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Mark Twain
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Mark Twain
On this page: {B/G}
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{The Mysterious Stranger}
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{Study Questions} (about.com)
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{Quotes} (it's the shape man, it's the shape ;)
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{Chrono}
{Refs}
{Links}
The Mysterious Stranger
In this section: {Intro}
{Stuff}
{Plot OutLine - Spoilers!!!}
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{Quick Page Xref}
Note all page refs [P.xx] refer to
the Vintage/Penguin ppb edition of:
"The Portable Mark Twain"
edited and selected by the late, great
Bernard De Voto [note 'De']
author of "Mark Twain's America"
and "Mark Twain at Work" - onward!
For xlates from your text to
the one i'm using, this link might be useful...
-{Quick Page Xref}-
Intro
Stuff
Overtly the "The Mysterious Stranger" is about
three kids in the middle ages who happen to
come upon Satan (No! Not him!; his grandsohn).
In this work, Twain bring to full power his B/G
in literature, history, and of course having
actually traveled the world and behind this
might be his most damning damnation of The Human
Race - he noted that the work shouldn't be
published until the year 4034 (or something
like that).
Regardless, we approach this (as we do all things art)
1. Go in, dip into it. And let it wrangel yuhr brian a bit!
The old gray-matter willn't be homing for a plug soone!
2. etc.
The Mysterious Stranger - Plot OutLine
Spoilers!!!
Quick Page Xref
Pages: 631 - 744 (pages 115 total)
Chapter Page (The Portable Mark Twain)
1 I 631
2 II 635
3 III 643
4 IV 654
5 V 657
6 VI 670
7 VII 682
8 VIII 701
9 IX 722
10 X 727
11 XI 741
Study Questions
(about.com)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
-[Project Guternberg Online text]-
-[Local Copy]- (w/TOC - chapter tabel of contents)
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Question: I'm readind huckelbarry finn and
I need to answer these four questions:
Answer (sort of).... here are some hints to get you going...
1. In chpater 17 huck presents quite a
detailed description of the Grangerford's
home. what is it like? What does Huck
think of it?
Two things to consider:
a) Go back and compare the descriptions
of Tom's and Huck's homes - Tom's home
(Aunt Polly's) is described more in
"Tom Sawyer". Note especially how Huck
felt in that home (Chapter I); eg,
I [ie, Huck] went up to my room
with a piece of candle, and put
it on the table. Then I set down
in a chair by the window and
tried to think of something
cheerful, but it warn't no use.
I felt so lonesome I most wished
I was dead.
b) Twain often plays on the ideas that
we often judge people by their home.
Look at the humbleness of the
Grangerford's house. Compare and
contrast this with his own home
- and even better yet, Huck's Papp's
house. Does the setting of the home
confirm or deny out idea of
Grangerfords as being ruffians?
3. Explain the ironic contrast involved
in the family's lifestyle, the church
service, and the vicious feud. What
point is Mark Twain trying to make?
a) Again this is going back to Huck
when Widow Douglas tried to sivilize
Huck. Think about how Twain viewed
people in and out of church. That
Christanity was all about tollerance
and love, and how often this didn't
carry into their daily lives. There's
several examples of this both in how
people act and what they say (when
NOT in church).
b) Think of it as "the two worlds" - the
here and now (grit, rough and tumbble,
often injust) and the here-after and
all that it promises. Consider what
events Twain chooses to put into the
story - remember it's fiction and that
he's weaving a story here. Unlike
"Tom Sawyer" he has much more of an
*agenda* than to just tell us an
adventure story. Twain often used
real events from his own life in his
works - but determining when and where
to put them in - and how to construct
Huck and Jim's journey: That's what
writing is all about.
4. What does Huck think about his
expriances with the Grangerfords?
a) Again go back and "put yourself"
in Huck's shoes (or is he still
barefoot at this point? ;). Where
he started out, how does his
encounter with the Grangerfords
remind him of his past and his
journey?
In a sense there's no right and
wrong answer here: Speak in your
own voice as to what Twain is
saying to you (thru Huck).
5. Rereading closing paragraph of
chapter 18. What contrast does
Huck emphasize? What role does
it play in the novel as a whole?
a) Think of the "feud" as a metaphor
(similar to a representation/fiction/projection)
of war. And of slavery, and of
all of the other things that
Twain has been talking about.
He (Twain) waits patiently for
17 chapters to give us this scene.
He has a lot to say, and he doesn't
want to beat us over the head with
a sermon or a long-winded and moralistic
essay. He accomplishes that (and more)
by letting us look thru Huck's (and
to a certain extent Jim's) eyes.
b) Again as to the role of *anything* in
the novel - the journey is both physical,
and psychological. Compare Jim as a
supersitious slave and expecially at
the end of the novel as he comes to
experience freeedom. To a certain
extent Huck is a fish in the water
and takes freedom for granted.
c) As a metaphor WHAT does the river
represent? Don't forget that Twain
grew up wanting to be a River Boat
captain - and indeed became an
accomplished pilot on the Mississippi.
What does the raft represent? And
why is is important to the story
- and as a consequence to Huck and
Jim?
hope this helps,
frank
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Quotes
Major Works
Chrono
De Voto, Bernard (1968). The Portable Mark Twain.
Penguin Books, Dallas, Pennsylvania, Terra.
LCCN PS'1302.D4, ISBN 0.14.015.020 X (pbk.).
Links
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mtwain.htm
