An Introduction:
Mark Twain’s craftsmanship as a novelist is unique and worth praising. Mark Twain stands as one of the most remarkable novelists in American literature, celebrated for his unique craftsmanship that blends realism, humour, satire, and deep insight into human nature. His novels are not merely stories but vivid representations of life, especially along the Mississippi River, where he draws heavily from his own experiences. Twain’s art as a novelist lies in his ability to portray ordinary characters in extraordinary ways, making them both relatable and memorable.
A master of narrative technique, Twain employs simple yet powerful language, often using regional dialects to give authenticity to his characters and settings. His keen observation of society allows him to expose hypocrisy, injustice, and moral contradictions with subtle irony and wit. At the same time, his storytelling is engaging and dynamic, combining adventure with thoughtful reflection.
Through works like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain demonstrates his exceptional skill in character development, plot construction, and thematic depth. His craftsmanship lies not only in entertaining readers but also in provoking them to think critically about society and human values. Thus, Mark Twain’s contribution as a novelist remains enduring and influential in the world of
Personality and Humour of Mark Twain:
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain was prodigious child of nature endowed with admirable intellectual power. He never allowed anybody to take him as a funny fellow. His misfortunes and illness were not allowed to overcome him. He had a superhuman ability to mix right feeling and clear thinking producing fantastic homour. His satire is delicious, wit marvellous and humour wild and free.
Style, Language and Realism:
Mark Twain started his career with newspaper writing and platform lecturer. This gave the informality in his style. His use of metaphor and striking images made him ‘varied and striking in expression. Water images were bound to dominate his writings due to his association with the Mississippi. His vivid vocabulary, the ease with which he used the colloquial and the selection of the ‘right word, not its second cousin’ gave simplicity and naturalness and the elemental grace to his works.
The use of unusual figures and extraordinary comparisons constitute the complex- pattern of Mark Twain’s creativity. His wide experiences from travelling made him write authentically about squalor and ugliness. The horrors of the life in the slums, the filth of Spring villages, Syrian frescoes of camel dung, wretchedness of poverty and dirt in Jerusalem, lepers of Damascus give the impression that he took delight in describing the stark and naked realities of life, the grotesque.
Influence of Oral Tradition and Humour:
‘Yarn-spinning’ was a favourite pastime of American South-west. The tales were mainly told to a ready audience. This oral frontier-humour finds reflection in the novels of Mark Twain. His humorous vein can be seen in the lines:
“Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them
the rest of us could not succeed.”
Childhood Themes and Comparisons with Charles Dickens:
Mark Twain tried to relate some childhood experience which made him popular and his ‘boy literature’ had wide appeal and his addicts included President Abraham Lincoln. In humorous caricature he can be compared to Charles Dickens. Colonel Sellers of Mark Twain is dreamer of something better turning up like Dickens ‘Micawber’. The outlook of a newspaperman can be seen in the selection of subjects for humorous treatment. He does not waste any opportunity to stimulate us through him fun. His humour may be said to be of the grassroot level. The folk speeches and expressions, the colloquial turn and unpremeditated style produce the rhythm of conversation in his novels.
Local Colour and Major Works:
The extensive use of local colour adds humorous intensity to the novels of Mark Twain. ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, ‘Life on the Mississippi’ and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ are full of dialects from the South-west. The toiling and labouring, the living condition and the minute observations make life-like characters. Mark Twain created humour by judiciously mixing realistic passages with imaginary ones. He exploited the possibility of the vernacular to excite the attention of the learned reader. The sweetness and appeal of the spoken vernacular make up the main humour of Mark Twain. Humour is twin-pronged in him.
We get fantasy and seriousness. Fantasy is natural to Mark Twain. His language handling, high spirits and laughter are always pleasing to the readers. The serious humour emanates from his personality and common sense. It sometimes takes the form of bitter satire like that of Jonathan Swift. The theme of ‘Huckleberry Finn’ is Jim’s freedom from slavery. His hero is unheroic, trying to fly from the baneful influence of civilization.
Narrative Techniques and Characterization:
Mark Twain’s fame as the frontier-humorist depended much on the practice of his art. The picaresque element in his novels express the ‘heart of darkness’ of American life. He uses irony to produce humour. In his novels characters are contrasted to express his ‘ironic contrast’, Contrasts between Tom and Huck, between realism and fantasy, between cultured society and Naturalism reveal Mark Twain as a perfect artist. Like other frontier- humorists Mark Twain uses exaggeration as a style of narration. The descriptions of mumps, whooping cough etc. make the reader almost sick.
The humour lies in the suggestion that “the doctor helps a sick man to ship to t’other world”. Startling images also make striking impression in the novels of Mark Twain. The rumbling of distant thunder is compared by the writer to the sound produced by rolling empty barrels downstairs. The mischiefs, pranks and tricks of Tom and his gang and add to the lasting popularity of Mark Twain’s novels. The character of Jim as a superstitious, miserable, ignorant and primitive person helps Mark Twain to reflect on human values as accepted in the society. Jim’s wisdom makes him make the wigwam on the raft and save Huck from the storm.
The Grangerford-Shepherdson scene portrays the violence and brutality of the times which the narrator wanted to expose to the readers. Serious humour of Mark Twain is well-reflected in the sand end of ‘The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn’. It reflects the irregularities and inconstancies of life. The description of dreams, omens and magic in the novels of Mark Twain and Jim’s power to interpret dream add charm to the novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’.
Philosophy, Pessimism and Humour:
Pessimism is one part of the humour of Mark Twain. The follies of mankind and especially those of the American society, reflected in the pages of the humorous novels of Mark Twain made his reputation as the greatest humorist of America. In his philosophy Mark Twain was nearer to that of Edgar Allen Poe. He is violent, and ghastly in his use of instances of unpleasantness. He used to imagine and manipulate situations in his novels. The gloomy mood of his novels reflects the ‘damned human race’. His witty and sober humour is often mixed with childish and innocent humour.
His childhood association with oral versions of folk-stories coloured his descriptions of the life on the river boats and the childhood in general. It makes him capital at a child. Understatements and exaggerations enrich the narration of Mark Twain. Sometimes he wrote on the impulse of the moment. He often mixed buffoonery and burlesque with comedy.
In ‘Huckleberry Finn’ the rescue of Jim is full of parody and broad humour but we can find philosophical meaning in his works. The greatness of the writer depends on his narrative power and entertaining power. He was writing in an age when humour was gradually getting diverted from fiction. He made people laugh through his short-stories and novels. His humour helped the development of fiction. According to Walter Blair, “The novels of Mark Twain are the work of a skilled craftsman removing the unessential. adding vividness to dialogue and description and smoothing out incongruities”. He made use of the stories of Indian life and incidents derived from Negro Stories. The trick played by Tom on Aunt Polly is learnt from school legends.
In the last part of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ we get some hilarious and intricate action. The boy-stories have the charm of their own, the charm of adventure, the humour of colloquial language, autobiographical glimpse and the democratic spirit.
Craftsmanship and Literary Excellence:
The evolution of Mark Twain’s humour starts from his childhood and the early short stories. In the stories the interest lies in the romance of fortune. His ironic representation of life is the belief that money is the root cause of all human evils. Herman Work opines, “Clemens was a perfect master of colloquial style.” Mark Twain was a much more conscious craftsman than is generally believed. His excellence lies in the fact that his art lies in concealing art. He is graceful and elemental like O’Henry.