of an hour of verbal irony
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In “Cannibalism in the Cars,” Mark Twain utilizes short dialect, a mix between colloquial and courtroom style diction, and an unfitting casual tone throughout. Twain’s, “How to Tell Story,” provides further insight to how his methods induce a humorous effect. When the passengers are electing who should be consumed, they speak as if the train car was a courtroom; however, in their time away from the debates they communicate in a common vernacular. This is shown when the speaker boasts about what they had for breakfast and supper but previously the speaker commented on “the House [proceeding] to an election by ballot” (Cars 1). This strategy “depends for its effect on the manner of telling” because the election process and the interactions in
As a very gifted writer and philosopher, Mark Twain, maintains his audience with the use of humor. He starts the essay out by saying, “You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I’ll tell you what his ‘pinion is” (1). The
In the short story “Magpies” by Thomas King, a unique narrator is used to recount the story of the character Granny’s death and the subsequent conflict involving her burial between Ambrose and Wilma. In his story, King intertwines written and oral literature, and creates an oral voice through a narrator. There are many techniques that King uses to achieve this effect. King’s writing style which is used in “Magpies” is best described by King himself in his essay “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonialism”. He describes this style of narration as “interfusional” which is a “metamorphosis- (from) written to oral, reader to speaker” (Godzilla vs Post-Colonialism 14). Through using the role of a storyteller, King uses the “interfusional” style of writing. The
“Car Crash While Hitchhiking” and “Work” both follow the stream of consciousness of the narrator, which shows the influence of drug on people’s mentality. Both stories are confusing with the narrator moving around the time and place; it seems as if the narrator is talking about whatever comes into his mind without specific plot or message. In “Car Crash While Hitchhiking,” the narrator talks about the family that picked him up, and suddenly switches to the story of him and salesman by saying “…But before any of this, that afternoon, the salesman and I …” (4) In “Work,” narrator says “And then came one of those moments,” (52) when he recalls a memory about his wife while talking about Wayne. Both stories shift abruptly without proper conjunction. In everyday lives, people think of numerous things. However, what they say are limited, as they talk consistently with a specific purpose, considering factors such as time, place, and appropriateness before they speak. On the other ha...
George Fitzhugh’s, Cannibals All (Excerpt) is a primary document that appropriately argues that it is in the United State’s best intentions to preserve negro slavery across the South and the rest of the country in effort to sustain better lives for American negroes. Frederick Douglass argues in his piece, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave that society is responsible for shaping the negro community into slavery, and that abolition is necessary to remove that from existence. The author, Fitzhugh is a considerably significant individual who has a strong political background and is recognized for pro-slavery theology, influencing him to be a prominent figure in the context of arguing for the justification of slavery.
Owning a person to work for less or no money has been practiced for years. Like other countries, people in the United States also owned slaves. Since the north was mostly industrial, they didn’t need slaves. On the other hand, southerners owned thelarge plantation and they needed cheap labor in order to make profit. Slavery was a backbone of south’s prosperity. Yet, arguments on whether to emancipate slavery divided the nation in half. To keep the country united, both sides tried to convince each other why slavery is right or wrong. There were many documents written about slavery. One of the document that talks about why slavery is beneficial to our society is the excerpt of Cannibals All by a slave owner, George Fitzhugh. While there are document that support slavery, there are also documents written by fugitive slave that talk about their life as a slave. One of them includes Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave by Frederick Douglass. He was born in
Michel de Montaigne was a French essayist and “skeptic” who wrote several pieces through his lifetime including, “On Cannibals” in 1570. The discovery of people in the “New World” shocked Montaigne for learning that people live and think so differently in a society that doesn’t follow Christianity. The news coerced Montaigne to compare the native’s culture to European’s culture in order to gain a new perspective on his culture. By looking at the lives of the ‘cannibals’ in the “New World”, Montaigne was able to use them as a means of criticizing the practices of the Church and political leaders of his own time.
Mark Twain’s “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is a short story with the lesson that what goes around comes around. In this short story, which first appeared in 1856 and his first successful story, Twain uses local customs of the time, dialect, and examples of social status in his story to create a realistic view of the region in which the story takes place. The way that the characters behave is very distinctive. Dialect is also used to give the reader a convincing impression of the setting in “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. The social status of the main characters in this story also was something that Twain took into account in writing this story. Mark Twain is a realist who concentrates on the customs, dialect, and social status of specific regions of the country.
In the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author talks about, not only vegetarianism, but reveals to us what actually occurs in the factory farming system. The issue circulating in this book is whether to eat meat or not to eat meat. Foer, however, never tries to convert his reader to become vegetarians but rather to inform them with information so they can respond with better judgment. Eating meat has been a thing that majority of us engage in without question. Which is why among other reasons Foer feels compelled to share his findings about where our meat come from. Throughout the book, he gives vivid accounts of the dreadful conditions factory farmed animals endure on a daily basis. For this reason Foer urges us to take a stand against factory farming, and if we must eat meat then we must adapt humane agricultural methods for meat production.
In “Of Cannibals,” Michel de Montaigne asks his readers to refrain from casting aspersions on other cultures whose values differ. He argues that the term barbarianism is used to pejoratively label nations whose rituals may appear primitive, but cautions against such indulgences. He does so, by contrasting the presumptive political, social and moral leader, European civilization, with that of the newly discovered Americas.
Mississippi Twain tells us of a man with a dream. As imperfection has it this
Seeing the word “cannibal” one would think of the stereotypical depiction of an uncivilized, animal-like, barbaric, and malicious creature slithering through the shadows of the night, waiting for the right moment to feed on its prey. As theatrical as it sounds, this thinking is customary among most people. But what really makes someone a cannibal, besides the basic act of eating human flesh? Must a cannibal be someone who lives a barbaric lifestyle, mangy in complexion and ignorant to normal societal customs, with cannibalism their normal way of nourishment? Or if the act of cannibalism is brought on from outside forces, such as improper supplementation of food by ones government, does that automatically make that person barbaric and evil in nature as a cannibal? Michel de Montaigne and Jonathan Swift, both argue the conflicting view of cannibalism being an accustomed behavior to a barbaric lifestyle, with one author
In Montaigne’s essay On the Cannibals, the critical analysis of European and Brazilian societies through the scope of the “other” establishes the distinction between the two worlds. However, the definitions of “self” and “other” quickly become blurred as Montaigne connected more synonymous aspects in governance and functioning of the two groups of people. By labeling the outsiders as the “self” and accepting their formalities as the norm, he undermines the Europeans as the “other” and uses the Barbarians to examine the civilized with an untainted perspective, enabling close scrutiny and analysis of both societies. It is through this definition that Montaigne is initially able to offer criticism of the ignorance of European arrogance and assumed superiority over the Barbarians. Montaigne concludes that the civilized and uncivilized both possess aspects that deviate from the idealized state of purity of Nature. The Europeans are far more corrupted but upon further introspection, the Cannibals are evolving towards the same nature of developing a more inorganic society. Therefore, the definition of the “self” offers a more profound understanding of the Barbarians and dismisses the importance of Montaigne’s society while stating the inevitability of transitioning to a more developed culture like the Europeans by the Barbarians.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.
Why people do not eat their pets? Many people will not eat an animal, which they have either named or shared some food with. However, it makes no difference between a person who does not eat dogs and the one who does not eat chicken, cows, or even rabbits. Most people rarely encounter the animals they eat because if they did, then they will see the same characteristics found in this animals. Much of Jonathan Saffron Foer’s teenage and college years were spent oscillating between omnivore and vegetarian. As he grew old, there was an increasing moral dimension of eating animals, which were day by day becoming important to him. He became more interested in the subject and that is when he became convinced that eating animals is not ethical.
The meager image depicted by Lu Xun's 'Diary of a Madman' projects an illustration of society that stresses submission to authority, and the ultimate compliance to tradition. Lu Xun battles the idea that society is constantly being manipulated and controlled by the masses of people who know no better than to follow tradition. His story 'Diary of a Madman' gives the representation of a culture that has not only failed, but failed by the cannibalistic nature of humans corrupting them-selves over and over again therefore feeding upon themselves. The analysis of 'Diary of a Madman' gives way to a new interpretation of societies of the past, present, and future. Following the idea that history tends to repeat itself, I have paralleled the idea that society as a whole can be seen as cannibalistic not only in the reference by Lu Xun, but also in the current society we live in today. Only through willingness to change can societies transform their behaviors and actions giving way to improvement.