Impression On “A Collection Of Mark Twain’s Short Stories”
1005 20100100122张馨元It is known to us all, the top three great short stories masters are Maupassant, Chekhov, and O Henry. If there is a fourth, Mark Twain must be on the list. I like Mark Twain because several of his short stories are full of humor. I love Mark Twain because behind the humor, the dark sides of things or people are exposed, which is thought-provoking. In the book “A Collection Of Mark Twain’s Short Stories”, the great master spares no efforts to create humor and contrast, as a result, a sarcastic tone is set, thus what to be criticized are nakedly presented in front of the readers.
With a broad vocabulary, extraordinary powers of observation and a sense of humor, Twain was among the first Americans whose writing style was not modeled after that of the British. He used his humor to attack greed and racism, government arrogance and hypocrisy. The language he chose for his characters' dialogue shows his wit and gift, especially in his short stories “The 1,000,000 Bank –Note”
“The 1,000,000 Bank –Note”tells about a starving but honest American guy named Henry. When he was adventuring in London, he was given ￡1,000,000 pound bank-note, which later he knew that it related to the bet of the two rich men and their aim is to see whether
he can live within one month without spending the money. He went to a small restaurant first to fill his empty stomach. Without question, the owner looked down upon him because of his ragged beggar dress. Dramatically, when finishing eating, he took out the note and asked for change. Facing the millionaire, we could imagine how the owner’s attitude would be changed in no time. Accordingly, Henry had his free meal. Similarly, he got many things free of charge including his growing reputation, so he lived quite a comfortable and wealthy life during this month paying nothing. In the end, he proved he had the faculty, high intelligence to find ways of living and became a member of higher class. Through the story, money was seen as the only standard to weigh people, thus the hypocrisy, the philistinism, and the ammonias were revealed, which was shown by the author’s use of contrast and humor. For example, when Henry walked into the clothes shop, all the fellows were cold and mean some even put this：“I didn’t expect it. I’d only expect gentlemen like you to carry large change.”However, after he pulling out the money the fellow’s smile was perpetuated. Later the proprietor rushed up to see what was going on then served Henry personally as if he was a king. “it’s just the thing, the very thing –plain, rich, modest, and just ducally nobby”. The huge contrast made the readers feel both funny and sarcastic. It was Twain's personal pain and there was a lot that informed his humor. Burns
believes: "Everything Mark Twain said back then would be funny now, because he knew that human nature never changes circumstances. He saw that laughter comes not of joy, but of sorrow.”That’s the immortal artistic charm of the masterpiece of Mark Twain. What comes after laughter is worth pondering. His sarcasm and humor is not just an enjoyment but an awakening to make people realize the weakness and ugly sides of human being and the unfair society.
I might as well say Mark Twain was born a genius, a genius of language organizing and controlling. Noticeably, almost every word or sentence he use either demonstrating the character’s personalities and psychological activities vividly or delivering humorous atmosphere，which is so intensely active that people may think they see the picture with their eyes. For instance, “I was just getting desperate enough to brave all the shame, and to seize it”The description shows us at that time the poor man were too hungry to consider about his dignity with which people know the degree of the tough circumstance for the guy. Another example “They are gone. ”This is the lofty, cold way of that fellow’s tribe. The simple sentence gives us the image and features of the lofty: cold, indifferent, and senseless.
Mark Twain’s short stories on the one hand show his great gift in
using the language , his humorous and sarcastic style and on the other hand criticize the capitalist society then show his great concern about human beings , nature and the society.。