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Literary analysis of the adventures of tom sawyer
Literary analysis of the adventures of tom sawyer
Mark Twain humor and satire
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Twain uses dark humor through the dialogue of Tom Sawyer and the rest of his gang as Tom tells them what will happen if anyone exposes their secret. The usage of dark humor tells the reader how Tom is over exaggerating the consequences in the gang. After the dark consequences was stated by Tom, it was automatically followed by everyone saying that the oath was beautiful. This creates a dark humorous effect as it shows how young boys like Tom would think that killing is a beautiful thing. This also helps reveal to the readers the characteristic of Tom Sawyer. Through the dark humor, it is revealed that Tom Sawyer likes to take take control, romanticized and exaggerated everything so everything can be like the novels he reads in his
Samuel Clemens, was the sixth child of John Marshalll and Jane Moffit Clemens, born two months prematurely and was in poor health for the first 10 years of his life. His mother tried different types of remedies during those younger years. Twain used his memories of his childhood and his illness to fill the pages of several of his books including Tom Sawyer and other writings. Clemens was often pampered, by his mother, and thus developed early in life the testing her indulgence through mischief, while offering his humor as bond for the crimes he would commit. When Twain’s mother was in her 80s, he asked her about his poor health in those early years: “I suppose that during that whole time you were uneasy about me?” “Yes, the whole time,” she answered. “Afraid I wouldn’t live?” “No,” she said, “afraid you would.” One can clearly see where Twain got his sense of humor and zest for life, (Morris, 1996)). Even though it seemed life started out rough Twain pushed his passed it all and went for what he wanted not allowing anyone to stand in his way.
Mark Twain quickly rose to fame after the release of his story, “Jim Smiley and the Jumping Frog,” and he continued to make a name for himself through the release of stories such as The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Twain saw immense success and fame; he was easily recognizable and wildly popular, even to the point of being called “the greatest American humorist of his age” by the New York Times. In short, Twain was as close to being an international sensation as one could hope for in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, it wasn’t until the later days of his writing career that Twain became so well known. As photography was expensive and hard to come by, caricatures were the method of choice to portray celebrities. And, as
Mark Twain, a famous American writer-satirist wrote many books highly acclaimed throughout the world. For his masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the literary establishment recognized him as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce. This novel is about a teenage boy by the name of Huck Finn whose father is an alcoholic. Because of his violence, Huck runs away and finds a runaway slave Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck goes against society and makes a decision to help Jim break free from slavery. As they travel together, Huck learns more and more about Jim and starts to understand that the common stereotype of black people is wrong. Huck sees there is no difference between Jim and any white man he knows except for skin color. Risking his life and overcoming many difficulties on the way, Huck succeeds in freeing Jim. Focusing on racism, alcoholism and mob mentality, Mark Twain uses his enthusiastic style of writing and satirizes the three traits throughout the novel.
I will have to re-read Tom Sawyer to consider that question, I remember that was my view the very first time I read the book because I did not read Tom Sawyer first. I think I changed my mind upon learning that Tom was such a well-known and beloved character, I did not think the audience would accept it. However, today, I am not sure why I thought the audience's expected acceptance/rejection is indicative of the authors intent. Twain was very dark in his later years, and his use of the dialects, inclusion of the (arrogant, taunting?) notice/explanation (challenge?) and his biting satiric tone indicate that he would not feel constrained by the audiences expectations, and might seek to shock them.
A common goal for many works of literature is to achieve “thoughtful laughter,” in which the first response to a situation is laughter, but it makes the reader later think about its meaning and application in real life. One such work is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, a brilliant work of American literature that is noted for its commentary on Southern Antebellum society. Twain’s humor in Huckleberry Finn is satirical in order to convey his thoughts on how cruel, self-absorbed, and hypocritical people in Southern society are. Tom Sawyer, the privileged and imaginative friend of Huck Finn, serves as a primary example of Twain’s “thoughtful laughter.” Tom’s mischievous yet subtly cruel personality and frequent escapades allow for comedic moments, and shows that Tom is a representation of what a young white man is raised to become in the society of his time: self-centered with dominion over all.
Misunderstood, dejected angel Satan finally got his word in and it is through the humorous words of Mark Twain that it was done. In Letters from the Earth, Twain makes a controversial conclusion that not only is there a chance that perhaps this angel was not justly sentenced but also that society has warped our vision of God. With such a hard message being sent one might think Twain had gone off the deep end, however this is more proof that Twain was a realist and a literary genius. His writing was filled with humor and was given to his public through satire to get his points and perspectives across. With his sarcastic tone in Letters from the Earth he is able to give it more life for all to interpret and self-evaluate themselves and their views of religion.
Mark Twain applies humor in the various episodes throughout the book to keep the reader laughing and make the story interesting. The first humorous episode occurs when Huck Finn astonishes Jim with stories of kings. Jim had only heard of King Solomon, whom he considers a fool for wanting to chop a baby in half and adds, Yit dey say Sollermun de wises?man dat ever live? I doan?take no stock in dat (75). Next, the author introduces the Grangerfords as Huck goes ashore and unexpectedly encounters this family. Huck learns about a feud occurring between the two biggest families in town: the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons. When Huck asks Buck about the feud, Buck replies, 搾... a feud is this way: A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then that other man抯 brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, goes for one another; then the cousins chip in ?and by and by everybody抯 killed off, and there ain抰 no more feud挃 (105). A duel breaks out one day between the families and Huck leaves town, heading for the river where he rejoins Jim, and they continue down the Mississippi. Another humorous episode appears n the novel on the Phelps plantation. Huck learns that the king has sold Jim to the Phelps family, relatives of Tom Sawyer. The Phelps family mistakes Huck for Tom Sawyer. When Tom meets with Aunt Sally, he ?.. [reaches] over and [kisses] Aunt Sally on the mouth?(219) This comes as a surprises to her and Tom explains that he 揫thinks] [she] [likes] it?(219) Later, Huck runs into Tom on the way into town and the two make up another story about their identities. The two then devise a plan to rescue Jim. They use Jim as a prisoner and make him go through jail escaping clich閟.
Mark Twain uses mountains of satirical imagery to help carry his theme. I took up, and held it in my hand. I was trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. As a runaway boy, Huck Finn has the painstaking choice of doing the right thing to write a letter to the owner of a runaway slave and tell where the slave was, or go to hell if he helps the slave Jim, his friend. Morally, Huck is taught to give Jim in, but he sacrifices himself to take up wickedness again and steal Jim out of slavery. Defying his religious teachings, ironically, Huck does the most Christ like thing.
Most believe that Twain uses satire to portray the immorality of racism, however some assume that the common slanders in Huckleberry Finn are used to portray that Twain is a racist himself. It is also a common argument that the book should not be taught to students of certain ethnicities due to the harsh language Twain uses. Due to the fact that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a children's book and prequel to Huckleberry Finn, many children may inadvertently pick up Huckleberry Finn believing that it is also a children's book. Twain, however did fail to ...
Humor is not always used to make people laugh; it can be used to point out how absurd a person or society is acting. Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn between 1876 and 1883 and it was published in 1885, yet he set Huckleberry Finn back some thirty years before slavery was abolished in pre-Civil War Missouri. Mark Twain's use of satire in Huckleberry Finn exposes racial hypocrisy he witnessed in the American South in the mid-19th century. He writes an adventure story filled with biting humor revealing his poor opinion of how his peers treat each other. The absurdity of his characters' actions are humorous; Twain's use of irony also reveals their cruelty via Huck Finn's reflections. Twain's use of irony grossly highlights the
Throughout his novel, Twain utilizes Ms. Watson, Jim, and Huck’s views on racism to inform us that we create our own systems of morality. Mark Twain wrote this remarkable novel for what? Okay, yeah it’s funny and sad, yeah it criticizes certain people or things but so what!? One might say he wrote it to inform his readers about the flaws and problems he saw in society by using satire. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. The fun in using satire was that it was humorous with a serious message, subtle yet powerful. The novel was both a work of humor and serious social commentary.
Satire is mockery, irony, and sarcasm used to expose human faults, foolish behavior, or to express how ridiculous and pointless something is. Twain comes across this theme in many chapters of the book. Once the boys find their secret hide out, they agree that each member must have a close family member that can be killed in case of betrayal. While Tom Sawyer and the gang are deciding whether Huck is eligible to join the crew, Huck suggests, “They talked it over, and they was going to rule me out, because they said every boy must have a family or somebody to kill, or else it wouldn’t be fair and square for the othe...
Mark Twain uses humor, irony and satire in his short stories. Also known as Samuel Clemens, he was a writer of the late 19th century of America. Most famously known for his work The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain was born on November 30th, 1835, in the state of Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child in his family, making him the youngest child. Twain is also remembered as an “American humorist and novelist, [who] captured a world audience with stories of boyhood adventure... with commentary on man's shortcomings that is humorous...” ("Mark Twain"). He was well complemented by various other novelists.
Twain uses irony when Huck tries to hides Jim because he is black. When Huck states, “…so I made Jim lay down in the canoe and cover up with a quilt, because if he set up people could tell he was a nigger a good ways off,” he shows that he is skeptical about being with Jim because he is black. Huck is protecting both himself and Jim, but Huck was raised that blacks were different and he still feels that way. He holds on to the belief that blacks are different form whites, so that means they will spot Jim from a distance. Even though Jim and he are developing a relationship, he still sees him as different. Also, irony is used when Jim dresses as a freak. When Huck says, “He said it was a sight better than lying tied a couple of year every day, and trembling all over every time there was a sound,” he shows that even though Jim looks like a freak, it is better than how he use to look. Jim doesn’t care how he looks because he says it’s better than being treated how he has already been treated. Twain use satire to make fun of fake religious people. When Huck states, “poor lost lamb… every time he got drunk he raised Cain… thought he was Adam… I found a rattlesnake in there,” he alludes to biblical stories. This brings up satire because Twain is making fun of religious people who claim they read the Bible and are Christians, but act differently than what they preach. This lead to education reform because the major book was the Bible that everyone should read and learn from. Twain uses family feuds to satirize the civil war. When he says, “Well, then, what did you want to kill him for?” “Why nothing-only it’s on account of the feud,” he shows how the feuds where useless. He made fun of how the feuds represented the civil war because people were killing for no reason. This represents the politics and education reform because it shows the lack of
Mark Twain has many novels in which he uses a unique style of writing; this can be seen in his two novels, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He wrote these two stories as a timeline; starting with life from Tom’s perspective, then continuing the sequel on Huck’s point of view. Through these perspectives, readers will be able to see differences and similarities in the stories as well as the characters. Since Mark Twain gives the stories from two perspectives, this results in the reader eventually making a choice between the two, because we all have a little of Huck and Tom in us. In both stories, readers can see many similarities and differences of the two characters, through the traits depicted, how they view each other, and the dialect spoken