Chapter 2 The True Face of Mark Twain

I have been familiar with Mark Twain since I was a child and like to read his works.However, I kind of don't remember when I started reading it.In fact, reading his book is just an accidental event where a blind cat meets a dead mouse. American children can tell which author's work they read in which year. They have a history of literature in class, from Greek mythology, Homer's epics, to modern literature.After reading one grade after another, the children's knowledge structure is very complete. Literature textbooks and bibliographies are made by scholars of literary history and are constantly updated.The operation is market-oriented, and there is fierce competition among them.There are many sets of textbooks on the market, and experienced literature teachers have sharp eyes when choosing books.

Textbooks that are always unsuccessful are eliminated. By the middle of the last century, the new trend of thought in the United States gradually rose, and in the 1960s it began to violently impact the tradition.Although there are always challenges to the system and concepts, this old educational concept remains unchanged.It can be seen that the United States is a very conservative country. How to teach children, American schools make their own decisions, and have nothing to do with the government.Some schools announced that they could not let their children read Mark Twain.The rationale is that Mark Twain was racist, most notably in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I also read.

Not convinced?unambiguous evidence. There is a scene in the book: Aunt Shirley hears the news of a steamboat explosion. "Hey! Did you hurt someone?" "No ma'am," someone responded. "Just a black person died." "Oh, luckily, because sometimes these kinds of accidents do hurt." An argument started. One side said, look, in Mark Twain's eyes, black people are not human at all.The other side said, where did you see it?Quite the contrary, this book is about the era of slavery in the South.Through literary techniques, Mark Twain vividly described how some upper-class white people who lived a good life were indifferent to the life situation of black people.The work expresses sympathy for black people and also arouses people's conscience.

One party immediately said that Mark Twain used the derogatory term "nigger" for black people in the book.In this book, this derogatory term can be seen everywhere.That's not what racism is! The word "nigger" is often translated as "black ghost" in Chinese. "Nigger" is undoubtedly a derogatory term. With the elimination of racism in American society, this word has changed from a common word more than two hundred years ago to today, and only some blacks themselves still use it openly.However, I doubt whether it can be translated as "black ghost" everywhere.Words are very subtle things. Different times, different people, and different occasions convey different meanings.One hundred and fifty years ago in the South, white people commonly used this word when referring to black people, and black people called themselves.Now, the word has completely disappeared in public, and people have become sensitized to racial issues.Therefore, people's feelings about this word today must be different from those a hundred or two hundred years ago.

The other party then argued that it was written about the south one hundred and fifty years ago. In such a book, if the word "nigger" cannot be seen, the authenticity of the book is questionable.They further believe that the theme of the book is a call for freedom.Mark Twain wrote about a black slave who risked his life just to win his freedom and be with his family.His white boy befriends and helps a black runaway slave escape.The dignity and upbringing of this black man made this white child believe that slavery is not a matter of course.The story shows the inner struggle of the child.At the critical juncture, the child decided that even if he would go to hell and be roasted by flames in the future, he could not betray his black friends.Mark Twain, who was used to writing irony and humor, became serious and steady when describing this escaped slave. The black escaped slave was full of courage and nobility, and became the moral center of the whole book.His life and freedom were at great risk for his white children.

There are also many blacks who hold the above views, including the famous black American writer Ralph Ellison (Ralph Ellison).Allison believes that Mark Twain incorporated the slave's "self-esteem and ability" throughout the novel. But after the debate, no one convinced anyone, and both sides remained stubborn. So putting aside the books, people began to study, what kind of person was Mark Twain in life, was he a racist, or a person with humanitarian concerns?In addition to more than 30 published novels, essay collections, correspondence collections, etc., people have checked all Mark Twain's letters, diaries, and other private records.In Mark Twain's time, novels, plays, and songs were full of vulgar mockery and derogation of black people.However, people found that Mark Twain, who lived in that era, had almost no disrespect to black people in his private writing.Evidence to the contrary abounds.

For example, Mark Twain wrote: "In this world, there are different colors, but my opinion is that the human heart is the same." He also wrote: "Almost all black and brown skins are beautiful. Yes, and white skin is seldom so beautiful." After a long time, people discovered new materials.It was 1884, the year "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published, and Mark Twain wrote a private letter to the dean of the Yale Law School.At that time, the law school admitted its first black students.In the letter, Mark Twain proposed that he would privately sponsor a black student.

He wrote: "If I sponsor a white student who seeks help from a stranger, I don't necessarily feel excited, but sponsoring a black student does. They have been dehumanized, and that is not their shame. , but our shame. We should pay for it." Mark Twain paid for the black student McGuinn (Warner T. McGu-inn) all the board and lodging during his study at Yale.After graduation, McQueen became a lawyer in Baltimore.He was also the local leader of the National Association of Colored People, and in 1917 he successfully challenged the racial segregation of the city's residential areas.

They remained a close friendship for the rest of Mark Twain's life. McQueen was not the only black person Mark Twain funded.He also helped at least one other black artist fulfill his wish to study in Europe.For Mark Twain, this was a natural thing, and it didn't occur to him to make a fuss about it.So the stories didn't surface until a century later. In 1985, the "New York Times" published the full details of Mark Twain's funding of black students. To be honest, such "political censorship" is already too harsh for a writer.However, such research and discovery still haven't been able to put an end to this long debate.To date, the debate is still ongoing.

This reminds me of a saying that people often say: People are hard to be persuaded.Therefore, don't think that by "presenting facts and reasoning" and persuasion, differences between people can be resolved.But a normal society should allow both parties with different opinions to fully express and also allow them to reserve their opinions.In the course of a public debate, bystanders like me also have the opportunity to fully understand a controversial public figure, The full truth of an event, a place, and a period of history. Just imagine, if only one-sided statements are allowed, if the conclusions are drawn out of context, and if the conclusions are drawn, they will be "killed with a stick", then even great writers like Mark Twain can only be like one by one. Lao She also threw himself into the river.