Did you read Junie B. Jones or Diary of a Wimpy Kid books as a kid? Do you think writing in slang is much more fun than using grammatically perfect sentences? Do you like to watch Saturday Night Live, 30Rock, The Daily Show, or The Colbert Report? You can thank this guy with the mustache, Mark Twain.

HF: 1885 sequel to Tom Sawyer Sold door to door by book peddlers Reaction: New England’s literary society disgusted Banned by the Concord, MA Public Library “Problems” with the book: Not for sale in bookstores!

Paradox of 19 th c. values Democratic Ideal: Common man as champion: common sense, wit, ingenuity Reality: Class divisions, common man is crude, intolerant, and in need of a bath

Twain’s admirers liked…. His “fresh characters” “Vivid pictures of Western life” Epic sweep Use of “picaresque” form.

Types of Humor Until 1910, that’s all audiences noticed about Mark Twain’s work Hoaxes and Tall Tales Earthy realism Deadpan narration Parodies and caricatures of sentimentalism Malapropisms Hypocrisy of adults

1910: Mark Twain dies long live the legend: Huck Finn, a hero Writers were influenced by Mark Twain Slow change in the nature of American protagonists: Self-reliant Anti-intellectual Suspicious of Authority “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn… It’s the best book we’ve had.” – Ernest Hemingway

Early to mid-20 th century: a deeper appreciation Themes: Freedom from slavery or social restraint Racism Search for home, family Anti-romantic: nature can be brutal

Sophisticated Humor Paradox Irony Satire

The Post-modern take on Huck Finn: tragedy, frustration, squashed idealism Huck as anti-hero: The problem with the N- word