Critique of Twain's Style in The Adventures of Huckleberry Twain and Life on the Mississippi
Twain's style in Life on the Mississippi is similar to that of his prose fiction like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. While Twain does not use as much dialect as he
does in his fiction, Twain still writes in a simple, straightforward, often
ironic style. This particular style
works well for Twain's work. Twain states
his points in a simple and straightforward way: "The Mississippi is well worth
reading about";"It's a remarkable river" (1). Twain continually gets directly to the point he
tries to make: "The scenery from Cairo to St. Louis --two hundred miles--is
varied and beautiful" (124). Twain does
not trust his readers enough to give them anything but exactly what he wants them
to know. Interpretation means his readers could make mistakes as to his intentions
and meaning, so Twain is consistently straightforward and simple in his choice of
wording.
Twain also employs irony throughout the piece to illustrate his humor in Life on the Mississippi. Twain does not take himself, or others, too seriously, and the use of irony reinforces this. He begins this stylistic technique when describing the "discovery" of the Mississippi: "Then, to the admiration of the Savages, La Salle set up a cross with the arms of France on it, and took possession of the whole country for the king--the cool fashion of the time--while the priest piously consecrated the robbery with a hymn" (19). Twain wants to relate the idiocy of discovering something that was already discovered and trying to make it look impressive to an audience who is not impressed, like the native Americans. He uses this type of irony again to poke fun at himself after retelling the story of his Bavarian friend who revealed the resting place of ten thousand dollars along the Mississippi River in a town that Twain discovers is now underwater. The irony Twain utilizes reminds his reader to never take oneself to seriously and that life will always provides surprises and unexpected moments. Mark Twain will straightforwardly and simply point the humor of life out to his audience.
Twain also employs irony throughout the piece to illustrate his humor in Life on the Mississippi. Twain does not take himself, or others, too seriously, and the use of irony reinforces this. He begins this stylistic technique when describing the "discovery" of the Mississippi: "Then, to the admiration of the Savages, La Salle set up a cross with the arms of France on it, and took possession of the whole country for the king--the cool fashion of the time--while the priest piously consecrated the robbery with a hymn" (19). Twain wants to relate the idiocy of discovering something that was already discovered and trying to make it look impressive to an audience who is not impressed, like the native Americans. He uses this type of irony again to poke fun at himself after retelling the story of his Bavarian friend who revealed the resting place of ten thousand dollars along the Mississippi River in a town that Twain discovers is now underwater. The irony Twain utilizes reminds his reader to never take oneself to seriously and that life will always provides surprises and unexpected moments. Mark Twain will straightforwardly and simply point the humor of life out to his audience.