The genius and personality of Samuel Langhorne Clements were marked by contrary pulls, and that among other reasons made him one of the most controversial figures of his time. He was certainly not the vulgar funny man that Matthew Arnold made him out to be, but a very interesting and multi-faceted personality who, far from writing only for the uncultivated masses, addressed some very serious questions that are still central to American life: for instance, social responsibility versus personal and domestic irresponsibility, juvenile innocence versus adult criminality, racism as practised by individuals and institutions versus liberal humanism, and slavery versus freedom and so on. The present book probes this embedded duality with particular reference to Mark Twain’s humor, as well as the growing complexity and grimness of his humor with the passing years when he was increasingly swamped by a growing pessimism and despair that was further aggravated by personal disasters, including bankruptcy, successive catastrophes and bereavements; the book traces the gradual progression in his writings from fun and humor towards a bleak pessimism, cynicism and humorless satire which is almost Swiftean in its harshness.
The book, written in lucid style, presents a fine scholarly study of Twain’s work, which is reinforced by a keen perceptive enjoyment of his delightful novels, stories and autobiography; it will be immensely useful for students, scholars, teachers as well as general readers of American literature in addition to being a significant contribution to Mark Twain scholarship.
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