Twain- The Biggest joker of all time!

Mark Twain. Just the name conjures up deeply moving tales of youth and growth. For example his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. However Twain had a humorous side as well.



At the time of his writing a lot of the writers who were popular were writing books which were steeped with heavy language, complicated sentence structure, and condescending view points. Most authors were catering to the local gentry rather than the common man. Twain's books were a breath of fresh air to a select few whom understood the importance of literature to all people. However the learned population who were most likely to read a novel or short story were not impressed by Twain's writing.


Why? Well it is simple. A smarter audience would probably have picked up on the subtle stabs Twain took at society. His stories often hide the truth in the open. It was writen by shakespeare that art was, "..to hold as t'were a mirror up to life." This is exactly what Twain was doing. Believe me people back in his day hated seeing themselves for what they are just as much as we do today!


Twain's humor in his books is often pretty tounge in cheek. Granted there are a ton of really obvious and funny lines in his stories, but the underlying theme is usually even funnier. The best humor, in his case, was often the hardest to find.


A prime example of this is his classic tale " The Celebrated Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County". In it a student from the east coast (in Tawin's time the home of the educated) sent out a letter to a friend of his. In that letter our narrator (left un-named by Twain) is asked to visit Caleveras County and inquire upon a person by the name of Simon wheeler. The matter at hand is the history of a gentleman named leonidas W. Smiley. What ensues is a folk tale style western retelling of the life and times of an old gambler named Jim Smiley. Simon Wheeler spins out several yarns about this man in a monotonous an boring tone. All of the stories seemingly have no actual point to them. The listener, our narrator, becomes annoyed by these endless stories and presently walks away in a huff. The End.


So what is the moral lesson we learn from Twain's story. Well there isn't one. Except perhaps that you shouldn't trust Twain to offer you a moral.


This story is a practical joke in every sense of the word. The narrator is sent to inquire about Smiley by a friend whom has had prior experience with the story telling of Simon Wheeler. In effect the narrator is having a joke played on him by his friend and that is why he has been told to speak with this man.


The second practical joke he plays is on the us the reader of the story. Twain leaves us in the middle of the story without really allowing us closure with the characters.


The third practical joke is that the story is often cosidered a children's story when in fact children will understand it less than we will.


The fourth and final joke is played on society itself. Twain's real name is Samuel L. Clemens. At the time of his writing people often changed their names in order to hide something. Often times that they were a woman, or were embarassed by the writing they do, or that they desire to go unnoticed. None of these were true of Twain. He made it very clear that he was the writer of his stories. So why the name change? Just to confuse people! He was making a toungue and cheek remark on other writers if his time.


So in effect this is a story about a practical joke, which is a practical joke, written by a practical joke! If this isn't genious I don't know what is! I can almost assure you that all of the other stories in this collection, when read properly and with a grain of salt, will keep you amused for a long time. Pick it up and rediscover for yourself what humor really is!