Customer Reviews

Mark Twain and Human Nature (Mark Twain and His Circle Series)

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Tom Quirk (Professor of English, University of Missouri-Columbia) presents Mark Twain and Human Nature, a study of the famous American author that intertwines his life story with his writings to reveal how his understanding of human nature grew and evolved. Twain's great classics and minor works are all taken into consideration; the discourse is organized chronologically, from 1852 to 1910. "The point of view Twain chose for his novel in progress was not simply a matter of stylistic innovation but also a position from which to regard and to unself-consciously assess existing institutions and cultural influences. Huck's ignorance is often the reader's insight. If Huck has not been inoculated against each and every one of the contaminating influences of civilized life, he has kept clear of the more virulent forms of the viruses that perpetuate themselves from one generation to the next." Highly recommended for serious enthusiasts and scholars of Mark Twain's literary classics.