El Humorismo: Mark Twain. Henry James Y El Cosmopolitanismo.
El Humorismo: Mark Twain. Henry James Y El Cosmopolitanismo.
El Humorismo: Mark Twain. Henry James Y El Cosmopolitanismo.
COSMOPOLITANISMO.
______________________________________________________________________
2. American Literature
Humorism
Life
Cosmopolitanism
Life
5. Educational Implications
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
1
Unit 54
Even though Mark Twain and Henry James were two American writers
who lived during the same period and travelled a lot, they leaded utterly
Thus, in this unit we will analyse their historical and literary background of the
United States. Then, Twain and James’ movements, lives, style and major
works. We will study one of their most representative works. Finally, we will
give some ideas of how to bring this topic to an English classroom, a conclusion
2
Unit 54
The United States of America between 1861 (end of the Civil War) and
1914 (beginning of WWI) undertook great national prosperity. After the Civil
War, in 1865 America had to begin a new way of development which was
topic 52, I have summarised some points to provide a general overview of the
- Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the WWI
3
Unit 54
witnessed the struggle of the American thought and arts to find a truly
American voice, far from the British models that had impregnated them.
In the words of R.W. Emerson: “We will walk on our own feet; we will
work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will
for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul
which also inspires all men”. (The American Scholar, 1837). Emerson’s claim
pointed in two parallel directions: on the one hand, the stress on the self-
sufficiency of the American nation; on the other, the relevance of the "I," the
Two figures who dominated prose fiction in the last quarter of the 19 th century
4
Unit 54
Samuel L. Clemens, best known under the pseudonym of Mark Twain, has
Indeed, he was not amusing for the mere pleasure of joking, but was a master of
satire, a term which can be defined as the art of exposing folly or wickedness by
mocking them. He did not poke fun at trivialities, but resorted to humour in the
name of important values and for crucial purposes, in order to correct, censure
and ridicule the vices of society by making them the target of derision.
‘humour of the Southwest’ which was one of the most popular modes of
writings in America during the two decades preceding the Civil War. It arouse
from harsh conditions of frontier life, political controversy and oral story
telling.
banks of the Mississippi River that would become the source of inspiration for
his fictionals St. Petersburg, where his two most memorable characters –Tom
Virginia City Territorial Enterprise as a local reporter. Writing for it, after
‘Mark Twain’, a steamboat call which means ‘two fathoms deep’ (1.8 m) or ‘safe
water’. In other words it is the leadsman’s cry to the pilot to describe safe
5
Unit 54
navigating conditions, for two fathoms of water are enough to avoid running
aground.
later Nevada and then many other parts of the country as well, including New
York. In the last two decades of his life Clemens abandoned the cheerful mood
that had made his personality so appealing, and sank into despair. He had an
overwhelming sense of grief caused by the deaths of his son and two of his
daughters.
We should take into account that Mark Twain was an exponent of the
American Literary Realism, portraying the daily life of common people. In his
truthful rendering of reality, one of his main concerns was to record precisely
the way he heard ordinary people –both children and adults –talk.
He did not simply use slang and dialect words, but also strove to
independence that began in the previous century. Twain was questioning the
- Innocents Abroad
6
Unit 54
But his most famous work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has been
very controversial from the time of its appearance to the present. It was thought
it is still one of the most challenged books in America. Whereas early reviewers
were particularly concerned with the effect of its violent scenes could have on
because of the use of the word ‘nigger’. Mark Twain was absolutely against
slavery and wanted to demonstrate the harm that the institution had caused to
his country.
antislavery novel in the sense that Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin had been, basically
because Twain published it after slavery had been abolished in the USA.
However, the novelist explored the antebellum South relying on his memories
white boy and a runnaway slave –named Huck and Jim respectively –who drift
down the Mississippi river trying to get away from the ‘civilization’ that
oppresses them.
Huch as narrator uses the vocabulary and sintax of the uneducated son
of the town drunkard. The boy does not simply employ colloquial phrases and
slang or vulgar expressions, but also breaks grammatical rules. In the case of
7
Unit 54
Jim, the author reflects a more difficult accent, a ‘negroe’ accent, mixed with a
satire. Twain uses rhetoric devices such as irony, paradox, hyperbole, slang
about notions of morality. Thus, at the greatest moral climax of the book,
readers are made to feel that Huck is doing ‘right’ when he decides to do
consequences of his choice might be: “All right then, I’ll go to hell”.
8
Unit 54
novelist, but also as a major British writer. There are strong reasons for arguing
that the writings of this genuinely cosmopolitan author belong to both literary
On the one hand, he was born in New York City, spent part of his life in
his native land, and remained an American citizen until shortly before his
death.
circumstances, the basis for ascribing his work simultaneously to the history of
American literature adn that of English literature rests on the content of the
work itself and on its influence upon the development of modern fiction on
Henry James was born into a family notable for its intellectual
ideas about education. His older brother, William, was one of the most
9
Unit 54
He spent his last four decades of his life in England, enjoying the
This prolific and versatile man of letters provided his audience with
novels, tales, plays, biographies, memoires, travel sketches, essays and reviews.
his career, has attracted sophisticated readers, but has also discouraged mass
audiences, unable or unwilling to make the effort to interprete his dense and
James applies to his prose the kind of concentration and scrupulousness that is
hand in his own milieu, describing their elegant appearance and exquisite
the refinements of sensibility, and the mental states of cultivated people, bound
theme” would become one of the greatest subjects of Jamesian fiction. He drew
10
Unit 54
accuracy that literary realism acquired. The international theme meant for him a
Europe.
Europeans to America.
- Washington Square, set in N.Y. it is the story of a naive, dull, plain and
11
Unit 54
Second, he wrote drama for five years, but his seven plays, only two of
proved the serious literary possibilities of a popular genre such as the ghost
in literary life.
- The Ambassadors
The three deal with James’s grand theme of freedom through perception:
only awareness of one’s own character and others’ provides the wisdom to live
as well.
12
Unit 54
approximately equal length. Two of them are set in Switzerland in the summer,
whereas the other two take place in Rome during the winter.
This is one of the best James’s novels because of the freshness adn
vividness of the young James’s writing by presenting the text that his 19 th-
Newly abroad from an industrial town in the state of New York, Daisy
behaviour.
traits between American and European identity because he thought that human
and Winterbourne are both Americans but they were brought up in different
13
Unit 54
How can we, as teachers, teach Twain’s and Henry’s literature to our
students?
Spanish (picaresque novel), Valencian, and even, History (British Empire and
DVD, e-books for learning English, we might also prepare a webquest on the
literary backgroung in the last quarter of the 19 th century in the United States of
period: Samuel L. Clemens and Henry James, their lives, style, subject-matters,
14