MARK TWAIN:

How His Views on Race and Racism are Reflected in His

Writings

Eduardo OyolaProfessor OwensENG-1102-XTIL 10/T518 July 2010

The skin of every human being contains a slave.- Notebook, Mark Twain 1904

History Samuel Langhorne Clemens Born in Florida, Missouri. 1835

Halley’s Comet closest approach

1 of 6 children 1863 Began signing his pseudonym "Mark Twain" Slave owning Family River Boat Captain Famous Author World Traveler Married

2 Children

(1868) General Washington's Negro Body-Servant (1876) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1884) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1894) Pudd'n'head Wilson (1897) Following the Equator (1870) The Noble Red Man (1895) Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses(1901) The United States of Lyncherdom

Works:Dealing with Race

General Washington's Negro Body-Servant

Biographical sketchMixed racial views

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Novel, Racial

prejudice/segregation Views of life as a runaway Negro

slave Criticized for Twains use of racial

slurs Negro Jims Sambo-like character

Views:African Americans

Pudd'n'head Wilson Ironic Novel Key characters are Slaves

Roxana (Roxy), and her son Valet de Chambre

Twain expresses his views on Racism PrejudiceSlavery

Views:African Americans Cont.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Twains Negative views against Native

Americans plainly evident “Injun Joe” Joe is portrayed as a

murderer, rapist thief the most evil character in the book

The Noble Red Man Twain trashes Coopers views on Native

Americans with degrading, demonizing ones

Views: Native Americans

Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses

Twain in great detail, mocks Coopers “Indian experts”

Continues Negative views of the Native American

Views:Native Americans Cont.

Following the Equator Turning point for Twains views World travels exposed him to

Imperialisms effects on Indigenous societies

Many of his pieces carried the common theme that relayed Mark Twains’ personnel beliefs towards African and Native Americans Twain was Anti-slavery, Racism, and Prejudice His attitude toward Native Americans changed with age

Conclusion.

I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices or caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed I know it. I can stand any society. All that I care to know is that a man is a human being--that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.- "Concerning the Jews“ Mark Twain

Anderson, Frederick. Editor. A Pen Warmed Up In Hell: Mark Twain in Protest. New York: Harper and Row, 1972. Print.

Bloom, Harold. Editor. Mark Twain: Comprehensive Research and Study Guide (Bloom's Major Novelist). Penn: Chelsea House Publications, 1999.

PrintBlues, Thomas. Mark Twain & the Community.

Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1970. Print.Bond, Jenny, and Sheedy, Chris. Who the Hell is Pansy O'Hara? The Fascinating

Stories Behind 50 of the World's Best-Loved Books. New York: Penguin Group,

2008. Print.Camfield, Ph.D., Gregg. Mark Twain's Mississippi: Race. 2005. 15 July 2010.

University of California, Merced.<http://dig.lib.niu.edu/twain/race.html>Rissetto, Adriana. Twain's Indians: The Noble Red Man. 4 Dec. 1996. 15 July 2010.

< http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/rissetto/noble.html>Smith, Russell. The Legend of Mark Twain. 1994. 15 July 2010.

< http://www.bochynski.com/twainweb/filelist/legend.html>

Works Cited: