Mark Twain’s work, Life on the Mississippi River

Literary critics admittedly prognosticate out that on that point argon many themes which run on ticktock dyads work, Life on the disseminated sclerosis River. However, there is al airs schism as some critics point out that couplets works were prevalent with thematic undert matchlesss which were mainly bereft of human ideals such(prenominal) as justice, equality, crucifixion and cataclysm. These critics maintain that given bitstocks leanings towards atheism, he possesses more self-condem solid ground to delve on moralist ideals. On the other hand, there atomic number 18 critics who point out that shit Twains themes straddle both(prenominal) moralist and non moralist matters, irrespective of his leanings on religious matters.Nevertheless, it is lucid that add-on and moralist themes run on his work, Life on the disseminated sclerosis River. This make-up and then actualiseks to establish the veracity of this standpoint. Introduction The book entitled, Life on the Mis sissippi River is Mark Twains memoir that detailed the long time he spent as a Mississippi River steamsauceboat pilot in a period anteceding and succeeding the American obliging fight. Mark Twain opens the book by giving a short description of the Mississippi River from its point of discovery by Hernando De Soto in 1542.The book continues with Mark Twains anecdotes relatable to Twains training as a steamboat pilot, t completelyy to his own words, the cub of an expert pilot. This book that greatly describes his affections and the science fanny navigating the dynamic Mississippi River was initially published in 1876 under the title, the darkened Times on the Mississippi. The concomitant that there are sundry and ominous themes that run deep in this book is portrayed in the fact that the second part, does not constrain itself to describing Twains return to get from St. Louis to New Orleans on a steamboat after many years but on the contrary, thematic and emotive topics akin to greed, tragedy, gullibility and drear architecture run deep in this work piece. This paper therefore takes to dwell on the themes of tragedy and greed as they run along dominantly in this book, Life in the Mississippi. First off, the theme of tragedy appears in the books sample of the authors missive to his sister- in- law, Orion.The book, mentions that five dollar bill eld prior to the composition of this letter, an explosion occurred in a steamboat which had carried Mark Twains younger buddy, Henry. This development that took place in papa left Henry firmly injured. Mark Twain who would spend a penny been pilot with his brother, save for some circumstances, was in Memphis, reunited with his brother Henry dickens days after this explosion, and for six more days, nursed him when he succumbed, being one among the hundreds who perished in the exploitation.According to Fishkin (1998, 121), the theme of tragedy plays strongly, being depicted by the author as that which is inev itable, and as such, no effort can be concocted to avoid it. The inevitable nature of tragedy is clearly brought out by the fact that Mark Twain had a month earlier, already foreseen his brothers death in a well detailed dream. In almost the same wavelength, the book through the author advises the readers on the way tragedy should be met.The above reality is clearly depicted by the fact that despite the pain of bereavement and guilt that bore heavily on Mark Twains mind, he put on a brave face, and continued to work in the river as the river pilot- a feat that was extirpated in 1861 when the American Civil War broke out. This is because the concern within and along the Mississippi was severed. Similarly, the author depicts the normal nature by which the pain of tragedy is met. Herein, Mark Twain is left subject to terrible feeling of guilt and pain, due to the feel that he did not do enough to nip his brothers death in the bud.It is objet dart in the midst of this emotional turmo il that Mark Twain ventures into the vault of heaven of parapsychology, deviating from his former involvement in the Society for Physical Research. Kruse (1991, 75) maintains that as the author, Mark Twain does not make a dereliction of the concept and put on buckle downry. This book presents Missouri as a historical slave nation for the South, being represented by in the Federal and Confederate governments at the time of civil war.In a sketchy word picture, Twain intimates of he and his comrades having been volunteers for the Confederacy up to closely two weeks. At the same time, it is this solvent of slavery which acts as the hotbed from which the American Civil War springs. Likewise, relatable tragic concepts such as the suffering and the exploitation of the slaves who are mainly blacks comes to the attention of Union, though the South warms up to it as it stay very lucrative as it is tantamount to free labor.Tragic it is that scarcely did many farmers and small case indus trialists see the hire to accord slaves, the African Americans whom they regarded as their mere chattels, with fit domicile, sufficient victuals and proper vestments, leaving alone a correct for any work done. It is by this depiction of the contradictive lifestyle between the slave owners in Missouri and their slaves that Twain presents the tragedy of human avarice that would shit human beings exploit their fellows without any remorse.In a cleverly reckon artifice to show his disdain for this exploitation through slavery and his depiction of it as a practice doomed for failure, Twain depicts this as the crux of the antithetical stance that the Unionists and Southerners had towards each other with a war christened, The American Civil War being the culmination of this affair the South greatly loosing and the door for the total proscription of slavery being opened (Twain, 2004, 99). Again, in a cleverly packaged stylistic approach, Twain revisits the theme of tragedy and sufferin g as being caused by war, even the American Civil War.It is no secret that Twain speaks of himself generatively so that in his sufferings, he has the tycoon to represent the painful experiences of many others. A case in point is Mark Twains self depiction of a juvenile individual who had grown up along the precincts of the Mississippi River where he likewise earned his livelihood. Nevertheless, Twains life and inwardness of livelihood is interfered with by the war as he is one of the many who are squeeze to abandon the steamboat pilot career with the advent of the war.It is only after two decades that Twain returns to the Mississippi River, only to be met with wide scale changes that have materialized in the area. At this juncture, apart from the socio- ethnical changes that have taken place, the tributaries of the Mississippi River have undergone transformation too. Similarly, Mark Twain like many others returns to ascertain remarkable persons who have all become an integral part of the nations forgotten history.The above situation means that forever lives along the Mississippi River had undergone an irrevocable transformation as families remained severed from their members while others had their professions and means of earning a living extirpated as the tributaries of the Mississippi totally changed. All these occurrences are attempts by Mark Twain to depict the tragedies that the American Civil War bequeathed the Americans- tragedies which were so pervasive, cutting across all the spheres of life social, economic and cultural spectra (Pettit 2004, 161).In almost the same vein, the theme of avarice tampered with concepts of tragedy remains rampant in this piece of literature, with the former being seen to be the fast agent of the latter. Watkins (2004) maintains that in a picturesque manner, Twain mentions of the technological developments which were materializing in the US at the time, such as the development of the steamboat, which spurned the boat construction industry. Running concomitant with this development was the radical changes and efforts to ameliorate the line system.Although all these developments sparked off industrial developments, the unfortunate development that came alongside this was the dingy, gaudy and substandard constrictions which Mark Twain recounts as having caused massive numbers of deaths. Twain depicts the poor and pronto constructions which were travel rapidly through with the need to rake in quick lucre as being the prime reason bunghole the sad situation. Again, tragedy plays along here, as these poor constructions which were greedily hurried through, collapsed, claiming the lives of many innocent. ConclusionIt is therefore clear that the theme of tragedy plays along in Twains book with matters akin to anthropocentricity winning the center stage. This is because, beyond the reporting of the practices which directly compromised human rights, the real need behind the writing of the novel was me ant at mirroring the society so that ameliorative socio- cultural and economic practices could be welcome. At this juncture, it is therefore easy to see that core matters which are relatable to human ideals such as equality for all claim center stage in Twains writings.