According to previous colleagues who had done research on the dinner account, they all shared similar view on the over-exaggerated description of audience’s reaction on the banquet. When I was researching on Mark Twain’s social life, bibliographical history, literary and social criticism, I came across few interesting aspects about Mark Twain that I would like to share specifically.
- Mark Twain as a Liar
According to the Legend of Mark Twain by Russell Smith, the following few lines had caught me by interest.
Link: http://www.twainweb.net/filelist/legend.html
“During his reporter days in Nevada he was notorious for writing and publishing hoaxes. Kaplan described the hoaxes in his excellent book Mark Twain and His World. One of the hoaxes was about a petrified man who was supposedly discovered in the desert and another hoax described the massacre of a Nevada family by a berserk man. Entitled "The Empire City Massacre," the article described a man in Carson City killing his wife and six children.”
“Another hoax backfired on Twain in 1864 and he was forced to leave Nevada. He reported that money raised by Nevada women for wounded Union soldiers was being diverted to "aid a Miscegenation Society somewhere in the East.”
Other bibliographical sources that documented Mark Twain and his work did not suggest any details about him prone to create false articles, but this source somehow evokes ones to further questions Mark Twain as a writer.
- Mark Twain’s life history
Link: http://www.marktwainhouse.org/theman/bio.shtml
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mtwain.htm
From Mark Twain’s bibliography, ones can see his transition as a writer as he became more aware and self-enlightened toward concurrent socio-political issues in his time. There were commentary about his writing became darker and cynical and most of his works were banned, unwelcomed, or harshly criticized by public. Yet, by looking back at Mark Twain’s works, auto-bibliography, notebooks, quotes, ones might find striking relevance of his personal critique toward the contemporary society.
- Youtube on Mark Twain by ucberkeleyevents:
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5UrdIewFkc
This clip on youtube presented by UCBerkeleyevents records the symposium that is hosted by the Bancroft Library in 2006. Shelly Fisher Fishkin focuses a brief remarks and criticism on Mark Twain and his era. Speaker Fishkin commented on Mark Twain’s My First Lie and How I got out of it (1899) reveals a “Hierarchy of Lies that diffuse our lives” where “the top of hierarchy of lies in society, society pretension of nothing goes wrong, when there are stuff wrong.” This commentary really fits where Mark Twain is coming from, because he was born and grew up in the era of socio-economic, political unrest where the Anti-Semitism sentiment and the question of slavery were oblivious to the public. This commentary on the suggestion of Mark Twain is attempting to make audience realize moral failing and obscure silent desertion allow ones to ponder what is a lie and what is truth. Referring back to Russell Smith’s Legend of Mark Twain, it is unfortunate to make judgment on whether Twain did produce false articles or not, but this parallel of motif of lies perhaps symbolically suggests Twain is attempting to awake his readers to be aware of the society through his writing.
Speaker Fishkin further comments on Twain’s criticism toward patriotism that is in relevance toward our contemporary political culture. It is interesting that Twain’s writing does not only resonate to the era that he was in, but also responds to the current society.
Twain’s Notebook:
Patriotism “is a word that always commemorates a rubbery. There isn’t a foot of land in the world which does not represent the ousting and reousting of a long line of successive owners (who each in turn as a patriots) with proud swelling hearts defended against a next gang of rubbers, who came to steal it and did as the swelling hearted patriots in their turn.
2001 NAR review on Twain’s piece
“The modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it.”
The motif of racism, political, social inquiries still relate to contemporary issues that ones are dealing with. Twain’s work really appeals to audience in the aspect of their interests and humanity successfully. Perhaps as he learns more about society’s shortcoming and the repetition of human mistakes, he contributes his mortified and despaired emotion in his writing that results in bitter and outrageous cynicism. He is an interesting writer, and he is an interesting human being.
3 comments:
You clearly have done your homework in your research and it is really interesting to learn more about Twain and the other aspects in his life.
But regarding this incident; I don't believe it was a lie or hoax. I understand you are not saying it is and that you are only posting research you have found. The story was most likely exaggerated. And like the post before I think the time factor and the personal experience of embarrassment contributed to exaggeration of the event.
These are great finds, Alice. Now the question is -- what do we do with all this information?
For instance, you quote: "He reported that money raised by Nevada women for wounded Union soldiers was being diverted to 'aid a Miscegenation Society somewhere in the East.'"
Can you tell why that was scandalous? What is "miscegenation"?
Tim, you raise a great point about the uses of this kind of research. Alice has shown how Twain had a propensity to lie and hoax, but you're right to note that this doesn't necessarily mean that Twain's narration of the Whittier dinner was a hoax. That doesn't obviate Alice's research -- it just means that we have to use it with caution.
Response to the above comments:
Miscegenation: a mixture of races; especially : marriage, cohabitation, or sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race
source from: www.webster.com
It was saying that the money was supposed to raise for a good purpose, but it was used like funding for prostitution. Therefore it is really scandalous for Mark Twain had wrote for the journal article.
In fact, my intention for posting these sources, quotes, and some of my commentary is "not" to say the reaction on the dinner account is all lies or hoax. I am trying to point out Mark Twain as a writer.
It seems that he is conveying that "words" has the capacity to distort the truth and lies. It is ambiguous for ones to identify what is truth and what is lies. And this becomes clearer with speaker Fishkin's lecture on one of Twain's work (if ones had also gone through the review on the youtube video). Referring back to Russell's article on the Legend of Mark Twain, I obviously am not sure if Twain really created hoax or simply speaks out the truth or if that whole scandal really happened, I just thought it is interesting in relation with the youtube video and the sarcastic typescript that we've read.
This post consist of few interesting details and commentary that I came across as I went through my research, but it may not be necessary component for my research material for I am still attempting to organize my thoughts and the sources. But I believe what this post offers will be beneficial for colleagues who want to do their personal reserach paper on Mark Twain. =)
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