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 ix
... Father John Marshall Clemens dies 1848 Apprentice printer 1853-1856 Journeyman printer 1857-1859 Apprentice pilot on Mississippi 1860-1861 Steamboat pilot 1861 Joined Missouri National Guard for two weeks 1862 Nevada journalist ; adopts ...
... Father John Marshall Clemens dies 1848 Apprentice printer 1853-1856 Journeyman printer 1857-1859 Apprentice pilot on Mississippi 1860-1861 Steamboat pilot 1861 Joined Missouri National Guard for two weeks 1862 Nevada journalist ; adopts ...
Page 1
... Father Edward Rosenberger calls him a " blus- tering agnostic " ; 4 Max Eastman refers to him as " the great infidel " ; 5 William Phelps claims that " Mark Twain did not have even a grain of religious faith " ; and an editor of a ...
... Father Edward Rosenberger calls him a " blus- tering agnostic " ; 4 Max Eastman refers to him as " the great infidel " ; 5 William Phelps claims that " Mark Twain did not have even a grain of religious faith " ; and an editor of a ...
Page 5
... father droned on . I received a small relief from watching wasps light on dozing members of the congregation . The intellectual rigor of my family's Calvinism caused me to look with condescending amusement at " Introduction 5.
... father droned on . I received a small relief from watching wasps light on dozing members of the congregation . The intellectual rigor of my family's Calvinism caused me to look with condescending amusement at " Introduction 5.
Page 8
... father , had been named for the most famous jurist of his native state . After having much difficulty providing financially for his family , Marshall Clemens succeeded in becoming a justice of the peace before his early death . Sam ...
... father , had been named for the most famous jurist of his native state . After having much difficulty providing financially for his family , Marshall Clemens succeeded in becoming a justice of the peace before his early death . Sam ...
Page 9
... father was . . . a sternly just and upright man , albeit he attended no church and never spoke of religious matters ... father's alienation from churches and religion . There is an account of his attending church and re- questing the ...
... father was . . . a sternly just and upright man , albeit he attended no church and never spoke of religious matters ... father's alienation from churches and religion . There is an account of his attending church and re- questing the ...
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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