Mark Twain

Melanie Freeman
English 48B
February 24th, 2009
Mark Twain: Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses

Mark Twain was born Samuel L. Clemens in Florida, Missouri in 1835. He is forever remembered as one of, if not the most famous American writer in history. Clemens adopted the name "Mark Twain" after he had worked as a river boat captain along the Mississippi River. "Mark Twain" literally means the edge between safe and dangerous water. The meaning behind this pen name is not only a reference to his roots, but a metaphor for the Twain's own character. He consistently tested the boundaries of American literature and broke major ground all with a humorous yet precise style of writing. Twain was clearly a genius of the English language and it is the manner in which he uses this to portray the American people is truly what makes him stand out from other writers.

"Cooper was certainly not a master in the construction of dialogue. Inaccurate observation defeated him here as it defeated him in so many other enterprises of his. He even failed to notice that the man who talks corrupt English six days in the week must and will talk it on the seventh, and can't help himself" (301).

Summary:
Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses represents Twain's critique of the use of language in literature by his contemporaries and explains why he felt confident writing in a style that was so different from everyone else. James Fenimore Cooper is a well known author of historical fiction, often describing a hero who overcomes forces of the wilderness through his cunning strength and survival skills. In this work, Twain lists all of the reasons he dislikes Cooper's work, mainly pertaining to the unfulfilled feeling he gets from the writing itself. Twain interprets Cooper's work to be highly overrated and full of cliques and inconsistencies.

Response:
One of Mark Twain's greatest accomplishments is how he managed to incorporate true American speech into complex literature. The raw, unaltered speech found in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn truly portrays America how it was, not how it was characterized to be. By allowing "real" characters to experience and explain deep moral issues, Twain separated himself from other writers and created a new definition of American Literature.
Mark Twain felt that a major flaw of Coopers was his "inaccurate observation". Twain felt that Cooper's inability to see and portray Americans accurately completely discredited the writing. Twain spends a good portion of Fenimore Cooper criticizing the inconsistencies in the character's speech. The character Deerslayer thinks eloquently and profoundly in one instance, yet speaks with the improper English slang. To Twain, these contradicting ideas are hilarious and unforgivable.
Huckleberry Finn can be viewed as the piece of writing retaliates against Cooper. Huck is the true voice of the novel and the reader experiences the story completely through his perspective. The reader is not removed from the mind of this uneducated runaway and this is what makes the novel so profound. There are no jarring inconsistencies, or cliches, the writing is completely honest to the time and the character. The lessons learned in Huck are realistic, not contrived. By staying true to the time period and not embellishing the language so the sake of literature, Twain has managed to create a piece of writing that is far more meaningful that those "epic" adventures writen by Cooper.