Mark Twain's ReligionMercer University Press, 2003 - 386 pages Although there are many studies of America's most famous literary figure, this thorough investigation provides not only new information on Twain's religion, but also a different approach from anything published before. Interpretations of Twain over the past century have been largely the province of literary critics. By skillful textual analysis they have produced an abundance of nuanced studies, but they tend to have little interest in, and knowledge of, the broad religious context of Victorian society, which both angered and intrigued Twain. Phipps provides perceptions often overlooked into the way Clemens's religion was related to such significant issues as racism, imperialism, and materialism. This study takes a close look at his growing up in the slave culture of Missouri Protestants and his subsequent involvement in the radically different abolition culture in which his wire was raised. Like Twain, who aimed at communicating with the common person, Phipps has written in a style that will attract the educated public while providing fresh insights for Twain scholars. His research has taken him to Hannibal, Elmira Hartford, and to the Twain archives in Berkeley. Mostly chronological, the book makes extensive use of Twain's works and, often neglected in such studies on Twain, the Bible, his most important literary source. |
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Page 8
... admired . Sam was fond of the plain religion of some slaves on the Quarles farm , and was charmed by their songs and by their supernatural tales of witches and ghosts . After his Aunt Martha died in 1850 , Sam read the sentiments placed ...
... admired . Sam was fond of the plain religion of some slaves on the Quarles farm , and was charmed by their songs and by their supernatural tales of witches and ghosts . After his Aunt Martha died in 1850 , Sam read the sentiments placed ...
Page 14
... admired his Sunday school teacher but , on hearing the Garden of Eden story , expressed this skepticism : " Mr. Richmond , did you ever actually see a girl who wouldn't cut and run if she spied a snake ? " 35 Sam took advantage of an ...
... admired his Sunday school teacher but , on hearing the Garden of Eden story , expressed this skepticism : " Mr. Richmond , did you ever actually see a girl who wouldn't cut and run if she spied a snake ? " 35 Sam took advantage of an ...
Page 18
... admiration of all the mothers and the detestation of all their sons . ' Speaking of George Washington , Clemens spoofed : As a boy he gave no promise of the greatness he was one day to achieve . He was ignorant of the commonest ...
... admiration of all the mothers and the detestation of all their sons . ' Speaking of George Washington , Clemens spoofed : As a boy he gave no promise of the greatness he was one day to achieve . He was ignorant of the commonest ...
Page 35
... admiration would later be reflected in his Tom Sawyer character . A generation later Clemens confessed the hoax to his mother in a sworn statement , but she appeared to had been so inalterably convinced by his youthful performance that ...
... admiration would later be reflected in his Tom Sawyer character . A generation later Clemens confessed the hoax to his mother in a sworn statement , but she appeared to had been so inalterably convinced by his youthful performance that ...
Page 36
... admiration for genuine religion . He had grown up thinking that citizens of Philadelphia were exemplars of Christianity because Presbyterians from that city had generously supported educational work in the Hannibal area . 140 But when ...
... admiration for genuine religion . He had grown up thinking that citizens of Philadelphia were exemplars of Christianity because Presbyterians from that city had generously supported educational work in the Hannibal area . 140 But when ...
Contents
Tpe AntiImperialist | 196 |
Biblical Usages | 215 |
Jewish Scriptures | 216 |
The New Testament | 235 |
Scriptural Affusions | 242 |
Theological Journey | 257 |
Views of Jesus | 271 |
Evil anb Freedom | 275 |
Travel Reflections | 75 |
Amid Liberal Caivmists | 83 |
In Hartforb | 105 |
Relations with Cable | 128 |
Justice m America | 137 |
Political Morality | 149 |
Race Relations | 156 |
Womens Rights | 175 |
AmbassaboratLarge | 181 |
In Europe | 182 |
Global Tour | 188 |
Versonal Immortality | 293 |
Final Quest | 307 |
Search for Healing | 315 |
Bittersweet Last Years | 322 |
Conclusion | 345 |
Ethics and Truth | 353 |
Humorist and Treacher | 357 |
The Tolerant Monotfest | 362 |
Bibliography | 371 |
Index | 377 |
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