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9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910)

  • Holger Kersten
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Handbook of the American Short Story
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch Handbook of the American Short Story

Abstract

In the annals of American literature, Samuel L. Clemens (“Mark Twain”) is recognized as a major writer of novels and travelogues. Although a handful of his stories enjoy general recognition, he is rarely placed among America’s outstanding short-story writers. Seen through the lens of prescriptive short-story theories, Clemens’s unconventional work was frequently identified as humorous local-color writing, a category lacking literary prestige. In an endeavor to present a more adequate picture of his achievement, this chapter will show that Clemens produced a wide variety of short texts that elude simple classification. From his early journalistic pieces to the more elaborate writing of his later years, he used short textual units in different ways to articulate his concerns and priorities as a writer. In a close-up look at “A True Story” and “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” two stories that bracket the most productive phase of his career, it will become clear that his linguistic experiments and his intensive engagement with the moral consequences of human behavior elevate his work beyond the confines of traditional genre categories and establish him as an accomplished expert in short-form writing.

Abstract

In the annals of American literature, Samuel L. Clemens (“Mark Twain”) is recognized as a major writer of novels and travelogues. Although a handful of his stories enjoy general recognition, he is rarely placed among America’s outstanding short-story writers. Seen through the lens of prescriptive short-story theories, Clemens’s unconventional work was frequently identified as humorous local-color writing, a category lacking literary prestige. In an endeavor to present a more adequate picture of his achievement, this chapter will show that Clemens produced a wide variety of short texts that elude simple classification. From his early journalistic pieces to the more elaborate writing of his later years, he used short textual units in different ways to articulate his concerns and priorities as a writer. In a close-up look at “A True Story” and “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” two stories that bracket the most productive phase of his career, it will become clear that his linguistic experiments and his intensive engagement with the moral consequences of human behavior elevate his work beyond the confines of traditional genre categories and establish him as an accomplished expert in short-form writing.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. 0 Introduction: The American Short Story – Past and Present 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1 Of Sketches, Tales, and Stories: Theoretical Reflections on the Genre of the Short Story 19
  7. 2 Canon Formation and the American Short Story 39
  8. 3 Current Approaches to the American Short Story 55
  9. 4 Textual Materiality, Magazine Culture, and the American Short Story 73
  10. Part II: Close Readings
  11. 5 Washington Irving (1783–1859) 103
  12. 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) 119
  13. 7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) 133
  14. 8 Herman Melville (1819–1891) 153
  15. 9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910) 171
  16. 10 Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) 197
  17. 11 Kate Chopin (1850–1904) 209
  18. 12 Henry James (1843–1916) 227
  19. 13 Jack London (1876–1916) 249
  20. 14 Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) 269
  21. 15 Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) 289
  22. 16 Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) 305
  23. 17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) 319
  24. 18 William Faulkner (1897–1962) 343
  25. 19 Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) 361
  26. 20 James Baldwin (1924–1987) 385
  27. 21 Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) 403
  28. 22 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) 425
  29. 23 Grace Paley (1922–2007) 445
  30. 24 Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) 461
  31. 25 Tim O’Brien (1946–) 477
  32. 26 Raymond Carver (1938–1988) 493
  33. 27 Alice Walker (1944–) 513
  34. 28 Leslie Marmon Silko (1948–) 533
  35. 29 Sandra Cisneros (1954–) 555
  36. 30 Louise Erdrich (1954–) 573
  37. 31 Lydia Davis (1947–) 593
  38. 32 George Saunders (1958–) 613
  39. 33 Junot Díaz (1968–) 627
  40. 34 Yiyun Li (1972–) 643
  41. 35 N.K. Jemisin (1972–) 661
  42. Index of Names 683
  43. Index of Subjects 691
  44. List of Contributors 699
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110587647-010

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. 0 Introduction: The American Short Story – Past and Present 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1 Of Sketches, Tales, and Stories: Theoretical Reflections on the Genre of the Short Story 19
  7. 2 Canon Formation and the American Short Story 39
  8. 3 Current Approaches to the American Short Story 55
  9. 4 Textual Materiality, Magazine Culture, and the American Short Story 73
  10. Part II: Close Readings
  11. 5 Washington Irving (1783–1859) 103
  12. 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) 119
  13. 7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) 133
  14. 8 Herman Melville (1819–1891) 153
  15. 9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910) 171
  16. 10 Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) 197
  17. 11 Kate Chopin (1850–1904) 209
  18. 12 Henry James (1843–1916) 227
  19. 13 Jack London (1876–1916) 249
  20. 14 Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) 269
  21. 15 Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) 289
  22. 16 Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) 305
  23. 17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) 319
  24. 18 William Faulkner (1897–1962) 343
  25. 19 Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) 361
  26. 20 James Baldwin (1924–1987) 385
  27. 21 Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) 403
  28. 22 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) 425
  29. 23 Grace Paley (1922–2007) 445
  30. 24 Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) 461
  31. 25 Tim O’Brien (1946–) 477
  32. 26 Raymond Carver (1938–1988) 493
  33. 27 Alice Walker (1944–) 513
  34. 28 Leslie Marmon Silko (1948–) 533
  35. 29 Sandra Cisneros (1954–) 555
  36. 30 Louise Erdrich (1954–) 573
  37. 31 Lydia Davis (1947–) 593
  38. 32 George Saunders (1958–) 613
  39. 33 Junot Díaz (1968–) 627
  40. 34 Yiyun Li (1972–) 643
  41. 35 N.K. Jemisin (1972–) 661
  42. Index of Names 683
  43. Index of Subjects 691
  44. List of Contributors 699
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