AN ANALYSIS OF PRAISE AND BLAME IN SELECTED
AFTER-DINNER SPEECHES OF MARK TWAIN
by
W ilbu r T.
Denson
A T h e s i s S u b m it te d t o t h e F a c u l t y o f th e
DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH
In P a r t i a l
F u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e Requirements
For t h e Degree o f
MASTER OF ARTS
In t h e G ra du at e C o l l e g e
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
1962
STATEMENT BY AUTHOR
T h i s t h e s i s has been s u b m i t t e d in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t
o f r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced de gree a t The U n i v e r s i t y o f
A r i z o n a and is d e p o s i t e d in The U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y .
B r i e f q u o t a t i o n s from t h i s t h e s i s a r e a l l o w a b l e w i t h ­
ou t s p e c i a l p e r m i s s i o n , p r o v i d e d t h a t a c c u r a t e acknowledgment
o f source is made.
Requests f o r p e r m is s io n f o r extended quo­
t a t i o n from or r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h i s m a n u s c r ip t in whole or in
p a r t may be g r a n t e d by t h e head o f t h e major de pa rtm en t or
th e Dean o f t h e Gra du at e C o l l e g e when in t h e i r judgment t h e
proposed use o f th e m a t e r i a l is in th e i n t e r e s t s o f s c h o l a r ­
ship.
In a l l o t h e r i n s t a n c e s , however, p e r m is s io n must be
o b t a i n e d from t h e a u t h o r .
SIGNED:
&
/J fa i
J.
APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR
T h i s t h e s i s has been approved on th e d a t e shown
below:
GEORGE/F. SPARKS/ Ph.D.
A s s o c i a t e P r o f e s s o r o f Speech
/
/D ate
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The w r i t e r wis hes t o e x pr es s s i n c e r e a p p r e c i a t i o n
S pa rk s ,
to
Dr.
George F.
A s s o c i a t e P r o f e s s o r o f Speech, and
Dr.
Klonda Lynn, Speech Department Head a t The U n i v e r s i t y o f
A r i z o n a f o r t h e i r generous g u i d a n c e ,
ment d u r i n g t h e w r i t i n g o f t h i s
patience,
th esis.
and en co u ra g e ­
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION.
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose . . » . . . , . .
Me t hod. . . . . . . . . .
L im itatio n s . . . . .
..
.
. .
.
v
. . . ... .
. .
. .
...................
vi
vi i
ix
Chapter
I.
II.
FACTORS RELATING TO THE SPEECHES.
. . . . . . . .
1
Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
T i m e s ............................
I
11
CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE SPEECHES .
.
R e v e a l i n g t h e S p e a k e r ' s P e r s u a s i v e G o a ls . . .
Reasons f o r A cc e p t in g t h e S p e a k e r ' s Goals
. .
Devices f o r M a g n i f y i n g t h e P r a i s e or Blame. .
III.
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECHES.
.
.
.
" L i c e n s e o f the P r e s s '1 Speech . . . . . . . .
'"Consistency" Speech. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Queen V i c t o r i a " Speech . . . . . . . . . . .
IV.
CONCLUSIONS .
APPENDIX.
............................
21
21
23
24
29
29
37
43
48
I n f l u e n c e s o f T w a i n ' s L i f e and Times . . . . .
E v a l u a t i o n o f T w a i n ' s Use o f P r a i s e
and Blame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary
48
.
53
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iv
50
52
73
INTRODUCTION
In t h e r a p i d l y changing modern w o r l d ,
great
im portance as a dynamic and po werfu l
l a r g e l y th rough speech t h a t p o l i t i c a l
take place.
In t h e f a c e o f t h i s
speech holds
force.
and s o c i a l
r a p i d change
it
It
is
alte ra tio n s
is ne ce s sa ry
t o a p p r a i s e and j u d g e t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e many speeches t h a t
are given d a i l y ;
th is
is th e f u n c t i o n o f speech c r i t i c i s m .
L e s t e r Thonssen and A.
c r i t i c i s m very v i t a l
ours,
th is
to appraise
C r a i g B a i r d make th e need f o r speech
when th ey sa y,
im plies a very real
11 In a democracy such as
ob ligatio n
i n t e l l i g e n t l y what
its
upon t h e c i t i z e n r y
representatives
s a y ; thus
is th e c r i t i c i s m o f speeches made n e ce s sa ry by our p o l i t i c a l
and s o c i a l
environment."^
W i t h i n our p o l i t i c a l
to A r i s t o t l e ,
a r e t h r e e g e n er al
which ta k e s p l a c e l a r g e l y
which
and s o c i a l
t y p e s o f speech:
in c o u r t s o f law;
is found in l e g i s l a t i v e b o d i e s ;
is used in commemorative s i t u a t i o n s . ^
w ith th e l a s t o f these types,
and blame.
It w ill
1932),
p.
according
forensi c ,
d e lib e ra tiv e ,
and e p i d e i c t i c , which
T h i s st u d y w i l l
deal
e p i d e i c t i c or speeches o f p r a i s e
be f u r t h e r
re s tric te d
F T L e s t e r Thonssen and A.
C r i t i c i s m (New Y o r k , 1 9 4 8 ) , p. v .
2.
(New Y o r k ,
environment,
t o t h e elements o f
Craig B a ir d ,
Speech
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , t r a n s .
17.
v
Lane Cooper
p r a i s e and blame in s e l e c t e d a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches o f a s i n g l e
s p e a k e r - - M a r k T w ai n.
Purpose
This a n a ly s is w i l l
attem pt to s a t i s f y
t h e need f o r an
e v a l u a t i o n o f T w a i n ' s use o f t h e ele me nts o f p r a i s e and blame.
In doing so t h e st ud y w i l l
(I)
in v e s t ig a t e the probable
ences on T w a i n 1s sp ea k in g and ( 2 )
d i n n e r speeches o f Mark Twain
s t r e n g t h s and weaknesses
in flu ­
examine t h r e e s e l e c t e d a f t e r -
in an a t t e m p t t o d i s c o v e r t h e
in h i s use o f t h e e l e m e n ts o f p r a i s e
and blame.
It,w ill
be assumed t h a t Twain d i d use p r a i s e and blame
in h i s s p e a k i n g ,
f o r , as Bernard Devoto d e s c r i b e d t h e s u b j e c t s
o f Twain's c r i t i c i s m ,
"The whole s p e c t a c l e o f government passed
in rev i e w - - t h e p r e s i d e n c y ,
t h e C on gr es s, t h e b a s i s o f p o l i t i c s ,
the c o rru p tio n o f th e e l e c t o r a t e - - b r ib e r y , d e p r a v i ty ,
natio n,
t h e f a r c e o f t h e p e o p l e ' s j u s t i c e . "3
Because o f T w a i n ' s
speaker,
it w ill
and s o c i a l
Paul
subordi­
immense p o p u l a r i t y as a banquet
be f u r t h e r assumed t h a t much o f h i s p o l i t i c a l
c r i t i c i s m can be found
in h i s a f t e r - d i n n e r s p e a k i n g .
F a t o u t makes c l e a r how p o p u l a r Twain was on t h e banquet
program w i t h t h i s
3.
Massachusetts,
descrip tion :
"He co u ld have made a c a r e e r
B er na rd Devoto, Mark T w a i n ' s America (Cambridge
1 9 3 2 ) , p. 267.
o f d i n n e r sp ea k in g as he w e l l
nigh did
in l a t e r ye a r s when no
i m p o r ta n t banquet was co m p le te w i t h o u t Mark T w ai n.
Method
Assuming t h a t Twain d i d use th e ele m e nt s o f p r a i s e
and blame in h i s a f t e r - d i n n e r
the f i r s t
step
t h e t r u e goal
c ritic a l,
evalu atio n.
(1)
in vestig atin g
judged,
facts
in te llig e n t,
They go on t o s a y ,
rela tin g
“T h is t a s k
t o t h e speech,
by which the speech
is t o be
and ( 3 ) making t h e e v a l u a t i o n . “ 5
Following th is
speech,
o f course, only
as be in g an
the fa c ts
f o r m u l a t i n g the c r i t e r i a
is,
Thonssen and B a i r d d e s c r i b e
o f t h e speech c r i t i c
o b je c tiv e evaluatio n.
involves
(2)
in t h i s
sp e a k in g
the f i r s t
re latin g
main a r e a s :
s im p l e f o r m a t f o r t h e a n a l y s i s o f
chapter o f t h i s
st ud y w i l l
to Twain's speaking.
Twain's
life
T h is w i l l
and h i s t i m e s .
in ves tig a te
the
i n v o l v e two
Through a study o f
what T w a i n ' s c o n t e m p o r a r ie s have s a i d , what Twain s c h o l a r s
have s a i d ,
traced,
and what Twain h i m s e l f s a i d ,
including parentage,
and l a t e r
success.
boyhood,
A si d e from h i s
his l i f e
w ill
be
e a r l y working years,
life ,
external
influences
were a l s o e x e r t e d on T w a i n ' s use o f p r a i s e and blame by the
period
in which he l i v e d .
The ti m es w i l l
be examined t o d i s ­
cover p o s s i b l e f o r c e s a f f e c t i n g T w a i n ' s s p e a k i n g .
This w i l l
Wl Paul F a t o u t , Mark Twain on t h e L e c t u r e C i r c u i t
(B lo o m in g to n , I n d i a n a , 1 9 6 0 ) , pi 203.
5.
Thonssen and B a i r d ,
vii
p. v .
i n c l u d e t h e Westward e x p a n s io n ,
s itu a tio n ,
t h e C i v i l War,
the p r e v a i l i n g m a t e r i a l i s m ,
the
the p o l i t i c a l
im perialism ,
and
t h e r e f o r m movement.
The second c h a p t e r w i l l
deal w i t h
by which t h e speeches a r e t o be j u d g e d .
A ris to tle 's
Rhe tor i c w i l l
be used.
form ulating c r i t e r i a
For t h i s
T h e r e may be d is ag re em en t
as t o wh et h er o r not t h e use o f one a u t h o r i t y
e s t a b l i s h such c r i t e r i a .
"
.
.
.
in e f f e c t ,
Q u in tilia n ,
However,
is s u f f i c i e n t
t h e R h e t o r i c no t o n l y o f C i c e r o and
is,
to
in t h e words o f Lane Cooper,
but o f t h e M i d d l e Ages,
o f modern t i m e s ,
c rite ria ,
'
o f t h e R en a is s a n c e ,
in i t s b e s t e l e m e n t s ,
and
e s s e n tia lly
A ris to te lia n .
There
is no book on t h e s u b j e c t s i n c e A r i s t o t l e ' s
th at
least
in d ire c tly
is not a t
not t o say t h a t A r i s t o t l e ' s
even th e o n l y book o f w o r t h ;
in d e b te d t o h i s . T h i s
is t h e o n l y book on t h e s u b j e c t or
however, The R h e t o r i c does f u r ­
n i s h a p a t t e r n and method t h a t makes
lis h c r i t e r i a
blame.
for
is
it
s u ffic ie n t
to e s t a b ­
t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f th e e le m e nt s o f p r a i s e and
As Cooper f u r t h e r p o i n t s o u t , "He b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r a l l
t h a t was w o rt h keeping
in t h e e a r l i e r
books,
triv ia l
rejec tin g
th e ir
details
t h e y la c k e d ;
he c a s t
t h e whole
and c u r r e n t Greek t e x t ­
novel t i e s ,
he s u p p l i e d the
and t a k i n g what they gave and headded,
into a p a tte rn
t h a t has no t y e t been
t e r e d . "7
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p. x v i i i .
7.
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p. x v i i i .
viii
bet­
The t h i r d
actual
chapter o f t h is
a n a l y s i s and e v a l u a t i o n
done by a p p l y i n g t h e c r i t e r i a
st ud y w i l l
p r e s e n t the
o f t h e speeches.
This w i l l
be
t o t h e ele ments o f p r a i s e and
blame in t h r e e o f T w a i n ' s a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches.
These t h r e e
speeches have been chosen from e i g h t y - t w o o f T w a i n ' s a f t e r d i n n e r speeches as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f h i s s t y l e ,
o f the s it u a t io n s
in which he u s u a l l y spoke,
t i v e o f t h e s u b j e c t s p r a i s e d o r blamed.
ta ken from each o f t h e t h r e e p e r i o d s
ing seems t o f a 1 1 . ^
and r e p r e s e n t a ­
They have a l s o been
i n t o which T w a i n ' s s p e a k ­
This chapter w i l l
also
include short
d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e oc c a s io n s and audiences f o r
t h r e e speeches.
t e c h n iq u e s
un d e rs t o o d .
t h e speeches have been e v a l u a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o
the th r e e -s te p plan o f t h i s
presented.
each o f th e
In t h i s way t h e speeches and t h e i r
may be more f u l l y
A fter
representative
This w i l l
study,
the conclusions w i l l
be
be done in t h e f o u r t h c h a p t e r which w i l l
seek t o f u l f i l l
th e s t a t e d purpose o f t h i s s t u d y .
n o te d ,
t h a t t h e v e r y n a t u r e o f an e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h i s
however,
type places c e r t a i n
l i m i t a t i o n s on
I t must be
its conclusions.
L im itatio ns
In a study o f t h i s
t y p e where t h e r e
ing t h e speeches because t h e sp eak er
no r e c o r d i n g s have been made,
W.
(New Y o r k ,
is no way o f h e a r ­
is no l o n g e r l i v i n g
and
t e x t s o f t h e speeches must be
Mark T w a i n ' s S peech es, ed.
1 9 2 3 ) , p. xv .
A l b e r t Big el ow P a in e
r e l i e d upon.
This
r e lia n c e places c e r t a in
l i m i t a t i o n s on th e c o n c l u s io n s
restric tio n s
t h a t a r e drawn.
assumed t h a t Twain spoke in t h e words re c o rd e d
and t h a t t h e t e x t s
ing.
and
i t must be
in t h e t e x t s
r e p r e s e n t an a c c u r a t e r e p o r t o f h i s s p ea k­
I t must a l s o be ob served t h a t
t h e speeches a r e not co mp let e;
in some cases the t e x t s o f
such cases w i l l
be noted
in t h e
a n a l y s i s o f t h e speech.
T h i s study o f t e x t s
o n l y p o s s i b l e approach
rather
than " l i v e "
in T w a i n ' s case.
p o i n t e d ou t t h a t a study o f t e x t s
speech is t h e
However,
i t may be
has an ad v a n ta g e because
it
p e r m i t s a more i n t e n s i v e approach th rou gh r e a d i n g and r e - r e a d i n g
t h e speech as o f t e n as may be n e c e s s a r y .
Terms
in o r d e r t h a t
study,
ce rtain
because c e r t a i n
speech c r i t i c s
th e r e a d e r may b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d t h i s
terms must be d e f i n e d and c l a r i f i e d .
o f t e n has r a t h e r s p e c i f i c meanings which may or
It
is n e c e s s a ry t o d e f i n e
" p r a i s e and b l a m e , " and “ a f t e r - d i n n e r s p e a k i n g . "
“ A n a l y s i s " as d e f i n e d by Webster
b r e a k i n g up o f any wh ole
nature,
w ill
is
t e r m i n o l o g y used by A r i s t o t l e and o t h e r quoted
may not conform to p o p u la r usage.
“a n a ly s is ,"
This
prop ortio n,
ad her e to t h i s
into
function,
is “ a s e p a r a t i n g or
i t s p a r t s so as t o f i n d out
re latio n sh ip ,
d e fin itio n
e t c . T h i s
th e ir
study
as c l o s e l y as p o s s i b l e .
9.
W e b s t e r ' s New World D i c t i o n a r y o f t h e American
Language (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 0 ) , p. 531
x
• ' P r a i s e and blame'* w i l l
be d e a l t w i t h h e r e as one te r m
s i n c e t h e y a r e o p p o s i t e s and d e r i v e t h e i r meanings
thro ugh c o n t r a s t . 10
in p a r t
A r i s t o t l e d e f i n e s p r a i s e as u . . .
an
u t t e r a n c e making m a n i f e s t t h e g r e a t n e s s o f a v i r t u e . "11
be in g o p p o s i t e ,
i n v o l v e s making m a n i f e s t t h e e v i l
The p e r s u a s i v e goal
or shame;
that
is,
o f p r a i s e or blame
concept
is t o e s t a b l i s h honor
in s titu tio n
is t o be p r a i s e d or
perhaps t h i s whole r a t h e r complex b u t
im p o r ta n t
is b e s t summed up by an example.
If,
Lincoln,
for
instance,
he would f i r s t
a s p e a k e r wished t o p r a i s e Abraham
have t o show t h e a u d i e n c e why th e y
should a c c e p t h i s p e r s u a s i v e goal
shown by a t t r i b u t i n g
w ill
of a vice.
t h e speak er seeks t o pers uad e an a u d ie n c e
t h a t some man or a c t i o n or
r e v i l e d . 12
Blame,
respect,
q u alities
such as h o n e st y,
o f honor.
T h i s "why"
is
t o L i n c o l n which th e a u d ie n c e
humbleness,
and i n t e g r i t y .
The speak er would n e x t have t o h e i g h t e n and m a g n if y th e qual i tie s
he is p r a i s i n g
and m ea n in g fu l
in L i n c o l n and make t h e s e q u a l i t i e s v i v i d
t o t h e a u d ie n c e .
In t h i s way t h e au di e nc e
is
p r e s e n t e d w i t h a reason f o r a c c e p t i n g t h e s p e a k e r ’ s goal o f
honor,
and t h i s
reason
is r e i n f o r c e d and made m e a n i n g f u l .
" A f t e r - d i n n e r s p e a k in g " must a l s o be d e f i n e d because
it
has s e v e r a l
d i f f e r e n t connotations.
Andrew Thomas Weaver
and Ordean Gerhard Ness f a v o r t h e d e f i n i t i o n
th at a fte r-d in n e r
The R h e t o r i c o f Ar i s t o t l e .
p.
55-
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e .
P-
52.
The R h e t o r i c o f Ar i s t o t l e ,
p.
18.
xi
speeches must be s h o r t ,
take place
w ith the
inform al,
im m e d ia te ly a f t e r a
s tric tly
m e a l .
^3
e n terta in in g ,
However, d i s a g r e e i n g
idea t h a t t h e speech must be e n t e r t a i n i n g ,
Monroe p o i n t s out
and
t h a t a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches a l s o
Alan H.
i n c lu d e
th os e p r e s e n t e d f o r t h e purpose o f c o nd uc ti ng s e r i o u s bus i ness.^^
James H. McBurhey and E r n e s t J.
view t h a t a f t e r - d i n n e r
speaking may be
d i n n e r sp e a k in g as used h e r e w i l l
less o f
i t s pu rpo se ,
that
Wrage su p p o r t the
s e r i o u s .
^5
A fter-
mean any s p e a k i n g , r e g a r d ­
ta k e s p l a c e a t an o c c a s io n f e a t u r i n
a dinner.
m
Andrew Thomas Weaver and Ordean Gerha rd Ness,
The Fundamentals and Forms o f Speech (New Y o r k , 1 9 5 7 ) , p. 361
14.
Alan H. Monroe,
(New Y o r k , 1 9 3 9 ) , P- 540.
P r i n c i p l e s and Types o f Speech
15.
James H. McBurney and E r n e s t J. Wrage, The A r t
o f Good Speech (New Y o r k , 1 9 5 3 ) , p. 538.
CHAPTER I
FACTORS RELATING TO THE SPEECHES
In o r d e r t o b e t t e r unde rsta nd a speech
s a r y t o know something o f t h e e x t e r n a l
w ith
it.
it
is n e ce s­
fa c to rs associated
In ac cor d w i t h t h i s , and because Mark T w a i n ' s
speeches seem c l o s e l y
r e la te d to his
life
f a c t o r s must be c o n s i d e r e d as p o s s i b l e
and t i m e s ,
th e s e
i n f l u e n c e s on h i s
spea ki ng and more p a r t i c u l a r l y as ele ments which d e te r m in e d
h i s use o f p r a i s e and blame.
discover,
and,
This chapter w i l l
t o an e x t e n t , weigh t h e
a t t e m p t to
i n f l u e n c e s on T w a i n ' s
spea k in g and h i s use o f p r a i s e and blame which were e x e r t e d
by h i s
life
and t i m e s .
L i fe
Mark T w a i n ' s
t o have had g r e a t
life
These f a c t o r s
e x e r t th em sel ve s th ro u g h o u t
and may be examined th ro u g h a c h r o n o l o g i c a l
which d e a l s w i t h Twain
hood,
c o n t a i n e d many f a c t o r s which seem
i n f l u e n c e on h i s sp eaking and h i s use o f
p r a i s e and blame.
his
life
in terms o f his. p a r e n t a g e ,
h i s e a r l y w o rk i n g y e a r s ,
and hi s
study
h i s boy­
l a t e r y e a r s o f success
and fame.
T w a i n ' s p a r e n t s were g e n t l e m i d d l e - c l a s s pe op le from
V irg in ia .
They were r e s p e c t a b l e and r e s p e c t e d
o f t h e i r neighbors,
but th ey we re not r i c h .
1
in t h e eyes
In f a c t ,
th e
Clemens f a m i l y was o f t e n
In poor f i n a n c i a l
ne ar p o v e r t y seems d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e
co nd ition .
T h is
to the nature o f
M a r k ' s f a t h e r , John Clemens.
John Clemens appears t o have been a man o f good i n t e n ­
tion
and a m b i t i o n ,
but he was pr on e t o m is t a k e s
because o f a somewhat u n r e a l i s t i c a t t i t u d e .
J o hn 's bu sin es s f a i l u r e
is seen
"Tennessee l a n d s . "
Clemens,
on t h e f r o n t i e r
Mr.
land
eyeing the r i s i n g
t h e r e was e r r o r
t h e p la n
He c a l c u l a t e d t h a t
th rough t h e s a l e o f t h e l a n d s .
i t s e l f was sound in t h e o r y ,
in t h e d e t a i l s o f J o h n 's c a l c u l a t i o n s ,
lands were t a k e n f o r
ta x e s and de bt s
and s i m i l a r e p i s o d e s ,
However,
Jane Clemens,
and t h i s
Clemens was a s t r o n g ,
u n re a lis tic
r a t h e r meager l i b r a r y . ^
Because o f t h e n a t u r e o f John Clemens
fam ily together,
in
a l o o f even from h i s c h i l d r e n ,
he d i d a l l o w Mark t h e run o f h i s
s a r y f o r M a r k ' s m o th e r ,
times
he was not an unedu­
and, w h i l e he tended t o have a s l i g h t l y
a t t i t u d e and t o remain a l i t t l e
and t h e
As a r e s u l t o f t h i s ,
John moved h i s f a m i l y s e v e r a l
s e ar ch o f b e t t e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
but
long b e f o r e th ey y i e l d e d
t h e w e a l t h o f which John Clemens dreamed.
c a t e d man,
land v a l u e s
low cost o f t h e s e la n d s ,
in Tennessee.
t h e f a m i l y would soon become r i c h
C h a ra c te ris tic a lly ,
An example o f
in h i s purchase o f t h e
and t h e r e l a t i v e l y
bought a l a r g e t r a c t o f
in business
it
seemed n e c e s ­
t o d i r e c t and hold the
she ap pears t o have done.
relig io u s ,
ence and d i r e c t th o se around h e r .
Jane
p i o n e e r woman a b l e t o
in flu ­
M a r k ' s mother was q u i t e
TI
A l b e r t B ig e lo w P a i n e , Mark T w a i n : __ A Bioqraphv
(New Y o r k and London, 1 9 1 2 ) , pp. 6 - 9 .
s t e r n and s e r i o u s
in her r e l i g i o u s o u t l o o k which some c r i t i c s .
Van Wyck Brooks c h i e f among them,
cause o f
in ne r c o n f l i c t
v i g o r o f Jane Clemens
c re a tiv ity .%
in Tw ai n.
is seen
feel
th a t the
tended t o s t i f l e T w a i n ' s
Gladys Carmen Bel la my p o i n t s o u t t h a t hi s mother
example o f th e
i d e a l i z e d womanhood
in T w a i n ’ s books and s p ee c he s.3
a v e r y humane,
be r e f l e c t e d
These c r i t i c s
in her r e l i g i o n
was a l s o a p r o b a b l e f i r s t
th at
have seen as a p o s s i b l e
Clemens was
u n d e r s t a n d i n g woman and t h e s e q u a l i t i e s
in Tw ai n.
Furthermore,
have been a speech model
spoken p h i l o s o p h y ,
h i s mother put
Mr s.
it),
a ll
M a r k ' s mother appears t o
f o r him; T w a i n ' s humor,
his h e s ita n t
rate
seem t o
his q u a in tly
("Sammy's slo w t a l k , "
seem t o have come a t
least
as
in p a r t
from Jane Clemens.**
Twain's p a re n ts ,
a ttitu d e s
and p e rs on a l
then,
seem t o have
c h ara cteristics.
i n f l u e n c e d his
Much o f t h i s
in flu ­
ence was p r o b a b l y e x e r t e d in M a r k ' s boyhood wh ich must n e x t be
examined f o r
other
f o r c e s t h a t h e l p e d t o shape him.
Mark T w a i n ' s e a r l y youth
M issouri,
s e l f put
contains several
it,
was born t h e
A rtis t
possible
influences.
t h i s boyhood was begun r a t h e r
3 0 t h o f November,
v illa g e of Florida,
York,
in F l o r i d a and H a n n i b a l ,
1835>
Monroe County,
As Twain hi m ­
inauspiciously.
in t h e a lm o s t
M is s o u ri.
"5
" I
in v is ib le
Mark was born
2.
Van Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal o f Mark Twain (New
1 9 3 3 ) , p p . ■49 -53 .
3.
Gladys Carmen B e l la m y , Mark Twain as a L i t e r a r y
(Norman, Oklahoma, 1 9 5 0 ) , p. 31.
4.
Paine,
p.
3°
5.
Mark T w a in ,
A u t o b io q r a p h y (New Y o r k ,
1924),
p.
7.
4
two months p r e m a t u r e and was not ex p e c te d t o s u r v i v e t h e coming
c o l d months
in t h e t i n y v i l l a g e on t h e S a l t R i v e r .
t h e f a m i l y moved t o H a n n i b a l ,
tie r v illa g e
to
education.
on him than d i d the
he was f i v e ,
t h a t Twain r e c e i v e d h i s
in fo r m a l
formal
s c h o o l i n g . School
but he o f t e n
school
Twain d i d
formal
a s p e c t had a good deal
had t o
e n t l y d i s l i k e d the r e s t r i c t i o n s
however,
fron­
and
F a c t o r s o f t h e two ty pes o f e d u c a t i o n seem
in d ic a te th a t the
when
uncultured,
in M i s s o u r i .
I t was in Han nib al
i n fo r m a l
another minute,
In 1839
and
f o r Mark
be f o r c e d
to
im p o s i t i o n s
1earn t o read and w r i t e
more e f f e c t
it
began
goand
appar­
represented;
in t h e Hannibal
and became an e x t r e m e ! y good s p e l l e r . &
Han nibal
also
p r e s e n t e d an en vi r o n m e n t which ed uc a te d Twain in an in fo rm a l
manner.
In t h i s
fro n tie r
hunting,
and f i s h i n g ;
town we re t h e j o y s o f cave e x p l o r i n g ,
the horrors o f d r in k in g ,
der ; and th e s p e c t a c l e s o f r e v i v a l
strel
shows.
In t h i s
termed a “ normal
meetings,
childhood."
circuses,
He was f r e q u e n t l y
and m i n ­
in T w a i n ' s
t h e books which he read
in t r o u b l e ;
he
he de ve lo pe d a v o c a b u l a r y o f “ cuss -
w o r d s " ; and he was g e n e r a l l y e d u c a te d
A ls o p r e s e n t
and mur­
e n vi r on m e nt Twain le d what would now be
smoked a t an e a r l y age;
life .7
rape,
in h i s
in t h e customs o f common
in fo r m a l
fa th e r's
boyhood e d u c a t io n w er e
lib ra ry .
Among t h e s e
volumes were the B i b l e , Don Q u i x o t e , P a r a d i s e L o s t , S ha ke sp ea re,
6.
Paine,
pp.
35-40
7.
Paine,
pp.
46-56.
5
The Age o f Reason, C a r l y l e ' s
D ia r y .8
A ll
French R e v o l u t i o n , and P epy s1
o f t h e s e f a c t o r s o f formal
exerted probable
i n f l u e n c e s on Tw a in .
d u r i n g M a r k ' s boyhood was a r e l i g i o u s
and in fo r m a l
Als o p r e s e n t
education
in H a n n ib a l
in fluence.
R e l i g i o n must be looked upon as a s i g n i f i c a n t but
r a th e r confusing f a c t o r
in T w a i n ' s boyhood y e a r s .
Through h i s
mother Mark came t o be i n t i m a t e l y a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e j o y s o f
e n f o r c e d Sunday School
w ith h e l l - f i r e
and da mnation.
m e a n t, h o w ev er ,
other,
ical
a t t e n d a n c e and long d u l l
How much t h i s
a ttitu d es
such as those o f h i s somewhat h e r e t ­
f a t h e r and a ne arby u n c l e .
life
expo su re a c t u a l l y
is q u e s t i o n a b l e s i n c e he was a l s o aware o f
d iffe rin g
in l a t e r
sermons f i l l e d
as expr ess ed
in h i s
In any ca se,
speeches
relig io u s b e lie fs
in d icate a d is lik e
f o r t h e c a n t and s p e c t a c l e o f r e l i g i o n p l u s many doubts as t o
the v a l i d i t y
of C h ris tia n ity
in g e n e r a l . 9
W i t h t h e de at h o f John Clemens
boyhood p e r i o d ended,
lo g ica l
his q u itt in g
however,
jo b s
East,
This t r a n s i t i o n
in h i s
life
is not
s i n c e Twain was o n l y t w e l v e a t t h e t i m e ,
school
ably did l i t t l e
Mark's e a r l y
and he moved i n t o what m i g h t be termed
h i s e a r l y w o rk i n g years,.
e n tire ly
in 1847,
t o be a p p r e n t i c e d to a l o c a l
fo r fam ily fo rtu n e s .
and
p r in te r prob­
The p r i n t i n g jo b d i d ,
be gi n h i s e a r l y w o r k i n g ye a r s d u r i n g wh ich he h e l d
in H a n n i b a l ,
St.
Louis,
on t h e M i s s i s s i p p i ,
New Y o r k ,
and o t h e r c i t i e s
of the
and in t h e West.
’ "87 E. Hudson Long, Mark Twain Handbook (New Y o r k ,
1 9 5 7 ) , pp. 2 9 4 - 2 9 5 .
9.
Kenneth R. Andrews, Nook Farm, Mark T w a i n ' s
H a r t f o r d C i r c l e (Cam brid ge, M a s s a c h u s e t t s , 1 9 5 0 ) , p. 67.
6
W h ile w o rkin g
several
p o s s ib le
paper b u s in e s s .
P.
in H a n n i b a l ,
in flu e n c e s
T w a in was s u b j e c t e d t o
as he l e a r n e d t h e s m a l l
As an a p p r e n t i c e t o t h e
lo ca l
A m e n t , T w a i n was e x p o s e d t o a g r e a t d e a l
b o t h good and b a d , w h i c h h e l p e d t o
ta ste .
w ith
A lso w h ile w orkin g
fo r
t h e s t o r y o f Joan o f A r c .
formed a n o th e r s te p
e u l o g i z i n g Joan o f A r c .
is
p rin te r,
of
T h is
l e g e n d seems t o have
a ttitu d e o f
When O r i o n ,
in h i s
to H annibal
tic e s h ip
ended and M a r k w e n t t o w o r k f o r O r i o n .
and b o u g h t a n e w s p a p e r , T w a i n ' s
and o t h e r c i t i e s
these v a rio u s
s p e c ific
fo r
soon M a rk began t o
c itie s ,
in flu e n c e s o f
le ft
Hannibal
fo r
S t,
o f th e East.
Upon r e t u r n i n g
these years are u n c le a r,
New
fo u r years
about
life
in s ig h t
but th is
in
The
p e rio d
and p e o p l e and
in to
1ife .^ O
f r o m the, E a s t , M a rk became a r i v e r - b o a t
on t h e M i s s i s s i p p i .
is th e b e s t
Ma rk s p e n t
Lo u is,
u s u a l l y w o r k i n g as a n e w s p a p e r man.
a p p e a r s t o have o f f e r e d h i m a g r e a t e r
it
T h is a rra n g e ­
however,
seems t o ha ve t a u g h t hi m a good d e a l
p ilo t
appren­
th e urge to t r a v e l .
A t e i g h t e e n T w a in
Y ork,
spe ec he s
T w a in 's o ld e r b r o th e r ,
re turn ed
feel
lite ra ry
A m e n t , T w a in became f a m i l i a r
re fle c te d v iv id ly
ment l a s t e d o n l y a s h o r t t i m e ,
Jo s e p h
lite ra tu re ,
fo rm u la te h is
in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f h i s
i d e a l i z e d womanhood w h i c h
town ne w s­
T h is
s h o rt pe rio d
in T w a in 's
life
known t o most p e o p l e b e c a u s e o f t h e g r e a t e f f e c t
had on h im .
In H a n n i b a l
and t h e v a r i o u s
c itie s
i n w h i c h he
had w o r k e d , M a rk had begun t o u n d e r s t a n d human n a t u r e ,
TOT
DeLancey F e r g u s o n ,
(New Y o r k , 1 9 4 3 ) , pp. 4 0 - 9 6 .
Mark Tw a in ;
but
Man and Legend
it
seemed t o be on t h e R i v e r t h a t
th is
k n o w le d g e was c r y s t a l i z e d .
T w a in on ce s a i d t h a t as he gr ew up and w e n t a b o u t t h e w o r l d ,
he met no one he had n o t met b e f o r e on t h e M i s s i s s i p p i .
on t h e R i v e r ,
v io u s ly ,
death e n te re d h is
th e death o f h is
fa th e r
e f f e c t on T w a i n ’ s o u t l o o k ;
b ro th e r,
Henry,
in M a rk 's
fo r
however,
th e death o f h is younger
form th e f i r s t
in a long s e r ie s o f t r a g ­
life .
lo s t
its
p ro fit,
T w a in 's
years
b u l e n t and
p e rio d
in h i s
in flu e n tia l
Mark worked a t s e v e ra l
fe s sio n s
s lu rrin g
""
tra ffic
on
D urin g t h i s
such as p r o s p e c t i n g ,
A rt e m u s W ard.
and
t h e men o f t h e s e p r o ­
about h is
A lso d u rin g his
m inin g ,
tim e
s i m p l e and
Nevada da ys Twain met
Ward was an o u t s t a n d i n g
h u m o r i s t o f t h e day and a p p a r e n t l y had a g r e a t e f f e c t
on t h e d e l i v e r y
T w a in 's
life .
q u i t e p o s s i b l y helped t o b r in g
and became f r i e n d s w i t h
riv e r
in t h e West f o r m e d a t u r ­
and h i s a s s o c i a t i o n s w i t h
d i r e c t o u t l o o k on l i f e .
fro n tie r
jo b s
War,
and Ma rk and b r o t h e r O r i o n
moved w e s t t o Nevada.
ne w spa pe r w o r k ,
P re­
seems t o hav e had l i t t l e
W ith th e o u tb re a k o f the C i v i l
the M is s is s ip p i
th e second tim e .
i n a s t e a m b o a t m i s h a p a p p e a r s t o have had deep
i n f l u e n c e and seems t o
edies
life
A lso
s to ic ,
and spe ec h m a n n e ri s m s o f T w a i n . ^
s tra ig h t-fa c e d
type o f p r e s e n ta tio n ,
the p o i n t o f the se n te n ce ,
11.
P aine,
p.
12.
P aine,
pp.
13.
Ferguson,
144.
238-248..
pp.
Ward p r o m p t e d
87 - 8 9 .
and h i s s l o w ,
h i s way o f
dry d e l i v e r y . ^
8
A f t e r h i s y e a r s o f work in th e v a r i o u s c i t i e s ,
M is sis sip p i,
a rb itra rily
and in t h e West, Twain passed
termed h i s ye ar s o f success.
he became th e n a t i o n a l
and i n t e r n a t i o n a l
on th e
i n t o what may be
D u r in g t h i s p e r i o d
fig u re that
is
brou gh t t o mind when t h e name '‘Mark T w ai n16 is m e n ti on ed .
in t h i s p a r t o f h i s
which a r e found
his
fin an cial
l i f e were s e v e r a l
in h i s
lec tu rin g ,
d iffic u ltie s ,
po ten tial
his t r a v e l ,
and h i s pe rs ona l
Also
influences
his m arriage,
trag edies.
Twain began a long c a r e e r as a v e r y p o p u l a r speaker
w ith his
firs t
l e c t u r e a t M a g u i r e ' s Academy o f Music
F r a n c i s c o on October 2,
was t h e f i r s t
1 8 6 6 . Thi s engagement a t M a g u i r e ' s
o f many v e r y s u c c e s s fu l
which p r o b a b l y f u r n i s h e d
d e liv e ry .
popular,
Mark f e l t ,
in San
appearances and t o u r s
impetus f o r t h e p e r f e c t i o n o f his
however,
th at,
w hile
l e c t u r i n g was v e r y
i t was a r a t h e r u n d e s i r a b l e p r o f e s s i o n because o f t h e
h a r d s h i p s e n c o u n t e r e d on th e t o u r s .
In s p i t e o f t h e d i s c o m f o r t s . Twain was an a r d e n t w o r l d
tra v e le r.
Hawaii.
H is
firs t
t r i p was t o t h e Sandwich
now
L a t e r t o u r s and e x c u r s i o n s covered most o f the w o r l d
i n c l u d i n g Eng land,
Fra nc e,
many o t h e r c o u n t r i e s .
several
Islands,
Germany,
Ita ly ,
W h i l e on t h e s e t r a v e l s Twain formed
s p e c i f i c o p i n i o n s such as t h i s ,
reveals his
t h e Holy Land,
f o r example, which
idea o f r o y a l t y :
T h e r e a r e shams and shams; t h e r e a r e f r a u d s and
f r a u d s , t h e t r a n s p a r e n t e s t o f a l l is t h e s c e p t e r e d
one.
We see monarchs go th ro ug h solemn ce re mo nie s,
f a r c e s , w i t h s t r a i g h t count en anc es; but i t is not
14.
Paine,
pp.
292-294.
and
p o s s i b l e t o imagine them m eet ing in p r i v a t e and
not la u g h in g in each o t h e r ' s f a c e s „
the
the
and
may
The system has f o r i t s end th e d e g r a d a t i o n o f
many f o r t h e few, t h e m i s e r y o f t h e many f o r
happiness o f t h e fevv, t h e c o l d and hunger
o v e r w o r k in g o f t h e u s e f u l t h a t th e u s e l e s s
l i v e in l u x u r y and i d l e n e s s . 15
T w a i n ' s a t t i t u d e toward l o y a l t y a l s o seems to have been
a f f e c t e d by h i s t r a v e l s .
into fa ls e
lo y a lty ,
in d ig n itie s
He saw t h a t too o f t e n men a r e t r i c k e d
to o o f t e n p e o p l e have endured a thousand
under t h e te rm " l o y a l t y " when a c t u a l l y
f i r s t mean f a i t h f u l n e s s
to one's s e l f . ^
it
should
Tw ain's tr a v e ls
i n f l u e n c e d and h e lp e d de ve lo p h i s h u m a n i t a r i a n o u t l o o k .
France and
Ita ly ,
t h a t would p e r m i t such c o n d i t i o n s .
betrayed;
worst.
and on t h e s e t r a v e l s
he saw t h e e v i l
This
In
Mark was moved t o p i t y by t h e p l i g h t o f th e
common man; he was o u t r a g e d by th e
an i d e a l i s t ,
also
i n j u s t i c e o f a social
system
Mark was a s e n s i t i v e man,
he saw h i s
in t h e w o r l d ;
ideals co n stan tly
he saw l i f e
at
its
i d e a l i s m and s e n s i t i v i t y c o n t r i b u t e d t o a p e s s i ­
mism t h a t may be r e g a rd e d as an i n f l u e n c e on h i s sp e a k in g .
A ll
o f T w a i n ' s ti m e d u r i n g h i s ye ar s o f success and
fame was n o t , o f c o u r s e ,
spent
he m a r r i e d O l i v i a Langdon.
M a r k ' s concept o f
in 'tra v e l.
"Livy"
On Fe b r u a r y 2,
18 77 ,
formed a n o t h e r example o f
i d e a l i z e d womanhood which was mentioned as
s t a r t i n g w i t h Jane Clemens and i n c l u d i n g Joan o f A r c .
a t t i t u d e o f T w a i n ' s toward women is w e l l
T h is
d e s c r i b e d by Gladys
T5I Mark T w a i n , N ot e b o o k , ed. A l b e r t B ig e lo w Pain e
(New Y o r k and London, 1 9 3 5 ) , pp. 1 9 6 - 1 9 7 .
16.
T w a i n , N o t e b o o k , p.
199.
10
Carmen Bella my:
tl .
» . most o f Mark T w a i n ' s women f l o a t
th rough h i s pages on p i n k - t i n t e d cloud s o f s e n t i m e n t a l i t y ,
w ith a l l
t h e v e r v e and z e s t o f b i s q u e d o l l s .
charming p u r i t y ,
bu t th ey have ho l i f e . "^7
They a r e o f
B esides s e r v i n g
as an example o f womanhood, O l i v i a a l s o formed a s t a b i l i z i n g
influence
in T w a i n ' s
d iffic u ltie s .
It
l i f e when he was b e s e t w i t h
fin an cial
>
seems s t r a n g e t h a t such a s u c c e s s fu l
have f i n a n c i a l
man should
problems* bu t Twain had many o f them.
Examples
o f M a r k ' s bu sin ess m i s f o r t u n e s a r e hi s p u b l i s h i n g f i r m and t h e
P a ig e T y p e s e t t i n g Mac hine.
Twain
p r o j e c t s and p l a c e d a g r e a t deal
invested h e a v i l y
of fa ith
in them.
in t h e s e
When th ey
f a i l e d he was g r e a t l y d i s i l l u s i o n e d and e c o n o m i c a l l y b a n k r u p t .
Twain's
cess" a r e ,
however,
m isfortunes,
him.
fin an cial
for
it
d iffic u ltie s
probably
le s s s i g n i f i c a n t
than h i s p e r s o n a l
seemed t h a t s ic k n e s s and d e a th f o l l o w e d
The death s o f h i s f a t h e r and b r o t h e r Henry have a l r e a d y
been m e n ti on ed .
These blows were f o l l o w e d by t h e pass ing away
o f J e r v i s Langdon,
L ivy's
father.
Next
e d i e s was t h e de at h o f M a r k 's o n l y son,
which L i v y made t h e i r
o f t e n as
i f my pa th
seems a prophesy.
after
in h i s y e a r s o f " s u c ­
an e i g h t y e a r
fe elin gs
in t h i s
series o f t r a g ­
Langdon Clemens, a f t e r
known by s a y i n g ,
"I
is t o be l i n e d w i t h g r a v e s °
M a r k ' s d a u g h te r Susy d i e d
illn ess ,
ITT
Bel 1amy, p.
18.
Paine,
pp. 4 5 6 - 4 5 7 .
T h i s re m ar k
in 1896.
L i v y passed away, and
31.
f e e 1 so
In 1904,
in 1909
T w a i n ' s d a u g h te r Jean d i e d .
said,
Following Jean's b u r i a l ,
u I l o s t Susy t h i r t e e n y e a r s ago;
I l o s t her m o t h e r - - h e r
incom pa ra ble mother 1 f i v e and a h a l f y e a r s ago;
away t o l i v e
in Europe;
Mark
C l a r a has gone
and now I have l o s t J e a n .
How poor
2
am t h a t once was so r i c h . "^9
Throughout T w a i n ' s
ings t h a t p r o b a b l y
h i s boyhood,
success.
nal
life ,
then,
i n f l u e n c e d him.
These i n c l u d e h i s p a r e n t a g e ,
h i s e a r l y w o rk i n g y e a r s ,
T h i s does not co m p le te an
factors a ffe c tin g
a l s o be re g a rd e d as
his
a r e f a c t o r s and happen­
and h i s
l a t e r years o f
in ves tig a tio n
speaking,
however,
for
o f the e x t e r ­
t h e times must
influencing forces.
T imes
In c lu d e d
in t h e e x t e r n a l
factors
a r e t h e f o r c e s and t r e n d s o f t h e p e r i o d
A.
Craig B aird a p t l y
said,
i n f l u e n c i n g a sp ea k er
in which he l i v e d .
"As t h e p e r s o n a l i t y - - i n t e l l e c t u a l
and e m o t i o n a l - - o f t h e speaker
/
is l a r g e l y e x p l a i n e d by h i s t o t a l
e x p e r i e n c e s p r i o r t o any ap pe a ra nc e b e f o r e an a u d i e n c e ,
he h e a v i l y a f f e c t e d
by t h e p o l i t i c a l ,
clim ate
in which he
lives.
I n / t h e case
o f Twain t h e r e
he was an e x c e p t i o n
q u ite the c o n trary
economic,
The ti m e s make t h e
is
so is
and c u l t u r a l
o
r
a
t
o
r
.
"^0
no cause t o suppose t h a t
t o t h e f o r c e s o f hi s
is t r u e .
As
tim es,
and,
in f a c t ,
The i n f l u e n c e s e x e r t e d by the
p e r i o d may be approached th rou gh an e x a m in a t io n o f t h e westward
W.
May,
York,
1909,
p.
20.
1956),
Mark T w a i n , "The Death o f J e a n , " H a r p e r s M a g a z i n e ,
211.
American P u b l i c A d d r e s s , ed.
p. 4 .
A.
C r a i g B a i r d (New
12
e x p a n s io n ,
ism,
the
t h e C i v i l War,
im perialism ,
the p o l i t i c a l
trends,
the m a t e r i a l ­
and t h e r e f o r m movements o f t h e t i m e .
Because T w a i n ' s youth and e a r l y manhood was spent on
the f r o n t i e r ,
t h e w e s t e r n ex pan sio n o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s must
be re g a rd e d as a f o r c e a f f e c t i n g
youth,
F l o r i d a and H a n n i b a l ,
c iv iliz a tio n
him.
M issouri,
The two towns o f h i s
were on t h e f r i n g e s o f
as was t h e Nevada o f h i s w e s te r n y e a r s .
th r o u g h o u t T w a i n ' s
life
t h e r e was a f r o n t i e r
In f a c t ,
somewhere in
America which a f f e c t e d him in both a d ve r se and b e n e f i c i a l
Adversely,
t h e w e s te r n movement s e rv e d t o e s t a b l ish a
r a t h e r g r im e n vi r on m e nt f o r T w a in .
ment
in h i s
little
life
The s e m i - c i v i 1 i zed e n v i r o n ­
must be looked upon as c u l t u r a l l y
de adening;
o r no v a l u e was p l a c e d upon good l i t e r a t u r e ,
other a r ts ;
ways.
and o f t e n c u l t u r a l
resu lt of th is p rev ailin g
plays,
p u r s u i t s were sc orned .
attitu d e ,
or
As a
Twain p r o b a b l y never r e a l l y
u n de rst oo d many o f t h e g r e a t a r t works t h a t he saw in l a t e r
life .
Therefore,
re a lly
understand,
he o f t e n c r i t i c i z e d
t h a t which he d i d not
damning t h a t which was o u t s i d e h i s e x p e r i ­
ence.
B e n e fic ia lly ,
t h e westward movement a l s o helpe d t o
form some o f T w a i n ' s p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e s ,
in t h e u n s e t t l e d
w e s t e r n extrem es o f t h e c o u n t r y a good deal
p l a c e d upon openness and h o n e s ty .
tude,
fe lt
o f t e n spoke a g a i n s t a l l
o f emphasis was,
Twain, r e f l e c t i n g
forms o f hoaxes and shams; he
t h a t n o t h i n g o f v a l u e need be masked or h i d d e n .
t i o n t o t h e honesty and openness, Twain b e n e f i t e d
fro n tie r
r e g a r d f o r democracy.
th is a t t i ­
In a d d i ­
from t h e
Here men were t r e a t e d as e q u a l s
13
and a man was ju d g e d by what he c o u l d do r a t h e r
was;
than who he
t h e p e o p le were c l o s e t o t h e rough ele me nt s o f l i f e
respected
lo ok;
in d iv id u a lity .
he f e l t
Twain adopted t h i s
t h a t pers ona l
democratic o u t ­
independence must form the b a s i s
f o r democracy and t h a t m i n o r i t i e s
h e l d a deep b e l i e f
and
to o a r e
in t h e common man.^l
important;
and he
Also p r e s e n t on t h e
f r o n t i e r was t h e rough-hewn humor and s a t i r e t h a t was t o be
Tw ain's.
Hum orists such as Augustus Baldwin L o n g s t r e e t ,
W i l l i a m Tappan Thompson,
George W. H a r r i s ,
extrem ely oral
Johnson J .
Hooper,
Joseph G. B a l d w i n ,
and Thomas B. Th orpe were p a r t o f an
t y p e o f communication;
news,
yarns,
communications t r a v e l e d m a i n l y by word o f m o u t h . ^2
o f th e
to
im portance o f o r a l
and o t h e r
Because
communication, Twain was prompted
improve h i s s p e a k i n g .
The f r o n t i e r ,
ing many p o s s i b l e
and b e n e f i c i a l l y
then,
is a v e r y complex s u b j e c t c o n t a i n ­
i n f l u e n c e s on Twain which a c t e d both a d v e r s e l y
t o form him.
S till
another fo rc e helping to
shape Twain d u r i n g t h e s e ti m es was t h e C i v i l
The C i v i l
War must be c o n s i d e r e d a v e r y g r e a t and
moving f o r c e ca us in g s t r i f e ,
during th is
period.
were q u e s t i o n e d ,
War.
controversy^
F a m i l i e s were s p l i t ,
and d i s t u r b a n c e
m o r a ls and v a l u e s
and customs and h a b i t s were d i s r u p t e d ;
out the United S tates
through­
t h e Union was t h r e a t e n e d by the g r e a t e s t
TT, Henry S e id e l Canby, "Mark Twain H i m s e l f , " The
S a t u r d a y R e v ie w , October 29, 1932, p. 202.
22.
B e ll a m y ,
p. 45 .
14
problem s in c e
its
every c i t i z e n ,
be g in n in g .
in c lu d in g
As su ch a f o r c e ,
Twain.
One o f t h e more o b v i o u s
T w a in b e c a u s e
c lo s in g
it
it
n o t been c l o s e d ,
b ro th e r
t o Nevada,
him.
on t h e M i s s i s s i p p i .
in T w a in 's
and h i s
life
th a t
it
o f h is
moral
life ;
had
the C i v i l
War c l o s e d t h e R i v e r ,
caused a c l a s h o f
lo y a litie s
T h i s came a b o u t when t h e v a l u e s T w a i n grew up
y o u t h was a s l a v e - h o l d i n g
a c c u s to m e d t o s l a v e r y and t o o k
its
This
m i g h t have been g r e a t l y a l t e r e d .
w i t h w e r e c h a l l e n g e d by t h o s e he had begun t o
M is so u ri
by
he p r o b a b l y w o u l d n o t ha ve a cc o m p a n i e d h i s
a l s o a f f e c t e d T w a in s i n c e
w ith in
o f t h e War was f e l t
formed a t r a n s i t i o n
A side from th e f a c t
it
e ffe c ts
stopped t r a f f i c
o f the R iv e r
t h e War a f f e c t e d
im p lic a tio n s .
worked v a lu e d freedom ,
o u s ly qu e stio n
it
How ever,
fo r
T h is c la s h o f valu es
area,
The
and he was
g ra n te d w it h o u t exam ining
War p r o m p t e d h i m t o s e r i ­
e a rly ch ild h o o d .
in T w a in was a c c o m p a n ie d by a
g r o w i n g p e s s i m i s m as he saw t h e h o r r o r o f w a r .
B e l l a m y s u m m a ri z e s t h i s
by.
t h e E a s t w h e r e Twain had
and t h e C i v i l
the valu es o f h is
liv e
aspect o f the C iv il
G l a d y s Carmen
W ar :
A t t h i s p o i n t , t h e n , he had b e h e l d t h e human
r a c e engaged in tw o o f i t s u n l o v e l i e s t a c t i v i t i e s ,
t h e c r i m e o f s l a v e r y and t h e c r i m e o f w a r . . . .
And w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e s p e c t a c l e o f f r a t r i c i d e he
had j u s t w i t n e s s e d i n t h e C i v i l War gave r i s e t o
new f e e l i n g s o f c o n t e m p t f o r t h e human r a c e a t
l a r g e , s u b s e q u e n t l y h i s l e t t e r s and w r i t i n g s
r e v e a l a g r e a t e r meas ure o f t h a t c o n t e m p t . 2 3
In summary,
the C i v i l
cant fa c to r
in s h a p in g T w a in 's
23.
B e l la m y ,
War mu st be r e g a r d e d as a v e r y s i g n i f i ­
p.
77.
life,
va lu e s,
and o u t l o o k .
The
War was c l o s e l y
r e la t e d to another fo rc e o f the tim es,
e x e r t e d by t h e p o l i t i c s
The p o l i t i c a l
complex in n a t u r e .
that
of the period.
s itu atio n
d u r i n g T w a i n ' s p e r i o d was q u i t e
Change was r a p i d ,
movements were c o m p l i ­
cated,
and issues were i 11- d e f i n e d in many ca s e s .
However,
/
w i t h i n t h i s complex s i t u a t i o n two t r e n d s seem t o form keys t o
an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the p e r i o d .
These were toward f a c t i o n a l i s m
and toward c o r r u p t i o n .
The t r e n d toward f a c t i o n a l i s m tended t o d i v i d e t h e
nation
into b i t t e r
groups.
Reconstruction Period
F o l l o w i n g th e C i v i l
the
( 1 8 6 5 - 1 8 7 7 ) was marked by a s p l i t ,
o n l y between N o r th and South,
T h e r e was
War,
bu t a l s o w i t h i n
t h e Nor th
not
its e lf.
i n t e n s e d i v i s i o n because c e r t a i n groups advocated
bl oody r e p r i s a l s
a g a i n s t the South w h i l e o t h e r f a c t i o n s
favored
amnesty.
Among t h e s e s p l i t s
came l e s s e r d i v i s i o n s ov er p a r t y
p o litic s ,
p o litic a l
regu lation of
social
reforms,
r e f o r m s , a n d means o f c o n t r o l l i n g
in d u s trial
expansion,
corporate w e a l t h . ^
Accompanying t h e f a c t i o n a l i s m o f t h e ti m e s was a n o t h e r
key t r e n d ,
th is
ad m in istration .
one toward c o r r u p t i o n as e x e m p l i f i e d by G r a n t ' s
T h i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n was one o f w id e s p re a d
b r i b e r y and crookedness
term as P r e s i d e n t ,
sm aller r i v a l s
racy.
o ffic e .
During G r a n t ' s
r o b b e r - b a r o n s ran t h e c o u n t r y ,
cr u s h in g
by unscru pu lous methods and r u l i n g by p l u t o c ­
In New Y o r k ,
Croke r was a t
in p o l i t i c a l
t h e Tammany Ring headed by R i c h a r d "Boss"
i t s peak.
T h i s group o f p o l i t i c a l
ga ng s te r s
27k
H i s t o r y and C r i t i c i s m o f American P u b l i c A d d r e s s ,
ed. W i l l i a m Norwood B r i g a n c e (New Y o r k , 1 9 6 0 ) , pi 112.
16
succeeded
in c o r r u p t i n g v o t i n g p r o c e d u r e s ,
and p o l i t i c s
in g e n e r a l .
t h e scandalous n a t i o n a l
was a decay w i t h i n
the
contract
And, perhaps as the
and c i t y
p o litic a l
in d ivid u a l,
real
le ttin g ,
cause f o r
situ a tio n ,
Hen became le s s
there
interested
in p r i n c i p l e and more caught up in the money and m a t e r i a l i s m
o f t h e " G i l d e d A g e ."
In d ivid u a ls s a c r ific e d
in o r d e r to v o t e t h e p a r t y t i c k e t .
fo rm e r p r i n c i p l e s
In g e n e r a l ,
men seemed
1
le s s
i n d i g n a n t than the c o r r u p t i o n o f times seemed t o w a r r a n t .
The m a t e r i a l i s m o f t h e " G i l d e d Age" had g r e a t e f f e c t
on as pe c ts o t h e r than the p o l i t i c a l
s itu a tio n .
ism p r o b a b l y s t a r t e d w i t h the Bessemer process
in 1865 and
ga in e d a f o o t h o l d
in America w i t h
about 1867.
r e v o l u t i o n caused r a p i d growth
tio n ,
T h is
banking,
demand f o r
and a l l
labor,
e
v
o
l u
t i o
n
.
In d u s trial
ag en c ie s o f commerce.
t h e growth o f huge t r u s t s
and the growth o f c i t i e s were a l l
R
the
This m a t e r i a l ­
M aterialism ,
in
in t r a n s p o r t a ­
The
in c re a s e d
and c o r p o r a t i o n s ,
re s u lts o f the
however,
Revolution
In d u s trial
also a ff e c t e d
th e g o a ls
and v a l u e s o f t h e c o u n t r y .
In terms o f t h e g o al s and i n t e r e s t s o f
p e o p l e , T w a i n ' s t i m e s were ones o f
in d u strial
t h e American
pioneering.
i n t e r e s t s and d r i v e s were d i r e c t e d toward money.
A ll
The whole
p s y c h i c energy o f the U n i t e d S t a t e s was caught up in th e
ex p lo itatio n
o f natural
the m a te r ia l
w e a l t h o f t h e c o u n t r y . 26
——
26.
gyigance,
Brooks,
p.
resources;
p.
111.
77-
a ll
action
r e v o l v e d about
In terms o f t h e v a l u e s o f t h e c o u n t r y ,
based upon t h e d o l l a r
sign.
d e s ir e fo r quick w e a lth ,
c a lf.
a ll
w o rt h was
T h e r e was a sudden f e v e r i s h
w i t h o n l y one d i v i n i t y ,
t h e golden
T h i s m a t e r i a l i s t i c o u t l o o k gave r i s e t o o s t e n t a t i o n ;
c i g a r s wrapped
in h u n d r e d - d o l l a r b i l l s
dogs were c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e age.
and banquets f o r p e t
The w or ki ng c l a s s was
a l s o e x p l o i t e d as a r e s u l t o f m a t e r i a l i s m ; w o rk e rs were
treated ,
underpaid,
poorly fed,
The d i s t o r t i o n
and
of national
t r e n d o f t h e a g e - - i m p e r i a l ism.
was growing r a p i d l y ;
scope o f t h i s
values
h oused.
is seen
27
in a n o t h e r
Im perialism during t h is time
em pir e b u i l d i n g was a t
movement and i t s
ta n t factors of th is
poorly
ill-
its
peak.
i n f l u e n c e on Twain a r e
The
impor­
trend.
The scope o f t h e problem
is b e s t seen
in t h e numerous
i m p e r i a l i s t i c e n t e r p r i s e s o f England and th e U n i t e d S t a t e s .
For example,
under t h e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f " t h e w h i t e man's
b u r d e n , 11 England was a c t i v e l y b u i l d i n g her em p ir e
A fric a .
The Boer War and o t h e r
fo u g h t by t h e B r i t i s h
"Tommy."
P h ilip p in e
Many p o l i t i c i a n s
in t h e U n i t e d
and South
and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s was " a n n e x in g " th e
Islands.
Twain was moved in c o n t r a d i c t o r y ways by t h e
of
im perialism .
and t h e
I n d i a and
l e s s e r a c t i o n s were being
S t a t e s were a d v o c a t i n g conquest o f t h e C e n t r a l
American s t a t e s ,
in
influence
In h i s youth he shared t h e dream o f empire
i d e a l i s m o f t h e w h i t e man's burden.
27.
P h illip
(New Y o r k , 1 9 5 8 ) , p.
S. Foner,
69.
This a t t i t u d e
Mark T w a i n : __ S o c i a l
C ritic
is
18
seen,
f o r example.
Sandwich
Islands,
In h i s advocacy o f t h e a n n e x a t i o n o f th e
In f a c t ,
in l a t e r
life
he d e s c r i b e d h i m s e l f
in youth as a " r e d - h o t
i m p e r i a l i s t . "28
ism" changed,
as h i s v a l u e s m at u re d,
however,
more o f t h e ways o f t h e w o r l d ,
defined.
T h is
it
im p eria l­
as he 1earned
and as h i s hu manity became
Twain came t o be a s t r o n g enemy o f
p o l i c y and opposed
"red-hot
in h i s w r i t i n g
im p e ria lis tic
and in h i s
s p e a k in g .
The c o r r u p t i o n and i m p e r i a l i s m o f t h e tim es gave r i s e
t o a n o t h e r phenomenon o f T w a i n ' s p e r i o d ,
reform.
several
ment
cal
T h i s t r e n d was g r e a t
p o ten tial
is seen
reform,
and s o c i a l
In t h e f i e l d
because,
follow ing
Industrial
lag ge d.
porations
areasr
busi n es s
the
in itia l
and r e g u l a t i o n
in t r a d e
la g p e r m i t t e d t h e growth o f huge t r u s t s and c o r ­
were passed and e n f o r c e d ;
Several
in t h i s p e r i o d .
business
A n ti-tru s t
laws
a Dep artment o f Commerce and Labor
and numerous c o n t r o l s were passed r e g u l a t i n g
c o r p o r a t e
p r a c t i c e s .
30
Labor-management reforms
began because o f a growing tendency toward o r g a n i z a t i o n
labor.
p o liti­
surg e o f growth caused by th e
le g is la tio n
r e f o r m measures became a c t i v e
p r i v a t e and
reform,
o f bu sin es s g r e a t re fo rm s were needed
th a t threatened com p etition.
was c r e a t e d ;
The scope o f the move­
re fo rm .^
Revolution,
This
in s i z e and c o n s e q u e n t l y o f f e r e d
i n f l u e n c e s on T w ai n .
in t h r e e g e n e r a l
a movement toward
As l a b o r banded t o g e t h e r ,
281
F o n e r , pp.
239-240.
29.
Br ig an c e,
p.
116.
30.
Brigance,
p.
116*
huge s t r i k e s
in
plagu ed th e
19
•
1
n a t i o n and unemployment reached f o u r m i l l i o n .
Then s l o w l y
t h e c o n f l i c t between l a b o r and management began t o be r e s o l v e d .
R e l a t e d t o t h e bu sin ess
s im ila r
trend
in p o l i t i c s .
re forms o f t h e p e r i o d was a
in t h e p o l i t i c a l
c o r r u p t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f Gr an t was exposed;
gers were f o r c e d o u t o f t h e South;
by v i g o r o u s women campaigners
of
its
on a l l
p o litic a l
lev els ,
decadency.
s itu atio n
t h e c a r p e t bag­
and th e n a t i o n ,
in many ca ses,
the
swept on
came t o be ashamed
The r e f o r m t i c k e t
became po we rf u l
and the barons o f c o r r u p t government were c h a l -
1enged and o f t e n d e f e a t e d .
Reform was a l s o an a c t i v e agent
o f the p e r i o d . .
u larly
Social
in t h e s o c i a l
s itu a -
b e t t e r m e n t d r i v e s were c e n t e r e d p a r t i c ­
in t h e R e c o n s t r u c t i o n
Era and gave r i s e t o t h e humane
movement and t h e woman's s u f f r a g e movement.31 The f i r s t
of
t h e s e f o l l o w e d th e C i v i l War and sought t o a l l e v i a t e human s u f ­
ferin g ,
As a p a r t o f t h e t r e n d many c h a r i t y d r i v e s were o r g a n ­
ize d t o h e lp t h e p o o r , and campaigns were s t a r t e d t o e l i m i n a t e
racial
d iscrim in atio n .
Oth er campaigns o f t h e humane movement
c o n c e n t r a t e d on temp eranc e.
E sp ecially a c tiv e
in th es e tem­
pe rance d r i v e s was t h e Woman's C h r i s t i a n Temperance Union
which sought t o tame and curb what
t h e day,
p a r t ic u l a r ly drin k.
it
fe lt
t o be t h e e v i l s o f
The woman's s u f f r a g e movement
o c c u r r e d around t h e t u r n o f t h e c e n t u r y and f e a t u r e d thousands
o f r a t h e r a g g r e s s i v e fe males f i g h t i n g
campaigns were n a t i o n - w i d e ,
fo r the vo te.
and t h e women g a i n e d power th ro u g h
p e r s e v e r a n c e and in many cases a b l e p u b l i c s p e a k i n g .
31.
Br iga nc e,
p.
These
113.
20
External
facto rs
p r a i s e and blame,
W ithin his
life
shaping T w a i n ' s sp ea k in g and use o f
t h e n , can be found
in h i s
life
i n f l u e n c e s e x e r t e d by h i s p a r e n t s ,
his e a r l y working ye a rs ,
t h e w e s t e r n e x p a n s io n ,
the C iv il
t h e m a t e r i a l i s m and i m p e r i a l i s m ,
W ith in the tim es,
W ar, the p o l i t i c a l
in mind t h e n e x t phase o f t h i s
the c r i t e r i a
situ atio n ,
and t h e r e f o r m movements w e r e
a c t i v e f a c t o r s t h a t se rv ed t o form h i s a t t i t u d e s
W ith these fa c to r s
h i s boyhood
and h i s y e a r s o f success and fame
he lp e d t o make him t h e speaker t h a t he was.
be approached,
and t i m e s .
and o p i n i o n s .
study w i l l
f o r t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e speeches
CHAPTER I I
CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE SPEECHES
B efore a
th e c r i t i c i s m
spe ec h can be e v a l u a t e d ,
is
t o be f o u n d e d m u s t be e s t a b l i s h e d .
c a s e o f p r a i s e and bla m e t h i s
t o d e t e r m i n e how e f f e c t i v e l y
c rite ria
fu rn is h
and e n a b l e t h e
the p o in ts
upon w h i c h
In t h e
i n v o l v e s d r a w i n g up s t a n d a r d s
th e s e elements a r e used.
Thes e
an o r g a n i z e d o b j e c t i v e a p p r o a c h f o r t h e c r i t i c
reader to b e t t e r understand th e e v a lu a tio n
th a t
is t o ta k e p la c e .
This chapter w i l l
te ria
a t t e m p t t o p r e s e n t t h e ne ces sa ry c r i ­
in t h r e e b a s i c s t e p s :
reveal
t h e s p e a k e r ' s goals?
p r e s e n t reasons f o r
( 3 ) How s k i l l f u l l y
(1)
How c l e a r l y does th e speech
( 2 ) How e f f e c t i v e l y
does t h e speech
th e a c c e p ta n c e o f th e s p e a k e r ' s goals? and
a r e t h e s e reasons h e i g h t e n e d t o
i n s u r e th e
a c c e p ta n c e o f the s p e a k e r ' s goals ?
These t h r e e p o i n t s and th e
various
c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f each w i l l
be d i s c u s s e d as c r i t e r i a
f o r the
judgment
o f p r a i s e and blame.
R e v e a l i n g t h e S p e a k e r ' s P e r s u a s i v e Goals
In o r d e r f o r t h e p e r s u a s i v e goal
c l e a r t o th e au d ie n c e
o f t h e speaker t o be
in a speech o f p r a i s e or blame, t h e
speak er must do two t h i n g s :
he
must l e t t h e a u d i e n c e know o f
whom he speaks and how he wishes t h e l i s t e n e r s
21
to feel
about
22
t h e s u b j e c t on which he is s p e a k i n g .
Both o f t h e s e ta sk s
must c l e a r l y be done b e f o r e t h e speak er can hope f o r f a v o r ­
a b l e response.
The s u b j e c t o f a speech o f p r a i s e or blame can be a
man, an a c t i o n ,
o r an i n s t i t u t i o n
t h e name o r d e s c r i p t i o n o f
which can be r e v e a l e d t o t h e a u d ie n c e w i t h a s i m p l e s t a t e m e n t .
But t h e r e must be no vagueness about t h e s u b j e c t ;
must know e x a c t l y what or whom t h e speaker
and r e p e t i t i o n
o f t e n se rves t o f i x
th e a u d ie n c e
is d e a l i n g w i t h ,
the speaker's
subject
in
t h e minds o f t h e a u d i e n c e .
Furthermore,
t h e a u d ie n c e ;
he must l e t h i s
d e s i r e s o f them.
f o r a p e rs o n ,
is used,
t h e speak er must convey h i s purpose t o
lis te n e rs
know what r e a c t i o n
In t h e case o f p r a i s e ,
a c t i o n , or
in s titu tio n .
the r e a c tio n desired
th is
he
is a d m i r a t i o n
In t h e e v e n t t h a t blame
is contempt.
A ris to tle
further
speaks o f t h e g o a ls o f a speech o f p r a i s e o r blame as honor
or d i s h o n o r . I
W e b s t e r ' s New Wor ld D i c t i o n a r y c l a r i f i e s
t y p e o f speech when
great respect given,
i t d e f i n e s " p r a i s e " as "a hi gh r eg a rd or
.
.
. es p ec ially
(b) c r e d i t ,
good
accusation,
a condemnation,
speaker,
then,
th is
r e p u t a t i o n .
"2
(a)
fame,
glory,
renown,
Webster d e f i n e s "blame" as an
a fa u ltfin d in g ,
a
c e n s u r e .
3
The
must c l e a r l y show t h e au di e nc e t h a t he wishes
t o convey a high r e g a r d or c e n su re f o r t h e s u b j e c t o f his
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p.
2.
W e b s t e r , p.
697•
3.
W e b s t e r , p.
154.
18.
.
23
speech.
T h is
t o o may be done w i t h
a l s o be done w i t h
a s e rie s o f
a sim ple sta te m e n t;
in fe re n ce s; but
it
i t may
mu st be don e
in such a way as t o
l e a v e no d o u b t a b o u t =t h e s p e a k e r ' s p u r p o s e
in t h e m i n d s o f t h e
lis te n e rs .
c le a rly
C r i t i c i s m mu st e v a l u a t e how
th e speaker presented h is
pe rsua sive g o a ls .
Reasons f o r A c c e p t i n g t h e S p e a k e r ' s G oa ls
A fte r
t h e s p e a k e r has r e v e a l e d t h e s u b j e c t o f h i s
spe ec h and how he w i s h e s t h e a u d i e n c e t o f e e l
speech s u b j e c t ,
he mu st show h i s
accept h is w ishes;
man,
a c tio n ,
or
if
concerning
l i s t e n e r s why t h e y s h o u l d
th e h e a re rs a re to adm ire o r
in s titu tio n
h is
t h e y mu st be g i v e n
re v ile
a
reason f o r
d o i n g so .
Reason f o r
a c c e p t i n g t h e s p e a k e r ' s p r o p o s i t i o n s m u st
be e s t a b l i s h e d by s h o w in g t h e s u b j e c t o f p r a i s e o r blame t o
possess o r t o
A ris to tle
p ro te ct
lack the t r a i t s
d e s c r i b e s o b j e c t s o f v a l u e as t h o s e w h i c h p r o v i d e o r
b e n e fits
f o r mankind.
w orthy a t t r ib u t e s
tem perance,
prudence,
m a g n ifice n ce ,
and w i s d o m . ^
speech,
he w i l l
honor o r d i s h o n o r .
or
illu s tra tio n s ,
F u r t h e r , he l i s t s
o r elem ents o f v i r t u e :
m agnanim ity,
If
more o f t h e s e a t t r i b u t e s
o f h is
th e audience v a lu e s o r ad m ires.
n in e general
ju s tic e ,
lib e ra lity ,
t h e s p e a k e r can f i r m l y
as p r e s e n t o r
la c k in g
courage,
ge n tle n e ss,
fix
one o r
in th e s u b j e c t
show t h e a u d i e n c e why t h e y s h o u l d f e e l
T h i s may be done w i t h
s ta tis tic s ,
a u th o ritie s ,
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , pp.
t h e u s e o f ex a m p le s
or
re ason ing.
46-47.
24
C r i t i c i s m must e v a l u a t e how e f f e c t i v e l y
and f i x e d
Devices
t h e speech p r e s e n t e d
reasons f o r t h e a c c e p ta n c e o f t h e s p e a k e r ’ s g o a l s .
f o r M a g n i f y i n g -the P r a i s e o r Blame
A speech o f p r a i s e or blame cannot end w i t h m er el y
e s t a b l i s h i n g a cause f o r a c c e p t i n g t h e s p e a k e r ’ s g o a l s .
th e speech
is t o be t r u l y e f f e c t i v e
If
i t must go one step f u r t h e r
and h e i g h t e n o r m a g n if y t h e w o r th y a t t r i b u t e s
o f the su bje ct o f
t h e speech and make them v i v i d and m e a n in g fu l
t o th e audience.
T h i s may be accompl ished by the use o f s e v e r a l
which w i l l
be d e s c r i b e d
te c h n iq u e s
in d e t a i l .
One o f t h e ways o f h e i g h t e n i n g the el e m e n ts o f v i r t u e
p r e s e n t or
lacking
in t h e s u b j e c t o f a speech
them t o o t h e r wo rt h y a t t r i b u t e s .
m a g n if y t h e cour age o f General
b e n eficia l
For example,
G r a n t by making
it
possible to overlook s l i g h t d e fic ie n c ie s
cism must ju d g e how e f f e c t i v e l y
th is
set o f values.
o r th e U n i t e d
t h e r e b y making
in o t h e r s .5
in t h e speech may a l s o
th ro ug h the use o f appeals t o t h e a u d i e n c e ’ s
For
instance,
an a u di e nc e composed o f M a ri n e s
would be more impressed by courage than temperance
v id u a l.
C riti­
is done.
The v i r t u e s o r v i c e s d e a l t w i t h
in ten sifie d
appear more
In t h i s way t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e speech
appears t o possess t h e more im p o r t a n t v i r t u e s ,
be
a speaker c o u l d
than temperance t o mankind in g e n e r a l
States s p e c i f i c a l l y .
it
is by comparing
By t h e same t o k e n ,
in an i n d i ­
temperance would make a g r e a t e r
impact on t h e Woman’ s C h r i s t i a n Temperance Union than would
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p.
47.
25
m agnificence.
This
t e c h n i q u e r e q u i r e s two t h i n g s :
edge o f t h e a u d i e n c e ' s v a l u e s ,
them.^
and an a b i l i t y
C r i t i c i s m must e v a l u a t e how w e l l
au d ie n c e and how s k i l l f u l l y
a knowl­
t o appeal
to
t h e sp eak er knew h i s
he employed t h i s
knowledge.
Ano ther means o f m a g n i f y i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f a v i r t u e
or v i c e
is by e s t a b l i s h i n g
practiced.
For example,
i t as c o n s c i o u s l y c u l t i v a t e d and
a man w i t h o u t t h e p r i c e o f a d r i n k
can h a r d l y be r e g a rd e d as t e m p e r a t e
in h i s a b s t i n e n c e ;
however,
a man w i t h a w e l l - s t o c k e d basement b a r , who lo v e s a good d r i n k ,
bu t who has o n l y one a day,
perate
in d ivid u al.
is a t r u l y
s e lf-c o n tro lle d ,
in t h i s way t h e p o s s i b i l i t y
or v i c e was a c c i d e n t a l
or c o i n c i d e n t a l
cism must j u d g e how c l e a r l y
tem­
t h a t the v i r t u e
is e l i m i n a t e d . 7
C riti­
t h e speech makes th e v i r t u e or
v i c e appear d e l i b e r a t e .
A v i r t u e can a l s o be made v i v i d by t h e un iq u e c h a r a c ­
te ris tic s
of
its
demonstration.
This
is done by showing t h e
d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f v i r t u e t o be t h e f i r s t o f
o n l y a few examples o f
For.example,
its
kind,
Lindb ergh 's courage
ch ie fly
in
its
be in g t h e f i r s t
courage
in space t r a v e l
o n l y a few such f l i g h t s .
its
kind,
or the very best o f
one o f
its
in c r o s s i n g t h e A t l a n t i c
such f l i g h t .
Or,
kind.&
lie s
John G l e n n ' s
is m a g n i f i e d because h i s was one o f
A ga in ,
t h e m a g n i f i c e n c e o f t h e Grand
Canyon can be i n t e n s i f i e d by making
i t appear t o be t h e b e s t
6.
The R h e t o r i c o f Ar i s t o t l e .
pp.
50
7.
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e ,
P-
53,
8.
The Rh e to r i c o f A r i s t o t l e ,
p.
53.
26
example o f t h i s v i r t u e .
How w e l l
t h e speech employs t h e f a c ­
t o r s o f uniqueness must a l s o be e v a l u a t e d .
S till
and v i v i d
a n o t h e r means o f making wo rth y a t t r i b u t e s
t o an a u d ie n c e
real
is a c h i e v e d through a d e s c r i p t i o n o f
t h e f a c t o r s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e oc c a s io n o f t h e i r d e m o n s t r a t i o n .
Does t h e speech make t h e oc casion o f d e m o n s t r a t io n appear unu­
su ally d i f f i c u l t
L ittle
or demanding?
Rock d e c i d i n g
ju s tic e ;
fin e
f o r s p e e d in g .
s u r r o u n d in g
Or,
alone
life
Rock case
its
is
dem onstration.
in a d a r k j u n g l e appears
more courageous than a c o l l e g e f o o t b a l l
s t a d iu m .
in teg ratio n
Both have de mo nst ra ted
h e i g h t e n e d thro ugh t h e f a c t o r s
r i s k i n g his
in
th an a ju d g e handing down a
ho we ve r, t h e j u s t i c e o f t h e L i t t l e
a so ld ier
a 1one ju d g e
in f a v o r o f a Negro d u r i n g the
d i s p u t e s would appear more j u s t
routine t r a f f i c
For example,
p l a y e r competing
The c r i t i c must e v a l u a t e how e f f e c t i v e l y
in a
the fa c to r s
su r r o u n d in g t h e d e m o n s t r a t io n were used by t h e speaker t o magnify
t h e v ?r t u e . 9
A g a i n , t h e e f f e c t o f a v i r t u e can be h e i g h t e n e d th ro u g h
comparison.
T h i s can be done in two ways -
th ro u g h comparing
t h e v i r t u e o f t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e speech w i t h w e l l - k n o w n examples
o r by comparing
i t w it h average e x a m p l e s . ^
For
instance,
the
p e r s e v e r a n c e o f an unknown state sman ga ins s i g n i f i c a n c e and
meaning when l i k e n e d t o t h e
Or,
t h e courage o f a man
10.
p e r s e v e r a n c e o f Woodrow W il s o n .
in s a v in g a c h i l d from ab u rn in g
The R h e t o r i c
o f A r i s t o t l e , p.
53.
The R h e t o r i c
o f A r i s t o t l e , p.
54.
house
27
i s h e i g h t e n e d by p o i n t i n g
s i t u a t i o n w ould not
out
have been t h a t b r a v e .
d e term ine th e e ff e c tiv e n e s s
F in a lly ,
and e f f e c t i v e
e s ta b lis h
to
its
t h a t th e average person
the e f f e c t o f a v i r t u e or v ic e
u l t i m a t e ends.
th e r e s u lt s o f the v i r t u e
or v ic e
t h e spe ech mu st p r o j e c t ,
if
t h e f u t u r e and s e e k t o e s t a b l i s h u l t i m a t e
tu e o r v i c e . ^
blamed,
it
For e x a m p l e ,
a ll
w o u ld cease t o be.
been r e a c h e d ,
the
n a tio n a l,
if
lo c a l,
For example,
How many
does t h e Navy r e g a r d
p re s e n tin g u ltim a te
The c r i t e r i a
may,
ity
then,
(3)
it?
ends
fo r
be e s t a b l i s h e d
in d iv id u a ls
"TT
in to
o f the v i r ­
and p e r s o n a l
if
defense
i s used
re s u lt o f
i t w o u ld be e f f e c t i v e
award:
re c e iv e
What
it?
is
neces­
How h i g h l y
the te c h n iq u e o f
is a n o th e r p o in t o f c r i t i c i s m .
the e v a lu a tio n
o f p r a i s e and blame
in t h r e e b a s i c s te p s :
(2)
re s u lt
the u ltim a te
(1)
the e ffe c tiv e n e s s
th e acceptance o f th e s p e a k e r's
t h e s k i l l f u l ne ss
c l e a r and v i v i d
necessary,
re s u lts
How e f f e c t i v e l y
o f the sp e a k e r's g o a ls ,
i ng r e a s o n f o r
i t were pushed
im portance o r s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h i s
t o show t h e g r e a t s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h i s
it?
if
e v e r y o n e w e r e a co w a rd
in t h e Navy w e r e t h e Navy C r o s s ,
s a ry to w in
The spee ch mu st
In t h e e v e n t an u l t i m a t e end has a l r e a d y
s h o u l d be b r o u g h t o u t .
bravery
i s made c l e a r
i f c o w a rd ic e were t h e v i c e b e in g
m i g h t be p o i n t e d o u t t h a t
o f the w orst s o r t,
must
o f t h e use o f such c o m p a r i s o n s .
by e s t a b l i s h i n g
extrem e;
C ritic is m
in t h a t
the c l a r ­
in e s t a b l i s h ­
g o a ls ,
and
i n m a k in g t h e r e a s o n s f t i r a c c e p t a n c e
t o th e audience.
The d e s c r i p t i o n
The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p.
54.
and
28
e v a l u a t i o n o f Twain 1s use o f p r a i s e and blame w i l l
p lished
be accom­
in the n e x t c h a p t e r by a p p l y i n g t h e t h r e e p o i n t s o f
the c r i t e r i a
t o t h r e e o f Mark T w a i n ' s a f t e r - d i n n e r
speeches.
CHAPTER I I I'
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECHES
In t h i s
speeches w i l l
c h a p t e r t h r e e o f Mark T w a i n ' s a f t e r - d i n n e r
be examined t o d e t e r m i n e t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f
h i s use o f p r a i s e and blame.
the d e s c r ip tio n
speech as w e l l
c rite ria
(2)
be:
as an a n a l y s i s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e A r i s t o t e l i a n
(1)
in C ha pt er Two.
and ( 3 )
The m aj or p o i n t s o f c r i t i
the c l a r i t y o f Twain's persuasive goals,
th e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f h i s
goals,
include
o f t h e oc casion and the a u d i e n c e f o r each
set fo rth
cism w i l l
This exam ination w i l l
reasons f o r t h e a c c e p ta n c e o f hi
t h e s k i 11 f u l n e s s w i t h which he h e ig h t e n s t h e
reasons to. i n s u r e t h e i r
a c c e p ta n c e .
" L i c e n s e o f th e P re ss " Speech
1
T w a i n ' s " L i c e n s e o f t h e P re s s " speech has been chosen
as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f hi s e a r l y p e r i o d o f s p e a k i n g .
says
As P a in e
in h i s p r e f a c e t o Mark T w a i n ' s Speeches, t h i s was t h e
period " . . .
b e g i n n i n g w i t h h i s San F r a n c i s c o l e c t u r e ,
co n­
tinuing
th rough th o s e y e a r s when h i s conquest o f t h e w o r l d o f
le tte rs
had no t
lo st
its
and t h e gods were s t i l l
th e speech
novelty,
k in d .
.
when his b l o o d was q u i c k
."2
The f i r s t
pa ra gr ap h o f
is m i s s i n g .
TT
See Appendix f o r t e x t o f t h i s speech.
2.
Mark T w a i n ' s S peech es, p. xv.
29
30
Occasion and A u d i e n c e .
S e v e ra l
factors
co n c e rn in g
t h e o c c a s io n and au d ie n c e a r e p e r t i n e n t t o t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g
o f th e " L i c e n s e o f th e Pre ss" speech.
War,
the years p r i o r
and c o r r u p t i o n .
in t h i s
Following the C i v i l
t o 1873 were ones o f g r e a t n a t i o n a l
The newspapers were o f t e n a p a t h e t i c a t b e s t
p e r i o d o f n a t i o n - w i d e decadence.
and c o r r u p t i o n
Scandals,
reaction
r u i n e d by newspaper a t t a c k s .
to these e v i l s
in t h i s
He d e s c r i b e s
th is
c lu b q u i t e f u l l y
C onnecticut,
T w a i n , A u t o b i o g r a p h y , pp.
in
in h i s A u t o b i o g r a p h y ;
The Monday Evening Club . . „ was founded about
f o r t y - f i v e y e a r s ago by t h a t t h e o l o g i c a l g i a n t .
Reverend Do c to r B u s h n e l1 and some comrades o f h i s ,
men o f l a r g e i n t e l l e c t u a l c a l i b e r and more or less
d i s t i n c t i o n , l o c a l or n a t i o n a l .
I was a d m i t t e d t o
membership in i t in t h e f a l l o f 1871, and was an
a c t i v e member t h e n c e f o r t h u n t i l I 1e f t H a r t f o r d in
t h e summer o f 1891.
The membership was r e s t r i c t e d ,
in th o s e days t o e i gh t een - - pos's i b 1y t w e n t y .
The
m eet in gs began about th e 1s t o f October and were
h e l d in t h e p r i v a t e houses o f t h e members e v e r y
f o r t n i g h t t h e r e a f t e r th r o u g h o u t t h e c o l d months
u n t i l t h e 1st o f May.
U s u a l l y t h e r e we re a dozen
members p r e s e n t - - s o m e t i m e s as many as f i f t e e n .
T h e r e were an essay and d i s c u s s i o n .
The e s s a y i s t s
f o l l o w e d one a n o t h e r in a l p h a b e t i c a l o r d e r through
t h e season.
Then t h e d i s c u s s i o n f o l l o w e d , and
each member p r e s e n t was a l l o w e d ten m in u te s in
which t o expr ess h i s v i e w s .
The wiv es o f th e s e
p e o p le were always p r e s e n t .
I t was t h e i r p r i v ­
i l e g e t o keep s t i l l . . . . A f t e r t h e d i s c u s s i o n
t h e r e was a su pp er, and t a l k , and c i g a r s .
Th is
supper began a t ten o ' c l o c k p r o m p t l y , and t h e com­
pany brok e up and went away a t m i d n i g h t . . . " 3
3.
Twain
speech d e l i v e r e d
b e f o r e t h e Monday Evening Club o f H a r t f o r d ,
1873.
bribes,
in p o l i t i c s were o f t e n o v e r l o o k e d w h i l e p r i v a t e
i n d i v i d u a l s were f r e q u e n t l y
s ta te d his
graft
294-295.
31
A n a ly s is o f t h e Speech.
W ith in th e "L ic e n s e o f th e
P r e s s " spe ec h Tw ain * s p e r s u a s i v e g o a l s
e ffe c tiv e ly .
C la rity
e x a c t and by l e t t i n g
are presen ted q u ite
i s a c h i e v e d by m a k in g t h e s u b j e c t v e r y
t h e a u d i e n c e know w h a t r e a c t i o n
is d e s i r e d
o f them.
The p r e s s as an
in s titu tio n
th e s u b je c t o f th e speech.
re fe rrin g
press.
t o by s a y i n g
it
i s named s e v e r a l
T w a in c l a r i f i e s
t i m e s as
e x a c t l y w h a t he
is
i s t h e " f r e e p r e s s " and t h e A m e r i c a n
He f u r t h e r p i n p o i n t s
h is
s u b j e c t by e s t a b l i s h i n g
it
as
the contem porary press o f the c o u n try .
How T w a in w i s h e s h i s a u d i e n c e t o f e e l
papers
is c l e a r l y
p a in tin g
p u ttin g
T w a in
e s ta b lis h e d through p o in te d
a very g rim n a tio n a l
a ll
th is
in d ic a te s
speec h g o a l
In a n o t h e r p o i n t e d j a b
the r a t i o
he s a y s ,
t h a t o u r n e w sp ap er s
to
"I
By
am
upon t h e n e w s p a p e r s , "
t o be d i s h o n o r o f t h e p r e s s .
"It
seems t o me t h a t j u s t
in cre a se ,
more ne w s p a p e rs t h e w o r s e m o r a l s .
t h a t does g o od ,
in fe re n ce s.
p i c t u r e and t h e n s a y i n g ,
odious s t a t e o f th in g s
his
c o n c e rn in g news­
in
o u r m o r a l s de c a y .
The
Where we ha ve one n e w sp ap er
I t h i n k we have f i f t y
t h a t do ha rm.
We o u g h t
l o o k upon t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a ne w sp ap er o f t h e a v e r a g e
p a tte rn
in a v i r t u o u s v i l l a g e
i n f e r e n c e s T w a in
le ts
as a c a l a m i t y . "
Through th e s e
t h e a u d i e n c e know how he w i s h e s them t o
re a ct.
H a v i n g r e v e a l e d t h e p e r s u a s i v e aim o f t h e s p e e c h .
presents
r e a s o n s why t h e l i s t e n e r s
Th ese c a u s e s f o r
d ish o n e sty,
and
dish ono r are
should r e v i l e
in ju s tic e ,
la ck o f c h a r it y
Tw a in
the press.
overabundance o f p o w e r,
in t h e American newspapers.
32
In ju s tic e
t h r o u g h examples,
T w a in s a y s ,
is
f i x e d as a v i c e o f t h e p r e s s c h i e f l y
h yp o th e tic a l
nA l i b e l
and f a c t u a l .
s u i t sim p ly b rin g s
a v a s t ne w spaper c o u r t t o be t r i e d
and r e v i l e d
and r i d i c u l e d w i t h o u t m e r c y . 11
F o rty-S e c o n d Congress'
s a la rie s
throug h the s p o i ls
a r e p u t a b l e New Y o r k d a i l y
ary s te a l
law t r i e s
him,
A no the r case o f
t h e p r e s s 1s t r e a t m e n t
c o r r u p t m e tho d o f
system.
insta n ce ,
the p l a i n t i f f b e fo re
b e fo re the
i n j u s t i c e p r e s e n t e d by T w a in d e s c r i b e s
o f the
For
He s a i d ,
had an e d i t o r i a l
in c re a s in g
" T h e o t h e r day
d e fen ding th e s a l ­
and j u s t i f y i n g
it
on t h e g r o u n d t h a t Congressmen
were n o t p a id enough--as
if
t h a t were a l l
fo r s te a lin g ."
In ju s tic e
is
fu rth e r
the p r e s s ' s
causes.
i n v o l v e d r u n n i n g p l e a s and a p p e a l s
as p a i d a d v e r t i s e m e n t s .
of s e llin g
For e x a m p l e ,
h i g h l y p u b l i c i z e d New Y o r k m u r d e r ,
b a c k t h e g o v e r n o r and t h e
at
a pa id a d v e rtis e m e n t.
l aw on a t r i v i a l
.
in t h e
space t o u n j u s t
f o r any c a u s e
F o s te r case,
a
th e papers pretended to
la w i n condemning t h e m u r d e r e r ,
t h e same t i m e t h e p r e s s p r i n t e d ,
" a w h o l e page o f s i c k l y ,
excuse
f i x e d as a v i c e o f t h e
press through
T h is
p o lic y
s u ffic ie n t
as t h e s p e e c h p u t s
m a u d lin appeals t o h i s
.
p re te xt,
it,
cle m e n c y as
. The ne ws pap er t h a t o b s t r u c t s
f o r money's sake,
but
the
is a dangerous
enemy t o t h e p u b l i c w e a l . "
O v e r a b u n d a n c e o f power
another v i c e .
tio n s
Th is
and r e a s o n i n g .
t o t h e p r e s s as
i s a c c o m p l i s h e d by h y p o t h e t i c a l
As an
illu s tra tio n
T w a in p o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e p r e s s
b r e a k a m a n 's
is a t t r i b u t e d
re p u ta tio n :
illu s tra ­
o f t o o much p o w e r,
has t h e a b i l i t y
t o make o r
33
Th e r e a r e laws t o p r o t e c t the freedom o f t h e
p r e s s ' s speech, but none t h a t a r e w o rt h a n y t h i n g
t o p r o t e c t the p e o p le from t h e p r e s s . . . . The
touchy C h a r l e s Reade^ can sue E n g l i s h newspapers
and g e t v e r d i c t s ; he would soon change h i s t a c t i c s
h e r e ; t h e papers (backed by a p u b l i c w e l l t a u g h t
by t h e m s e l v e s ) would soon t e a c h him t h a t i t is
b e t t e r t o s u f f e r any amount o f m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
than go in to our c o u r t s w i t h a l i b e l s u i t and
make h i m s e l f th e lau gh in g s t o c k o f t h e community.
The power o f th e newspapers
is a l s o e s t a b l ished as a v i c e by
showing where the power came from and who w i e l d e d
reasons t h a t
it
Twain
is t h e overwhelming m a j o r i t y o f s t u p i d p e o p l e
who b e l i e v e a n y t h i n g they read
i t s power.
it.
in p r i n t t h a t g i v e s
The power then f a l l s
the pres s
i n t o t h e hands o f
. . . a horde o f i g n o r a n t , s e l f - c o m p l a c e n t
s i m p l e t o n s who f a i l e d a t d i t c h i n g and shoemaking
and f e t c h e d up in j o u r n a l i s m on t h e i r way t o the
poorhouse.
I am p e r s o n a l l y a c q u a i n t e d w i t h hun­
dreds o f j o u r n a l i s t s , and t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e
m a j o r i t y o f them would not be worth tu ppence in
. p r i v a t e , but when they speak in p r i n t i t is the
newspaper t h a t is t a l k i n g . . . and then t h e i r
u t t e r a n c e s shake t h e community l i k e th u n d e r s o f
prop he cy.
D is h o n e s ty
is made a p o i n t o f d i s h o n o r
l a r g e l y th rou gh T w a i n ' s use o f pe rson al
papers.
Jokingly,
bu t p o i n t e d l y ,
in the pres s
e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h news­
he s t a t e s h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n :
1 know from pe rsona l e x p e r i e n c e t h e proneness
o f jo u r n a lis ts to l i e .
I once s t a r t e d a p e c u l i a r
and p i c t u r e s q u e f a s h i o n o f l y i n g m y s e l f on th e
P a c i f i c c o a s t and i t is n o t dead t h e r e t o t h i s day.
Whenever I he ar o f a shower o f blood and f r o g s com­
b i n e d in C a l i f o r n i a , or a sea s e r p e n t found in some
d e s e r t , or in a cave f r e s c o e d w i t h diamonds and
e m e r a l d s , . . . I say t o m y s e l f I am t h e f a t h e r o f
th is c h ild .
4.
C h a r l e s Reade was a f i e r y campaigning n o v e l i s t
19 t h Cen tur y England, noted f o r v i g o r o u s a t t a c k s on t h e
English press.
34
As f u r t h e r e x a m p le s o f t h e p r e s s ' s
h is
d i s h o n e s t y T w a in d e s c r i b e s
t r e a t m e n t a t t h e hands o f v a r i o u s M i c h i g a n p a p e r s .
c a s e he had r e f u s e d t o d i n e w i t h
a drunken e d i t o r ,
fo re ,
th a t e d ito r
had ru n a s c a t h i n g
tu re ,
even t h o u g h t h e e d i t o r had n o t even a t t e n d e d
her.
Twain
iro n ic a lly
and,
r e p o r t o f T w a in 's
D e t r o i t a p a p e r had a c c u s e d hi m o f b e a t i n g
c rip p lin g
In one
s ta te s,
th e re ­
le c ­
it.
In
h i s w i f e and even
"Now s c a r c e l y h a l f o f
t h a t was t r u e . "
Lack o f c h a r i t y
is
o f tw o s p e c i f i c e x a m p l e s .
ment o f S i r
p re ss, w hich,
lim b
in th e p re ss
T h es e c o n c e r n t h e n e w s p a p e r s '
fr o m
i n A f r i c a meant n o t h i n g
acco rdin g
to T w a in , " .
l i m b and s c a t t e r e d
.
H a r t e had r e c e i v e d s i m i l a r l y
A fte r
p r a is in g H arte
r u i n e d him w i t h v i c i o u s
f r o m M a in e t o
le c tu re w e ll. "
la v is h ly
attacks
S ta n le y 's
the poor c r e a ­
th e fragm e nts
u n c h a rita b le
tre atm e nt
tim e h is
B ret
fr o m n e w s­
f o r h is w ork,
the f i r s t
tre a t
t o t h e A m e r ic a n
. tore
Cal i f o r n i a - - m e r e l y b e c a u s e he c o u l d n ' t
papers.
t h r o u g h t h e us e
H en ry M o r t o n S t a n l e y and B r e t H a r t e .
g r e a t achievem ents
tu re
fix e d
the p re s s
fa m ily f e l l
s i c k and he t u r n e d o u t a p o o r a r t i c l e .
It
is not
s u ffic ie n t,
however, m e re ly t o p re s e n t th e
v i c e s o f t h e p r e s s ; t h e y mu st be made m e a n i n g f u l
ence.
T w a in e m p l o y s s e v e r a l
tech niqu es
p r e s s ' s v i c e s and make them v i v i d
In ju s tic e
is m a g n ifie d
s u rro u n d in g the p r e s s 's
C o n gre ssio n a l
s a la ry s t e a l,
t o h e ig h te n the
to h is hearers.
la rg e ly
d is p la y o f
to the a u d i­
it.
in ju s tic e
through
For
the fa c t o r s
in s ta n c e ,
in th e
i s made more r e a l
i n t e n s e by s h o w in g t h e n e w s p a p e r ' s b l a s e a t t i t u d e
toward
and
it.
35
As t h e speech p o i n t s o u t , “ T h a t e d i t o r i a l
put t h e m a t t e r
a new p e r f e c t l y
In t h e F o s t e r murder
s a tis fa c to ry
case such d e t a i l s
lig h t.
.
."
in
as t h e p r e s s ' s p r e t e n s e o f f a v o r i n g t h e mur­
d e r e r ' s c o n v i c t i o n w h i l e a t t h e same ti m e p r i n t i n g ap p e a ls t o
t h e g o v e r n o r ' s clemency s e r v e t o make t h e
i n j u s t i c e o f the
press more t a n g i b l e .
Overabundant power
is made s i g n i f i c a n t
th rough t h e use o f two t e c h n i q u e s .
comparison and through
nique
It
to t h e a u d i e n c e
is h e i g h t e n e d th rough
i t s u l t i m a t e end.
Comparison as a t e c h ­
is used in th e C h a r le s Reade example m ent ion ed above.
Here Twain m a g n i f i e s t h e power o f t h e American press by com­
paring
it
t o th e E n g l i s h p r e s s ;
and g e t r e s u l t s ,
Reade co u ld sue E n g l i s h papers
bu t such would not be th e case
in America.
E s t a b l i s h i n g t h e r e s u l t o f to o much power a l s o se rv es t o
sify
t h i s v i c e t o t h e a u d ie n c e .
in ten ­
For example:
Among us t h e newspaper is a tremendous power.
I t can make or mar any man's r e p u t a t i o n .
I t has
p e r f e c t freedom t o c a l l t h e b e s t man in t h e land
a f r a u d and a t h i e f , and he is d e s t r o y e d beyond
help.
Whether H r . C o l f a x 5 is a l i a r or n o t can
n ev er be a s c e r t a i n e d n o w - - b u t he w i l l r a n k as one
t i l l t h e day o f h i s d e a t h — f o r the newspapers have
so doomed him.
The r e s u l t o f to o much power
points o u t , . " .
re s tra in t
.
is a l s o m a g n i f i e d as th e speech
. t h a t th ro ugh t h e abuses o f a l l
wholesome
t h e newspaper has become in a l a r g e de gr ee a n a t i o n a l
c u r s e , and w i l l
p r o b a b l y damn t h e R e p u b l i c y e t . "
~
5~, S c h u y le r C o l f a x , a l e a d i n g p o l i t i c i a n , was i m p l i ­
c a t e d in th e C r e d i t M o b i l i e r scandal o f 1873.
T h i s was n o t
p r ov en , but C o l f a x soon r e t i r e d in d i s h o n o r .
36
D ishonesty
ence
in s e v e r a l
the d e ta ils
i s made v i v i d
ways.
It
t o be
to the a u d i­
is m a g n if ie d th ro u g h com parison,
o f the d is p la y
s h o w in g t h e v i c e
and s i g n i f i c a n t
o f the p re s s 's
in te n tio n a lly
A com parison t o th e p re ss o f t h i r t y
d ish o n e sty,
by
and by
and d e l i b e r a t e l y p r a c t i c e d .
or fo r ty
years b e fo re
he ighte ns d is h o n e s ty .
The d i f f e r e n c e b e tw ee n t h e t o n e and c o n d u c t o f
n e w s p a p e rs t o - d a y and t h o s e o f t h i r t y o r f o r t y
y e a r s ago i s
v e r y n o t e w o r t h y and v e r y s a d . . . .
In
t h o s e days t h e a v e r a g e ne w sp a p e r was t h e champion
o f r i g h t and m o r a l s , and i t d e a l t c o n s c i e n t i o u s l y
w i t h the t r u t h .
I t i s n o t t h e ca se now.
The d e t a i l s
o f the D e t r o it
t o make t h e v i c e
re a l.
p re s s 's
In D e t r o i t
s a i d t h a t T w a in b e a t L i v y ,
was s t i l l
b e a tin g he r.
m a g n i f i e d by s h o w in g
tic e d .
"In
a town
it
The d i s h o n e s t y o f t h e p r e s s
is a l s o
t o be d e l i b e r a t e and c o n s c i o u s l y p r a c ­
in s e v e r a l
co m pariso n,
instance,
in h is p a p e r,
and c a l c u l a t e d
t o encourage
inte m ­
w ay s .
T h is
o f t h e A m e r ic a n p r e s s
i s made
is ach ie ve d th ro u g h
t h e use o f
and a s t a t e m e n t o f f i n a l
com parison o f t h e E n g lis h p r e s s 's
the
t h a t my l e c ­
t h a t man had n e v e r h e a r d i t . "
d e ta ils ,
about S ta n le y 's
m a g n ifie s
I d e c l i n e d t o d i n e w i t h an
and he s a i d ,
The l a c k o f c h a r i t y
v iv id
t h e p a p e r s had n o t o n l y
h e r and
t u r e was p r o f a n e , i n d e c e n t ,
And y e t
serve
t h a t he had c r i p p l e d
in M i c h i g a n
e d i t o r who was d r u n k ,
perance.
but
d is p la y o f dish one sty
le c tu rin g w ith
re s u lts .
For
c h a rita b le s ile n c e
thfe A m e r ic a n p r e s s ' s
a tta ck
fa u lt.
Poor S t a n l e y was a v e r y g o d, in E n g l a n d , h i s
p r a i s e s i n e v e r y m a n 's m o u t h .
B u t nobody s a i d
a n y t h i n g a b o u t h i s 1e c t u r e s - - t h e y w e r e c h a r i t a b l y
s i l e n t on t h a t h e ad , and w e r e c o n t e n t t o p r a i s e
37
his higher v i r t u e s .
But our papers t o r e t h e poor
c r e a t u r e iimb from 1 imb and s c a t t e r e d t h e f r a g ­
ments from Maine t o Cal i f o r n i a - - m e r e 1 y because
he co u1d n 11 1ectu r e wel 1 .
D e ta ils
such as S t a n l e y ' s ac hi ev em en ts
in o t h e r
fie ld s ,
the
f a c t t h a t B r e t H a r t e had publ ished o n l y one bad a r t i c l e
and
t h a t amid f a m i l y s i c k n e s s ,
and t h e h o r r i b l e t r e a t m e n t both
had r e c e i v e d a l s o s e r v e t o
in ten sify
of c h a rity .
the e f f e c t o f the la c k
The r e s u l t o f t h e v i c e a l s o h e i g h t e n s
o f l a c k o f c h a r i t y on t h e a u d i e n c e .
establishes
the u t t e r
th e e f f e c t
The speech g r a p h i c a l l y
d e s t r u c t i o n o f both S t a n l e y and H a r t e
by t h e p r e s s ' s a t t a c k s .
T h i s makes l a c k o f c h a r i t y
in news­
papers more s e r i o u s t o t h e l i s t e n e r s .
The " L i c e n s e o f t h e P re ss " speech le a v e s t h e
impres­
s io n t h a t th ro ug h an e f f e c t i v e use o f the t e c h n i q u e s o f blame
Twain has a c h i e v e d h i s purpose.
ily evident,
because ad eq u ate reasons were p r e s e n t e d f o r t h e
a c c e p ta n c e o f h i s ends,
m eaningful,
Because h i s g o a ls were r e a d ­
and because th e reasons were made
t h e speech appears t o have been a success.
" C o n s i s t e n c y " Speech^
A r e p r e s e n t a t i v e sample from T w a i n ' s
sp eak ing
is t h e speech t i t l e d
"C onsistency."
p r e f a c e t o th e speeches d e s c r i b e s
it:
cover s th o se y e a r s when t h e a f f a i r s
See Appendix f o r
As P ain e
in h i s
"The m i d d l e p e r i o d
o f men and n a t i o n s began
t o make a l a r g e r a p p e a l , when p o l i t i c a l
51
second p e r i o d o f
abuses and th e
te x t of th is
speech.
38
i n j u s t i c e o f c l a s s began t o s t i r
to righ teo u s,
even
if vio le n t,
a ttitu d es of
Occasion and A u d i e n c e .
o f B laine for P resident
him t o a c t i v e r e b e l l i o n and
r e f o r m .
"7
W i t h t h e R e p u b l ic a n n o m i n a t io n
in t h e campaign o f 1884, Mark Twain
and o t h e r f o r m e r l y staunch R e p u b l ic a n s formed what came t o be
ca lled
t h e Mugwumps, a group who were s t i l l
opposed B l a i n e .
As a r e s u l t o f t h e Mugwumps' o p p o s i t i o n
B lain e,
t h e y came under s e v e r e c r i t i c i s m
party.
In response t o t h i s
t o de fen d t h e i r
jec t
in t h i s
stand.
c ritic is m
from t h e r e s t o f the
Twain o f f e r e d his o p i n i o n s on t h e s u b ­
speech which was d e l i v e r e d from a w r i t t e n
t h e campaign o f
1884.
C onnecticut,
speech,
fo llow ing
but
it
sh ou ld a l s o be n o te d
i t s members were Mugwumps.
A n a l y s i s o f th e Speech.
The speech makes T w a i n ' s p e r ­
s u a s i v e g o a ls q u i t e c l e a r and e v i d e n t t o t h e a u d i e n c e .
is r e a s o n a b l y w e l l
from t h e a u d ie n c e .
dealing w ith
fa ls e ly
who he i n c lu d e s
Twain makes
it
qu ite clear
c o n s is te n t people,
in t h i s
group
t h a t he is
th o s e who c l i n g
w ith
is somewhat h a z y ; he a t t r i b u t e s
7~
or r e l i ­
ho we ve r, Twain d id not mean a l l
r e l i g i o u s or p o l i t i c a l
to
But e x a c t l y
f a l s e c o n s i s t e n c y g e n e r a l l y t o p e o p le w i t h p o l i t i c a l
Obviously,
The
d e f i n e d as is t h e response d e s i r e d
f a l s e causes or b e l i e f s m e r e ly t o a v oi d change.
gious t i e s .
text
T h i s c lu b has been d i s c u s s e d above as
t h e a u d ie n c e f o r th e f i r s t
subject
to
t h e Mugwumps were o b l i g e d
t o t h e Monday Evening Club o f H a r t f o r d ,
t h a t many o f
R e p u b l ic a n bu t who
fe elin g s,
people
but t h e speech does not
Mar k Twa'i n 1s Speeches , p , xv .
39
c la rify
this
s u ffic ie n tly .
a t e d by t h e f a c t
T h i s weakness
to fe e l
point
a lle v i­
t h a t t h e a u d ie n c e p r o b a b l y knew t h a t Twain
was a im in g t h e speech m a i n l y a t
but t h i s
is p a r t i a l l y
lacks c l a r i t y .
th e a t t a c k e r s o f t h e Mugwumps,
How Twain wi s he s hi s a u d ie n c e
is r e v e a l e d as he d e s c r i b e s an o v e r l y c o n s i s t e n t p e r ­
son as "a t r a i t o r
to h im s e lf, a t r a i t o r
highest th at
is jm h i m . 16
he a s ks ,
it
16 Is
T w a i n ' s goal
t o t h e b e s t and th e
is f u r t h e r c l a r i f i e d
p o s s i b l e f o r human wickedness t o
t r i n e more i n f e r n a l
and poisonous than t h i s ?
, im a g i n a b le a ba ser s e r v i t u d e th a n
it
as
in ve n t a doc­
Is t h e r e
imposes?6'
W it h th e s e
p o i n t e d s t a t e m e n t s Twain e s t a b l i s h e s h i s pe rsuas iv 4 end as
di s h o n o r o f f a l s e l y
c o n s is te n t people.
To a c h i e v e t h i s purpose Twain a t t e m p t s ,
degree,
succeeds
r e s is t natural
in a t t r i b u t i n g
change.
in ju s tic e are a ll
several
Foolishness,
to a la r g e
v i c e s t o pe op le who
lack o f
e s t a b l i s h e d as f a u l t s
and,
in te g rity ,
and
t o a g r e a t e r or 1e s s e r
exten t.
F o o li s h n e s s
For
is e s t a b l i s h e d
l a r g e l y t h ro u g h r e a s o n i n g .
i n s t a n c e , Twain reasons t h a t t h e s e p e o p l e w i l l
change occurs
refusal
in a l l
ar ea s and l e v e l s o f
life ,
but
t o admit change in r e l i g i o n and p o l i t i c s
s t r a t e a f o o l i s h and b l i n d a t t i t u d e .
admit t h a t
in t h e i r
th ey demon­
Twain reasons t h a t
it
is o n l y f o o l i s h n e s s t h a t makes t h e s e p e op le a p p l y u n s u i t a b l e
standards to
lo yalty
in p o l i t i c s
th ey draw between army and p a r t y
and r e l i g i o n ;
lo yalty
F u r t h e r , Twain p o i n t s out t h a t even
t h e an al o gy
is a f o o l i s h one.
in p o l i t i c s
and r e l i g i o n
40
t h e v e r y persons condemning change a r e changing th em selves
bu t a r e u n ab le t o see
Lack o f
it.
in te g rity
is a n o t h e r v i c e shown t o be p r e s e n t
in t h e o v e r l y c o n s i s t e n t p e o p le c h a s t i s e d
in t h e spee ch .
is accom plish ed both t h ro u g h r e a s o n i n g and ex am ples.
reasons t h a t persons who b l i n d l y
ou t r e g a r d f o r p e rs o n a l
sonal
tia l
Twain
fo llo w party or r e lig io n w i t h ­
independence must l a c k a c e r t a i n
i n t e g r i t y and a r e ,
T h is
in f a c t , s l a v e s :
ltWhat
per­
is th e e s s e n ­
d i f f e r e n c e between a 1 i f e - l o n g Democrat and any o t h e r
k in d o f a l i f e - l o n g
dance t o t h e
sla ve?
Is
it
any le s s h u m i l i a t i n g t o
lash o f one mast er th an a n o t h e r ? n
reasons t h a t persons who change s t r o n g p e rs on a l
t o ad he re t o p a r t y
Lack o f
in te g rity
illu s tra tio n s .
l i n e s must l a c k moral
is e x e m p l i f i e d
fib e r
He f u r t h e r
opinions merely
and s t r e n g t h s
in th e speech w i t h s e v e r a l
The 1 0 , 0 0 0 R e p u b l i c a n newspapers and 1 0 0 , 0 0 0
p r o m in en t p o l i t i c i a n s who were f o r c e d t o r e t r a c t a l l
p r e v i o u s l y s a i d about B l a i n e
strength o f conviction
Twain t e l l s
th ey had
in o r d e r t o ba ck him lacked
and b a s i c
in te g rity .
o f a clergyman he had met.
in anot he r example
T h i s man had s p e c i f i ­
c a l l y denounced B l a i n e as " u n p r i n c i p l e d and u n s c r u p u l o u s , 11
But th e same clergyman b e t r a y e d h i s p r i n c i p l e s
f o l l o w the p a r t y and back B l a i n e a f t e r
In ju stice
is a n o t h e r f a u l t
bute to f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t persons.
a c t u a l l y defin ed or d e f i n i t e l y
only
im plied,
th is
t h e speech which
im plication
in o r d e r t o
the nomination.
t h a t Twain seems t o a t t r i ­
This,
however,
is not
e s t a b l i s h e d as p r e s e n t b u t
is p r e s e n t
i n v o l v e s the man " l e a r n e d
in one example
in t h e law" who
is
in
41
backed B l a i n e .
T h i s man had e x a m in e d t h e e v i d e n c e a g a i n s t
B l a i n e and mu st have seen t h a t ,
prosecu ted ,
n e ith e r
s h o u l d he be P r e s i d e n t .
b a c k e d B l a i n e and had
thereby d is p la y in g
w h i l e B l a i n e c o u l d n o t be
in flu e n ce d o th e rs
s e r v e t o h e i g h t e n each f a u l t .
m a gnifyin g
is
t i o n o f the d e t a i l s
d is p la y
of
its
For e x a m p l e ,
p a rty
th is
la c ks
in te n s ifie d
the s t r i c t
in g t h o s e who b r o k e f r o m p a r t y
m ilita ry
the m i l i t a r y
o f fa ls e ly
te ch n iq u e s w hich
through a d e s c r ip ­
and t h e
pa rty
lin e s
fin a l
p o s itio n
these f a l s e l y
its
f o l l o w e r s w er e b r a n d ­
as t r a i t o r s .
t e r m was f o o l i s h
form ,
re s u lt o f
But T w a i n
b e ca us e a p o l i t ­
the com pulsory d i s c i p l i n e ,
and t h e o a t h n e c e s s a r y b e f o r e a man can be a t r a i t o r .
s pe ech a l s o uses d e t a i l s
con -
The l a c k o f w i s d o m o f t h e
p e o p l e who r e s i s t e d ch a ng e
ica l
t o s u p p o r t him a l s o ,
impact o f th e v i c e s
s i s t e n t p e o p l e T w a in uses s e v e r a l
m a in ta in e d t h a t
man had
an u n j u s t n a t u r e .
To i n s u r e t h e f u l l
presence.
Yet th is
The
t o h e ig h te n the f o o lis h n e s s o f the
c o n s i s t e n t people were a tt e m p tin g
to
defend.
They w i l l g r a n t you c e r t a i n t h i n g s , w i t h o u t m u r ­
mur o r d i s s e n t - - a s t h i n g s w h i c h go w i t h o u t s a y i n g ;
tru is m s .
They w i l l g r a n t t h a t i n t i m e t h e c r a w l i n g
baby w a l k s and mu st n o t b e r e q u i r e d t o go on c r a w l i n q ; t h a t i n t i m e t h e y o u t h has o u t grown t h e c h i l d ' s
j a c k e t and mu st n o t be r e q u i r e d t o cro w d h i m s e l f
i n t o i t . . . . They w i l l g r a n t you t h e s e , and e v e r y ­
t h i n g el se you can t h i n k o f , in t h e l i n e o f p r o g r e s s
and c h a n g e , u n t i l you g e t down t o p o l i t i c s and r e l i ­
g i o n ; t h e r e t h e y draw t h e 1 i n e .
By s h o w in g t h e
re s u lt o f fo o lis h
v i c e more s e r i o u s .
c o n s i s t e n c y T w a in makes t h i s
As he p o i n t s o u t ,
fo o lis h
lo y a lty
to
42
p e t r i f i e d o p i n i o n s “ ne ver y e t b r o k e a chain o r f r e e d a human
soul
in t h i s w o r l d and ne ver w? 1 1. tr
Lack o f
two ways.
It
in te g rity
is
is made a s e r i o u s and r e a l
i n t e n s i f i e d by t h e use o f d e t a i l s
comparison t o o t h e r f a u l t s .
For example,
g r o v e lin g heightens the lac k o f
in te g rity
fa u lt
in
and th ro u g h
the d e t a i l s of t h e i r
in th e B1a i n e - b a c k i n g
Repub1 ic a n s .
And no t few er than 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 m o r e - o r - 1ess pr ominent
p o l i t i c i a n s s a t down a l l ov e r t h i s c o u n t r y and wo r­
r i e d down t h e i r ton a p i e c e ; and a f t e r l o n g , long and
b i t t e r g a g g i n g , some m i l l i o n s o f t h e common serfdom
o f the p a r t y s a t down and w o r r i e d down th e ?r ton
apiece.
P a i n t ? i t was d i r t .
Enough o f i t was ea te n
by t h e meek R e p u b l ic a n p a r t y t o b u i l d a r a i l r o a d
embankment from he re t o J a p a n ; and i t p a in s me to
t h i n k t h a t a y e a r from now t h e y w i l l p r o b a b l y have
t o e a t i t a l l ov er a g a i n .
A b r i e f comparison t o o t h e r v i c e s a l s o
ev il
o f a lack o f
edness t o
this?
in te g rity :
"Is
is used t o h e i g h t e n t h e
i t p o s s i b l e f o r human w i c k ­
i n v e n t a d o c t r i n e more i n f e r n a l
Is t h e r e
and poisonous than
imag i n a b l e a ba ser s e r v i t u d e than
I n j u s t i c e as a f a u l t o f p e o p le who r e s i s t change
somewhat w i t h d e t a i l s .
th is
impress i v e v e r d i c t :
v i c t Mr.
him.
“ One l e a r n e d
B laine
law .
imposes?"
is h e i g h t e n e d
.
. rendered
he s a i d t h e e v i d e n c e would not con -
in a c o u r t o f l a w , and so he wo uld v o t e f o r
He did not say wh eth er t h e e v i d e n c e would prove him
inno ce nt or n o t .
is l e f t
somewhat
That wasn't
u n m a g n if ie d f o r
im po rtant."
In ju stic e ,
however,
th e most p a r t and c o n s e q u e n t ly remains
ill-d e fin e d .
The “ C o n s is t e n c y "
s k ill
in th e
it
speech seems to employ s u f f i c i e n t
and t e c h n i q u e s t o e n a b l e Twain t o a c h i e v e h i s p e r s u a s i v e
43
g o a l , e s p e c i a l l y b e fo re h is p a r t i c u l a r audience.
is seen
in th e c l a r i t y
fo r t h e i r acceptance.
howev er, e s p e c i a l l y
and the f a i l u r e
Th is s k i l l
o f t h e s p e e c h ’ s g o al s and the reasons
T h e r e a r e some weaknesses
in t h e s p e e c h ,
in t h e u n s p e c i f i c n a t u r e o f t h e s u b j e c t
t o p r e s e n t and m a g n if y
i n j u s t i c e adequately.
"Queen V i c t o r ?a t! Speech^
T w a i n ' s "Queen V i c t o r i a "
perio d addresses.
fin al
speech
is t y p i c a l
o f his
As P ain e d e s c r i b e s t h e s e speeches,
group is o f th o se l a t e r days when, f u l l
saddened by bereavement and t h e u n c e r t a i n t y o f
la te r
"The
o f honors y e t
l i f e ’ s adve n­
t u r e s , he had become t h e p h i l o s o p h e r and Sage whose v o i c e was
sought on e v e r y p u b l i c q u e s t i o n , whose humor was more g e n t l e ,
whose judgements had become mellowed and were a l l
welcome f o r t h a t
r e a s o n .
"9
Occasion and A u d i e n c e .
and was w e l l
Twain had o f t e n v i s i t e d
r e c e i v e d by the E n g l i s h .
in1907.
1872.
He had a l s o
h o no ra ry Doctor o f L i t e r a t u r e de g r e e from Oxfor d
Therefore,
i t was p r o b a b l y w i t h
a g r e a t deal
p o r t t h a t he e u l o g i z e d Queen V i c t o r i a on May 25,
speech was d e l i v e r e d t o the B r i t i s h
Club a t D e lm o n ic o 's R e s t a u r a n t
honored th e Queen's b i r t h d a y ,
favorable fe e lin g
81
9.
England
He had been honored a t
t h e Lord M a y o r 's d i n n e r on November 9,
r e c e i v e d an
t h e more
1908.
of rap­
The
Schools and U n i v e r s i t i e s
in New Y o r k C i t y .
The o c c a s io n
and t h e r e was p r o b a b l y g r e a t
f o r h i s s u b j e c t b e f o r e Twain e v e r began.
See Appendix f o r t e x t o f t h i s speech.
Mark T w a i n ' s Spe ec he s, p.
xv.
44
A n a l y s i s o f t h e Speech.
t h e "Queen V i c t o r i a "
c la rity
o f both h is
T w a in 's p e rs u a s iv e goals
spee ch a r e q u i t e e v i d e n t b e c a u s e o f t h e
s u b j e c t and i n t e n t .
Queen V i c t o r i a
v e r y o b v i o u s l y th e s u b j e c t o f t h e speech;
gram,
and o c c a s i o n a l l
a lso c l a r i f i e s
th a t
h is
make T w a i n ' s
s u b je c t:
the audience,
to p ic c le a r.
in th e f i r s t
indeed,
in te n t
pro­
The spe ech
Besides c l a r ­
t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e s p e e c h , t h e pa s s a g e j u s t
re v e a ls T w a in 's
is
"As a woman t h e Queen was a l l
t h e mo st e x a c t i n g s t a n d a r d s c o u l d r e q u i r e . "
ify in g
in t h e a d d r e s s .
phrase o f th e speech:
i n s e l e c t i n g me t o s p e a k .
o f th e b ir t h d a y o f th a t noble
T h is
in te n t
quoted a l s o
is e v i d e n t
"You do me a h i g h h o n o r ,
.
.
in t h i s
l a d y whose l i f e
commemoration
was c o n s e c r a t e d
to the v ir tu e s
and t h e h u m a n i t i e s and t o t h e p r o m o t i o n o f
lo fty
.
id e a ls
spe ec h
.
is e u lo g y
."
in
The f a c t t h a t T w a i n ' s p u r p o s e
is a ls o
in h e re n t
in th e s i t u a t i o n ;
in t h e
here were
g a t h e r e d E n g l i s h m e n a t an E n g l i s h c l u b m e e t i n g t o h o n o r t h e
b i r t h d a y o f Queen V i c t o r i a ;
Reasons f o r
lish e d
several
honoring
t h e Queen a r e n o t as w e l l
in t h e s p e ec h as t h e y m i g h t
v irtu e s
o r p r o v e them.
as a model
o f V ic to ria ,
life
d e s c rip tio n
.
,
it
d e scrib e s
is u n s u b s t a n t ia t e d .
moral
force:
he r as
the v ir t u e s
.
,
T w a in a l s o s t a t e s
"A s
served
upon w h i c h many a
was f o r m e d and made b e a u t i f u l
Queen was a p o w e r f u l
to s u b s ta n tia te
was c o n s e c r a t e d t o
. and was a model
esta b­
T w a in m e n t i o n s
t h a t Queen V i c t o r i a
f o r many p e o p l e ;
l a d y whose l i f e
and t h e h u m a n i t i e s
have be en.
b u t he n e g l e c t s
The spe ec h s t a t e s
o f v irtu e
" t h a t no ble
humbler
a e u l o g y was e x p e c t e d .
But t h i s
t h a t the
a fa r-re a c h in g
and
45
e f f e c t i v e b e n e f i c e n t moral
ever,
th is v ir tu e
f o r c e she had no pe e r
is a l s o unproven and is l e f t
the weight o f the a s s e r tio n .
Queen V i c t o r i a p r e s e n t e d
C harity
.
„ „ 11
t o e x i s t on
is a n o t h e r a t t r i b u t e o f
in t h e speech.
This
is p a r t i a l l y
su pp or te d by t h e vague example o f what she d i d f o r
America:
"What she d i d f o r us
and s t r e s s we s h a l l
t h a t she d i d
not f o r g e t
is not s t a t e d ,
in America
.
„
and,
How­
us in
in o u r t i m e o f stor m
But e x a c t l y what
consequently,
i t was*
t h e Queen's
c h a r i t y a 1so r e s t s al m os t e x c l u s i v e l y on T w a i n ' s s t a t e m e n t .
However,
and p r o o f ,
in s p i t e o f a g e n e r a l
t h e v i r t u e s Twain a t t r i b u t e d
were ac c e p te d by h i s v e r y p a r t i a l
lack o f s u b s ta n tia tio n
to V i c t o r i a probably
a u d ie n c e .
not need p r o o f o f what they a l r e a d y b e l i e v e d ;
however,
ing,
The h e a r e r s d i d
th is b e lie f,
co u ld have been s t r e n g t h e n e d w i t h ex ample s,
and o t h e r means o f s u p p o r t.
H e i g h t e n i n g t h e v i r t u e s o f Queen V i c t o r i a
a c h i e v e d by t h e use o f co mparisons.
of v irtu e
V ic to ria 's
. a life
image in t h e s t a r which f a l l s
lig h t s t i l l
be in g a model
out o f
its
which f i n d s
place,
its
but whose
streams w i t h unfaded l u s t e r acro ss t h e abysses o f
space long a f t e r
source,"
is p a r t i a l l y
is somewhat m a g n i f i e d by comparing h e r t o a s t a r whose
l i g h t p o i n t s t h e way f o r o t h e r s ;
ju s t
reason­
its
However,
fire s
have been e x t i n g u i s h e d a t t h e i r
t h i s a n al o gy seems somewhat s t r a i n e d
terms o f making th e v i r t u e a r e a l
le a v e s t h e a t t r i b u t e
Queen's moral
force
"As a f a r - r e a c h i n g
le s s v i v i d
or
than
im p o rt a n t one,
in
and Twain
i t migh t have been.
The
is a l s o m a g n i f i e d thro ugh comparison:
.
.
. b e n e f i c e n t moral
f o r c e she had no p e e r
46
i n h e r t i m e among e i t h e r mo nar chs o r commoners„ 11
ever,
than
th is
com parison
i t m ig h t be.
V ic to ria 's
c h a rity
as t6a fame r a r e
p a litie s ,
s e lfis h
is
how­
l e s s s p e c i f i c and l e s s m e a n i n g f u l
C o m p a ri s o n
i s a g a i n used t o h e i g h t e n Queen
and g o o d n e s s .
T w a in d e s c r i b e s
in t h e h i s t o r y o f t h r o n e s ,
and p o w e r s ,
A gain,
sin ce
it w ill
and s o r d i d a m b i t i o n s ,
her c h a r a c t e r
dom inions,
p rin c i­
n o t r e s t upon h a r v e s t e d
b u t upon l o v e ,
e a r n e d and f r e e l y
v o u c h s a f e d . 11
More
above
i m p o r t a n t th a n a l l
in h e i g h t e n i n g
th e a u d ie n c e 's
v irtu e s
to
t h e Q u e e n 's v i r t u e
se t o f valu es.
t h e Queen, h e r m o r a l
force,
th e audience.
ment o f v i r t u e
th e com parisons m entioned
and l i t t l e
s uc c e e d s
h im ."
and h e r c h a r i t y w e r e a l l
T h ere fore ,
T w a in , w i t h
a ttem p t to c l a r i f y
T w a in 's
v irtu e s
"Queen V i c t o r i a "
d e f i c i e n c i e s w hich
lie
in h i s
im p o rta n t
a mere s t a t e ­
o r m a gnify,
prob­
g o a ls because th e a u d i ­
The s p e e c h ,
in m a k in g V i c t o r i a ' s
to
He knew t h a t t h e exa mp le s e t by
a b l y won b e l i e f and a c c e p t a n c e f o r h i s
en ce was “ s e t up f o r
i s T w a i n ' s ap pe a l
however,
real
never r e a l l y
or v iv id .
s p e ec h seems t o have s e v e r a l
fa ilu re
to c le a r ly
m agnify her v i r t u e s .
In s p i t e o f
p ro b a b ly achieved
g o a ls because o f th e p r e v i o u s l y e s t a b ­
lish e d b e lie fs
Thus,
its
these f a u l t s ,
p r e s e n t and
t h e speech
and v a l u e s o f t h e a u d i e n c e .
through
the a n a ly s is o f th re e o f T w a in 's a f t e r -
din n e r
spe ec he s a c c o r d i n g
to a th re e -p o in t A r is to te lia n
te ria ,
it
ne s s e s
in h i s use o f p r a i s e and b l a m e .
can be seen t h a t he had s e v e r a l
stre n gth s
c ri­
and w e a k ­
T he se s t r e n g t h s
and
47
weaknesses as w e l l
speeches and h i s
as f a c t o r s which may have I n f l u e n c e d h i s
ideas w i l l
in which the c o n c l u s io n s
be di sc u s s e d
to t h i s
in t h e n e x t c h a p t e r
study w i l l
be drawn.
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSIONS
From t h e f o r e g o i n g e x a m i n a t i o n o f T w a i n ' s
l i f e and
tim es and th e a n a l y s i s o f t h r e e o f h i s a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches,
several
c o n c l u s i o n s have been drawn co n ce rn in g
p r a i s e and blame.
These l i e
in two g e n er al
i n f l u e n c e s and e f f e c t i v e n e s s .
Twain's
s ib le,
life
and tim es w i l l
use o f
areas--probable
the f a c t o r s
influencin g
be r e vi e w ed t o show, where pos­
e v i d e n c e o f t h e i r e f f e c t on th e a c t u a l
Second, T w a i n ' s s k i l l
w ill
F irst,
Pii s
speeches a n a l y z e d .
in m e e t in g th e s t an d ar ds o f t h e c r i t e r i a
be summarized t o d e t e r m i n e t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f h i s use
o f p r a i s e and blame.
I n f l u e n c e s o f T w a i n ' s L i f e and Times
W ith in Twain's
life
are several
e le m e nt s o f p r o b a b l e
i n f l u e n c e on h i s use o f p r a i s e and blame.
tic u la rly
h i s m o th e r ,
b e lie fs .
Jane Clemens and th e example o f
H is p a r e n t s , p a r ­
helpe d t o shape T w a i n ' s o p i n i o n s and
i d e a l i z e d womanhood
she f u r n i s h e d appears t o have been an i n f l u e n c e on t h e use o f
praise
in the "Queen V i c t o r i a "
s e t by Jane Clemens,
women c h a r a c t e r s ,
la c ks
re a lity .
informal
speech.
Queen V i c t o r i a ,
Because o f t h e example
l i k e many o f T w a i n ' s
is " p l a c e d on a p e d e s t a l "
M a r k ' s boyhood in Han nibal
e d u c a t io n
in t h e speech and
and h i s
do not seem t o be too d i r e c t l y
48
formal
and
refle cte d
in t h e speeches examined.
However, when h i s boyhood ye ar s
a r e combined w i t h h i s e a r l y w o rk i n g years on t h e M i s s i s s i p p i
and in t h e West,
openness,
a pattern
and f a i r
play.
is formed which s t r e s s e s h o ne st y,
These v a l u e s a r e c l e a r l y
seen
in h i s
a t t a c k s on th e d i s h o n e s t y and i n j u s t i c e o f newspapers and
f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t people.
The
influences o f Tw ain's
ye a r s o f success a r e q u i t e nebulous and d i f f i c u l t
d e fin ite ly
t o t h e speeches a n a l y z e d .
la te r
to r e la t e
During t h e s e y e a r s ,
how­
e v e r , many e x p e r i e n c e s and h a r d s h i p s helpe d t o f o s t e r humani­
ta ria n
feelin g s
in Twain which p r o b a b l y le d him t o c r i t i c i z e
the la c k o f c h a r i t y
in t h e press and t o p r a i s e t h e kindness
and g e n e r o s i t y o f Queen V i c t o r i a .
The p e r i o d
in which Twain
l i v e d a ls o o f f e r s probable
i n f l u e n c e s on h i s use o f p r a i s e and blame.
honesty o f t h e f r o n t i e r
f o s t e r e d by the C i v i l
The openness and
combined w i t h t h e f e e l i n g s o f e q u a l i t y
War p r o b a b l y helpe d t o form Tw ai n' s,
h a t r e d o f d i s h o n e s t y and i n j u s t i c e which he e x pr es s es
“ L i c e n s e o f t h e P re s s " and " C o n s i s t e n c y " sp eeches.
ic a l
in h i s
The p o l i t ­
c o r r u p t i o n o f t h e times a l s o seems to have had marked
e f f e c t on T w a i n ' s use o f p r a i s e and blame,-
in f a c t ,
both t h e
“ L i c e n s e o f t h e P re s s " and " C o n s i s t e n c y " speeches appear t o
be d i r e c t s t a t e m e n t s a g a i n s t t h e p o l i t i c a l
alism
s itu atio n .
is seen t o be a f o r c e o f T w a i n ' s tim es
a g a i n s t newspapers and t h e i r p o l i c i e s .
w i l l i n g n e s s o f th e press t o p r i n t
M a te ri­
in t h e speech
In t h i s
speech t h e
p l e a s f o r any cause or group
t h a t c o u l d pay them is a t t a c k e d by Tw ain.
50
E v a l u a t i o n o f T w a i n ' s Use o f P r a i s e and Blame
Several
c o n c l u s i o n s c o n c e r n in g the e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f
T w a i n ' s use o f p r a i s e and blame may be drawn from t h e speeches
analyzed.
These a r e c e n t e r e d around h i s s k i l l
and c l a r i f y i n g
his go als,
his a b i l i t y
t h e a c c e p ta n c e o f h i s g o a l s ,
in p r e s e n t i n g
to e s t a b l i s h
reasons f o r
and h i s e f f e c t i v e n e s s
in using
t e c h n i q u e s t o h e i g h t e n his p r a i s e and blame.
Twain seems t o have been c l e a r and e x a c t ,
ca ses ,
in e s t a b l i s h i n g
in most
h i s speech s u b j e c t s and g o a l s .
The
s u b j e c t s o f th e speeches examined a r e g e n e r a l l y q u i t e c l e a r
and s p e c i f i c ;
however,
an e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s
t h e " C o n s i s t e n c y " speech which
defined e x a c tly .
honor
is r a t h e r nebulous and is not
The p e r s u a s i v e g o a ls o f a l l
are re a d ily evident;
is t h e s u b j e c t o f
t h e speeches
T w a i n ' s p e r s u a s i v e g o a ls a r e c l e a r l y
dis­
in t h e " L i c e n s e o f t h e P re ss " and " C o n s i s t e n c y " speeches
and eu lo g y
in t h e "Queen V i c t o r i a "
Reasons f o r
sp,eech.
t h e a c c e p ta n c e o f T w a i n ' s speech go als
are presented q u ite s k i l l f u l l y
pr es enc e o f v i r t u e s or v i c e s
in t h e speeches examined.
in h i s
subjects
in many in s ta n c e s by t h e use o f h y p o t h e t i c a l
trations.
By us in g examples,
esp ecially
is e s t a b l i s h e d
and f a c t u a l
je c t.
Twain
and v i c e s as being a t t r i b u t e s
is a b l e
o f h i s sub­
Twain a l s o uses r e a s o n i n g t o p r e s e n t cause f o r honor
or d i s h o n o r .
speech,
illu s ­
in h i s speeches c r i t i ­
c i z i n g th e press and f a l s e l y c o n s i s t e n t p e o p l e .
to e s ta b lis h v ir tu e s
The
Through re a s o n i n g
f o r example,
in the " L i c e n s e o f the P r e s s "
he is a b l e t o make ov erab u nd an t power
appear t o be a f a u l t o f newspapers.
In some ca s e s ,
however.
p a rtic u la rly
t h e “ Queen V i c t o r i a ' 1 speech.
Twain does not p r e s e n t
cause f o r honor or d i s h o n o r as t h o r o u g h l y as m ig h t be d e s i r e d .
He seems t o r e l y t o o much upon t h e p r e d is p o s e d n a t u r e o f his
a u d ie n c e t o a c c e p t p o o r l y s u b s t a n t i a t e d e v id e n c e o f v i r t u e s
or v ic e s .
Twain
is q u i t e s k i l l f u l
t o h e i g h t e n p r a i s e and blame.
e ffe c tiv e ly
is t h e appeal
in h i s use o f v a r i o u s methods
One o f t h e t e c h n i q u e s he employs
to the audience's set o f values to
f u r t h e r hi s p e r s u a s i v e ends.
In a l l
t h e speeches a n a l y z e d ,
and
e s p e c i a l l y th e “ Queen V i c t o r i a " speech, Twain has a thorough
knowledge o f th e v a l u e s o f h i s a u d i e n c e and employs t h i s
edge t o good ad va n ta g e
in advan cin g h i s pu rp os e.
n i q u e Twain uses e f f e c t i v e l y
describing
is a b l e t o make th e v i r t u e s
and m ea n in g fu l
p r a i s e and blame.
t o t h e a u d ie n c e .
o f v i r t u e s or v i c e s .
V icto ria"
is
t o m ag n ify his
in
Twain a l s o d e m o ns tr a te s s k i l l
in h i s use o f t h e t e c h n i q u e o f e s t a b l i s h i n g
what would happen
Comparison
The adept use o f t h i s method can be seen
each o f t h e speeches a n a l y z e d .
t h e a u d ie n c e .
In t h i s way,
and v i c e s o f h is
a n o t h e r t e c h n i q u e t h a t Twain uses s k i l l f u l l y
worst degree.
is
in t h e “'L ice nse o f t h e Pre ss" and “ C o n s is t e n c y "
s p e e c h e s , Twain
subject real
Ano ther t e c h ­
in m a g n i f y i n g v i c e s or v i r t u e s
th e d e t a i l s o f t h e i r d e m o n s t r a t i o n .
p a rtic u la rly
kn ow l­
u ltim ate
resu lts
In doing t h i s Twain shows h i s au d ie n c e
i f t h e v i r t u e or v i c e were p r e s e n t
T h i s appears t o m a g n if y th e
In some cases,
in i t s
impress ion made on
h o w ev er , e s p e c i a l l y th e "Queen
speech, Twain p l a c e s to o much dependence upon th e
52
e x i s t i n g o p i n i o n s o f h i s au d ie n c e and n e g l e c t s t o h e i g h t e n h i s
p r a i s e or blame s u f f i c i e n t l y .
-
Summary
Mark T w ai n ,
in h i s a f t e r - d i n n e r
s p e a k in g ,
a c h i e v e h i s p e r s u a s i v e g o al s q u i t e e f f e c t i v e l y
ful
seems t o
th ro ug h a s k i l l ­
use o f t h e t e c h n i q u e s o f p r a i s e and blame.
In th e main
h i s speech s u b j e c t s and p e r s u a s i v e g o a ls a r e c l e a r ;
f o r the a c c e p ta n c e o f h i s g o al s a r e q u i t e w e l l
su bstantiated;
employed.
p r e s e n t e d and
Oc ca si ona l weak­
in T w a i n ' s tendency t o r e l y to o h e a v i l y upon the
knowledge possessed by h i s a u d i e n c e .
results
This
r e l i a n c e sometimes
in u n s p e c i f i c speech s u b j e c t s and f a i l u r e
t i a t e and
reasons
and h i s te c h n iq u e s used t o h e i g h t e n t h e e f f e c t
o f v i r t u e s or v i c e s are s k i l l f u l l y
nesses l i e
his
i n t e n s i f y t h e v i r t u e s or v i c e s o f h i s
to substan­
to p ic .
APPENDIX
LICENSE OF THE PRESS1
( F i r s t p a ra g r a p h m i s s i n g )
It
(th e press)
has s c o f f e d a t r e l i g i o n
made s c o f f i n g p o p u l a r .
I t has defended o f f i c i a l
on p a r t y p r e t e x t s , u n t i l
whose members a r e
till
i t has
crim in als,
i t has c r e a t e d a U n i t e d S t a t e s S e n a te
i n c a p a b l e o f d e t e r m i n i n g what c r im e a g a i n s t
law and th e d i g n i t y o f t h e i r own body Jj>, th e y a r e so m o r a l l y
b lin d ,
and
i t has made l i g h t o f d i s h o n e s t y t i l l
r e s u l t a Congress which c o n t r a c t s
we have as a
t o work f o r a c e r t a i n
sum
and then d e l i b e r a t e l y s t e a l s a d d i t i o n a l wages o u t o f th e pub­
l i c po ck e t and is p a in e d and s u r p r i s e d t h a t anybody should
w o rr y about a l i t t l e
thing
I am p u t t i n g a l l
newspaper,
rate.
It
and
I believe
lik e
th at.
t h i s od iou s s t a t e o f t h i n g s upon t h e
it
belongs t h e r e - - c h i e f l y ,
is a f r e e p r e s s - - a p ress t h a t
press which
is l i c e n s e d t o say any
a t any
is more than f r e e - - a
infamous t h i n g
i t chooses
about a p r i v a t e or a p u b l i c man, o r ad vo c at e any outrageous
d o ctrin e
i t pleases.
ion which should h o ld
It
is t i e d
in no way.
it
in bounds
i t has
The p u b l i c o p i n ­
i t s e l f degraded t o
i t s own l e v e l .
T h e r e a r e laws t o p r o t e c t t h e freedom o f t h e
p r e s s ' s speech,
but none t h a t a r e w o rt h a n y t h i n g t o p r o t e c t
T.
H ar k T w a i n ' s Spe e ch es , pp. 4 6 - 5 2 .
53
54
t h e p e o p le from t h e p r e s s .
A l ibel
su it
s imply b r i n g s th e
p l a i n t i f f b e f o r e a v a s t newspaper c o u r t t o be t r i e d b e f o r e th e
law t r i e s
him,
and r e v i l e d and r i d i c u l e d w i t h o u t mercy.
The
touchy C h a r l e s Reade can sue E n g l i s h newspapers and get v e r ­
dicts;
he would soon change h i s t a c t i c s
(backed by a p u b l i c w e l l
te ac h him t h a t
sentation
it
here;
t h e papers
t a u g h t by th e m s e lv e s ) would soon
is b e t t e r t o s u f f e r any amount o f m i s r e p r e ­
than go i n t o our c o u r t s w i t h a l i b e l
su it
and make
h i m s e l f t h e l a u g h in g s t o c k o f the community.
I t seems t o me t h a t j u s t
papers
increase,
worse m o r a l s .
in the r a t i o
our m orals deca y.
t h a t our news­
The more newspapers t h e
Where we have one newspaper t h a t does good,
t h i n k we have f i f t y
t h a t do harm.
We ought t o
lo o k upon t h e
e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a newspaper o f t h e av er ag e p a t t e r n
tuous v i l l a g e
I
in a v i r ­
as a c a l a m i t y .
The d i f f e r e n c e between t h e to n e and conduct o f news­
papers t o - d a y and th os e o f t h i r t y
or f o r t y y e a r s ago is v e r y
n o te w o r th y and v e r y s a d - - I mean t h e a v er ag e newspaper ( f o r
t h e y had bad ones t h e n ,
too).
In th os e days t h e av er ag e news­
paper was t h e champion o f r i g h t and m o r a l s ,
s cien tiou sly
in t h e t r u t h .
It
and
is no t t h e case now.
day a r e p u t a b l e New Y o r k d a i l y had an e d i t o r i a l
salary
steal
and j u s t i f y i n g
were n o t p a i d en o u g h - -a s
for s te a lin g .
fe c tly
w i t h o u t a d o ub t.
The o t h e r
d e f e n d in g th e
i t on the ground t h a t Congressmen
i f t h a t were an a l l - s u f f i c i e n t excuse
That e d i t o r i a l
s a tis fa c to ry
i t d e a l t con­
pu t the m a t t e r
in a new and p e r ­
l i g h t w i t h many a l e a t h e r - h e a d e d r e a d e r ,
I t has become a s a r c a s t i c p r o v e r b t h a t a
55
t h i n g must be t r u e
opinion
in a newsp ape r.
i n t e l l i g e n t p e o p le have o f t h a t
n u tsh ell.
s titu te
i f you saw i t
But t h e t r p u b l e
is t h a t
That
lying v e h ic le
is t h e
in a
the s t u p i d p e o p l e — who co n­
t h e grand overwhelming m a j o r i t y o f t h i s
and a l l
other
n a t i o n s - - d o be! ie v e and a r e moulded and co n vi n ce d by what t h e y
g e t o u t o f a ne wsp ape r, and t h e r e
Among us,
t h e newspaper
is where t h e harm l i e s .
is a tremendous power.
make or mar any man's r e p u t a t i o n .
call
I t has p e r f e c t
freedom t o
t h e b e s t man in t h e land a f r a u d and a t h i e f ,
d e s t r o y e d beyond h e l p .
Whether Mr.
Colfax
can ne ver be a s c e r t a i n e d n o w - - b u t he w i l l
day o f h i s d e a t h - - f o r
I t can
and he is
is a l i a r
or not
r a n k as one t i l l
the
t h e newspapers have so doomed h i m . . Our
n e w s p a p e r s - - a l 1 o f them, w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n - - g l o r i f y the " B l a c k
Crook" and make
it
it
an o p u l e n t s u c c e s s - - t h e y c o u ld have k i l l e d
dead w i t h one b r o a d s i d e o f contemptuous s i l e n c e
wanted t o .
i f th ey had
Days Doings and P o l i c e G a z e t t e s f l o u r i s h
land unmolested by th e
law,
because th e v ?r t u o u s newspapers
long ago n u r t u r e d up a p u b l i c
never c a r e s w h et h er
in the
la x ity
that
loves
indecency and
laws a r e a d m i n i s t e r e d or n o t .
In t h e newspapers o f th e West you can use the ed i t o r ia l
vojce
in the e d i t o r i a l
columns t o defend any w r e t c h e d and
r i o u s dogma you p l e a s e by payin g a d o l l a r a l i n e
N early a l l
for
in ju ­
it.
newspapers f o s t e r Rozenweigs and k in d r e d
c r i m i n a l s and send v i c t i m s t o them by opening t h e i r columns t o
t h e i r advertisem ents.
You a l l
know t h a t .
In th e F o s t e r murder case th e New Y o r k papers made a
weak p r e t e n s e o f u p h o ld in g t h e hands o f th e Governor and
56
u r g i n g the p e o p le to s u s t a i n him in s t a n d i n g
b u t th e y p r i n t e d a wh ole page o f s i c k l y ,
h i s clemency as a p a i d a d v e r t i s e m e n t .
f i r m l y by th e
law;
m au d lin ap p e a ls t o
And I suppose th e y
would have p u b l i s h e d enough pages o f abuse o f t h e Governor t o
d e s t r o y h i s e f f i c i e n c y as a publ ic o f f i c i a l
term i f anybody came f o r w a r d and p a i d f o r
ment.
text,
The newspaper t h a t o b s t r u c t s
f o r money's sa ke,
law on a t r i v i a l
ignorant,
I am p e r s o n ­
and t h e o p i n i o n
o f the m a j o r i t y o f them would not be wo rth tu ppence
bu t when t h e y speak in p r i n t
it
I know from pe rs ona l
to l i e .
fashion o f
in p r i v a t e ,
is the newspaper t h a t
is not v i s i b l e )
ances shake the community l i k e
n alists
is
a t d i t c h i n g and shoemaking and f e t c h e d
a c q u a i n t e d w i t h hundreds o f j o u r n a l i s t s ,
ing ( t h e pygmy s c r i b e
pre­
self-com placent
up in j o u r n a l i s m on t h e i r way t o t h e poorhouse.
a lly
an a d v e r t i s e ­
the p u b lic opinion o f a n a tio n ,
in America by a horde o f
s i m p l e t o n s who f a i l e d
it--a s
is a dangerous enemy t o t h e p u b l i c w e a l .
T h a t awf ul power,
created
the
t o t h e end o f h i s
is t a l k ­
and then t h e i r u t t e r ­
t h e thund ers o f p r o p h e c y .
e x p e r i e n c e the^prone nes s o f j o u r ­
1 once s t a r t e d a p e c u l i a r and p i c t u r e s q u e
l y i n g m y s e l f on t h e P a c i f i c c o a s t ,
dead t h e r e t o t h i s
day.
Whenever
and i t
is n o t
I hear o f a shower o f b l o o d
and f r o g s combined,
in C a l i f o r n i a ,
some d e s e r t ,
o r a cave f r e s c o e d w i t h diamonds and emer­
alds
there,
(a lw a y s found by an
te llin g
chi I d - - 1
where
day
in
In ju n who d i e d b e f o r e he could f i n i s h
I say t o m y s e l f
have got t o answer f o r t h i s
th in g --to th is
tim e.
i t was),
o r a sea s e r p e n t found
I am l i a b l e
to
lie
I am t h e f a t h e r o f t h i s
lie .
if
And h a b i t
is e v e r y -
I d o n ' t watch a l l
the
57
The l i c e n s e o f t h e pr es s has scorched e v e r y
o f us
go d,
in ou r t i m e ,
in Eng land,
I make no d o u b t .
his p rais es
s a i d a n y t h i n g about hi s
on t h a t head,
individual
Poor S t a n l e y was a v e r y
in e v e r y man's mouth.
But nobody
l e c t u r e s - - t h e y were c h a r i t a b l y
quiet
and were c o n t e n t t o p r a i s e h i s h i g h e r v i r t u e s .
But our papers t o r e the poor c r e a t u r e
1 imb from 1 imb and s c a t ­
t e r e d t h e fr ag m e nt s from Maine t o C a l i f o r n i a — m e r e l y because
he c o u l d n ' t
lectu re w e ll.
His p r o d i g i o u s ac hie vem en t
goes f o r n a u g h t - - t h e man is p u l l e d down and u t t e r l y
but s t i l l
c ity
t o v i l l a g e as
some bl ood y and d e t e s t a b l e c r i m e .
if
c l o u d s - - a l 1 the e d ito rs
B r e t H a r t e was suddenly
in t h e la n d stood o u t
w e a t h e r and adored him th rough t h e i r
fam ily f e l l
ment he ground o u t a r a t h e r
he athen C hi n ee ,
frau d ,"
in t h e
sick,
fla t
in t h e
i n c le m e n t
t e l e s c o p e s and swung t h e i r
t h e y wore them ou t and then borrowed more;
time his
from
he had committed
sn atc hed Out o f o b s c u r i t y by our papers and t h r o n e d
firs t
destroyed--
t h e p e r s e c u t i o n f b l l o w s him as r e l e n t l e s s l y
to c i t y and from v i l l a g e
h a ts t i l l
in A f r i c a
and the
and in h i s t r o u b l e and h a r a s s ­
a rtic le
t h a t h u r r a h i n g ho st s a i d ,
in p l a c e o f a n o t h e r
"Why,
t h i s man's a
and then t h e y began t o reach up t h e r e f o r him.
t h e y got him,
too,
and f e t c h e d him down, and w al ke d over him,
and r o l l e d him in th e mud, and t a r r e d and f e a t h e r e d him,
then s e t him up f o r a t a r g e t and have been h e av in g d i r t
ever sin ce.
The r e s u l t
is t h a t
te en engagements t o l e c t u r e t h i s
been so s c a t t e r i n g ,
te n c e y e t t h a t h i t
And
too,
and
a t him
the man has had o n l y j u s t n i n e ­
year,
and t h e au diences have
t h a t he has ne ver d i s c h a r g e d a s e n ­
two p e o p le a t t h e same t i m e .
The man is
58
r u i n e d - - n e v e r can g e t up a g a i n .
has g r e a t c a p a b i l i t i e s ,
things
f o r our
p i e r chance.
And y e t he is a person who
and might have ac com pl ished g r e a t
l i t e r a t u r e and f o r h i m s e l f
And he made t h e m i s t a k e ,
i f he had had a hap­
too,
o f doing a p e c u n i ­
a r y kindness f o r a s t a r v i n g beggar o f our g u i l d - - o n e o f t h e
jo u rn a lis tic
shoemaker c l a s s - - a n d
t h a t beggar made i t
his b u s i­
ness as soon as he got back t o San F r a n c i s c o t o p u b l i s h f o u r
columns o f exposures o f crimes committed by h i s b e n e f a c t o r ,
l e a s t o f which ought t o make any de ce n t man b l u s h .
th a t admitted th a t s t u f f to
In a town
who was dr un k,
profane,
in M ic h ig a n
and he s a i d ,
indecent,
its
The pr es s
columns had t o o much l i c e n s e .
I d e c l i n e d t o d i n e w i t h an e d i t o r
in h i s p a p e r ,
t h a t my l e c t u r e was
and c a l c u l a t e d to encourage
And y e t t h a t man n e ve r heard
the
it.
in tem per an ce .
I t might have reformed him
i f he had.
A D e t r o i t paper once s a i d t h a t
h a b i t o f b e a t i n g my w i f e and t h a t
up,
although
I s till
I had c r i p p l e d her f o r
a b l e t o keep out o f my way when
frame o f mind.
1 was
life
in t h e c o n s t a n t
kept t h i s
recreation
and she was no l o n g e r
I came home in my usual
Now s c a r c e l y h a l f o f t h a t was t r u e .
ought t o have sued t h a t man f o r
lib e l--b u t
fra n tic
Perhaps
I knew b e t t e r .
I
A ll
t h e papers in A m e r i c a - - w i t h a few c r e d i t a b l e e x c e p t io n s - -w o u I d
have found o u t t h e n ,
beater,
too.
to t h e ir
sa tis fa c tio n ,
and t h e y would have g i v e n
it
th at
a pretty
I was a w i f e
general
a irin g ,
59
Why, J_ have p u b l i s h e d v i c i o u s
lib e ls
upon pe op le
m y s e l f - - a n d ought t o have been hanged b e f o r e my t i m e f o r
to o-- if
I do say
But
I w ill
o f vague g e n e r a l
press
i t m yself,
in t h i s
idea t h a t t h e r e
wholesome r e s t r a i n t
a national
that shouldn't.
no t c o n t i n u e t h e s e r e m a r k s .
country,
and t h a t
1 have a s o r t
is to o much 1 i b e r t y o f the
th rough t h e absence o f a l l
t h e newspaper has become in a l a r g e d e g r ee
c u r s e , and w i l l
p r o b a b l y damn t h e R e p u b l i c y e t .
Th e r e are some e x c e l l e n t v i r t u e s
powers t h a t w i e l d v a s t
to ld a ll
it,
influences
about t h e s e t h i n g s ,
in newspapers,
f o r good;
and g l o r i f i e d
and
some
I co ul d have
them exhaust i v e l y - -
but t h a t would have l e f t you gentlemen n o t h i n g t o say.
60
CONSISTENCY2
We a r e c o n t i n u a l l y warned to be cons is t e n t - - b y the
p u lp it,
by th e ne wsp ape r, by our a s s o c i a t e s .
from c o n s i s t e n c y , we a r e r epr oa che d f o r
When we d e p a r t
i t by t h e s e c e ns o rs .
When a man who has been born and brought up a Jew becomes a
C h ristian ,
t h e Jews sorrow o v er
in c o n s ta n c y ;
a ll
his
life
We put
and r ep roac h him f o r his
he has d e n ie d t h e d i v i n i t y
but now he makes a l i e o f a l l
stigm a o f
it
his past;
of C h rist,
upon him r e s t s the
i n c o n s i s t e n c y ; we can n ev er be s u r e o f him a g a i n .
in t h e d e a d l y p a r a l l e l
columns what he s a i d former 1y
and what he says now, and h i s c r e d i t
him n o t ; we know him now; he w i l l
is gone.
We say, T r u s t
change aga i n ; and p o s s i b l y
aqa i n and y e t a g a i n ; he has no s t a b i l i t y .
Ther e a r e men c a l l e d
Republicans.
the same t h i n g happens as
The man lo se s c h a r a c t e r .
tra ito r.
He is
H is p a s t u t t e r a n c e s w i l l
p r e s e n t ones,
p o litic a l
in th e Jew* s
in co n sisten t.
He is a
be double columned w i t h
his
and he is damned; a l s o d e s p i s e d - ~ e v e n by h i s new
associates,
inconsistency
for
in t h e i r s ,
as
in a l l
men1s eyes ,
is a t r e a s o n and m a t t e r f o r s c o r n .
These a r e fa c t s - - c o m m o n , e v e r y - d a y f a c t s ;
chosen them f o r t h a t
reason; fa c ts
and I have
known t o e v e r y b o d y ,
which no one d e n i e s .
2.
life -lo n g
I f one o f t h e s e d e p a r t s from h i s a l l e g i a n c e and
votes the o ther t i c k e t ,
case.
l i f e - ? l o n g Democrats,
Mark T w a i n ' s S peech es, pp.
120-130.
facts
61
What
is t h e most r i g o r o u s
No s m a l l e s t atom o f our m o r a l ,
can s t a n d s t i l l
prevent
it.
s m a l l e r or
a year.
law o f our being?
m ental,
or p h y s i c a l
I t g r o w s - - i t must grow;
I t must grow downward o r upward;
larg e r,
Gr ow th .
structure
n o t h i n g can
i t must grow
b e t t e r or w o r s e - - i t cannot s t a n d s t i l l .
In o t h e r words, we c h a n g e - - a n d must change,
constantly,
keep on changing as long as we l i v e .
then,
gospel o f c o n s i s t e n c y ?
man?
Change.
The man who changes.
would m i s te a c h us t h a t t o s t i c k
and a v i c e .
i f he s t i c k
show,
in a r u t _i_s cons I s t e n c y - - a n d
g r a n t you c e r t a i n
grant th a t
outgrown t h e c h i l d ' s
into
it;
is
ineons?stency--
t h i n g s , w i t h o u t mur­
t h i n g s which go w i t h o u t s a y i n g ;
truisms.
in t i m e t h e c r a w l i n g baby w al k s and must
not be r e q u i r e d t o go on c r a w l i n q ; t h a t
him self
in a r u t .
t h e r e a r e those who
t o c li m b out o f t h e r u t
They w i l l
mur or d i s s e n t - - a s
They w i l l
Who is th e r e a l 1y c o n s i s t e n t
as th e quoted f a c t s
a v i r t u e ; and t h a t
is th e t r u e ,
S in c e change is t h e law o f his
b e i n g , he cannot be c o n s i s t e n t
Yet,
What,
and
in t i m e t h e youth has
j a c k e t and must not be r e q u i r e d t o crowd
th ey g r a n t you t h a t a c h i l d ' s
knowledge is
becoming and p r o p e r t o t h e c h i l d o n l y so t h e y g r a n t him a
school
and te a c h him,
so t h a t he may change and gro w; th ey
g r a n t you t h a t he must keep on l e a r n i n g - - t h r o u g h youth and
manhood and s t r a i g h t o n - - h e must not be a l l o w e d to suppose
t h a t t h e knowledge o f t h i r t y can be any p r o p e r equipment f o r
his f i f t i e t h
y e a r ; they w i l l
grant
you t h a t a young man's
o p i n i o n s about mankind and th e u n i v e r s e a r e c r u d e , and some­
tim es f o o l i s h , and t h e y would no t dream o f r e q u i r i n g him t o
62
s t i c k t o them the
r e s t o f hi s
life ,
l e s t by changing them he
b r i n g down upon h i m s e l f t h e re p r o a c h o f
w ill
g r a n t you t h e s e , and e v e r y t h i n g
in t h e l i n e o f p r o g r e s s and change,
p o litic s
and r el i g i o n ;
ineons i s t e n c y .
They
e l s e you can t h i n k o f ,
u n til
you g e t down t o
t h e r e th e y draw t h e J jj n e.
These must
-
s u f f e r no change.
or you a r e
always a P r e s b y t e r i a n ,
i n c o n s i s t e n t and a t r a i t o r ; once a Democrat,
a Democrat,
It
Once a P r e s b y t e r i a n ,
or you a r e
is c u r i o u s
i n c o n s i s t e n t and a t r a ?t o r - - a
lo gic.
always
turncoat.
Is t h e r e but one k i n d o f t r e a s o n ?
No man remains t h e same s o r t o f P r e s b y t e r i a n he was a t f i r s t - the th in g
is
imposs i b l e ; t i m e and v a r i o u s
h i s P r e s b y t e r i a n ism;
i t narrows or
i t b r o a d e n s , grows deeper
or s h a l l o w e r , bu t does not st a n d s t i l 1.
grows so f a r beyond i t s e l f ,
is r e a l 1y 1e f t o f
tia l
jt
W ell,
To whom?
ra tio n a lly .
P lain ly a tr a it o r
upward or downward,
substance,
or Bu d dh is t o r so mething.
q u e s t io n s
In some cases
it
t h a t n o th i n g
bu t th e name, and perhaps an inconsequen­
rag o f the o r i g i n a l
he is a t r a i t o r .
i n f l u e n c e s mod ify
if
To what?
t h e b u l k be in g now B a p t i s t
he go o v e r t o t h e B u d d h i s t s ,
No man can answer t h o s e
Now i f he does not go o v e r what
to h im s e lf, a t r a i t o r
h i g h e s t and t h e h o n e s t e s t t h a t
is he?
t o t h e b e s t and the
is _i_n him.
Which o f th e s e
tr ea s o n s
is t h e b l a c k e s t o n e - - a n d t h e shamefu1e s t ?
the real
and r i g h t c o n s i s t e n c y ?
To be c o n s i s t e n t
Which
is
to a sham
and an empty name, o r c o n s i s t e n t t o t h e law o f o n e ' s bei n q ,
which
is ch ang e, and in t h i s
case r e q u i r e s him t o move f o r w a r d
and keep a b r e a s t o f hi s b e s t mental
and moral
h i g h e s t c o n v i c t i o n s o f t h e r i g h t and the t r u e ?
progress,
his
Suppose t h i s
63
t r e a s o n t o t h e name o f a church sh ou ld c a r r y him c l e a r o u t s i d e
o f a l 1 churches?
So long as he is
fo r other
t h e W ell
Is t h a t a b l a c k e r t r e a s o n than t o remain?
loyal
t o h i s b e s t s e l f , what should he c a r e
lo yalties?
done,
and f o r e m o s t ,
I t seems t o me t h a t a man should se c u r e
fa ith fu l
s e r v a n t , o f h i s own c o n s c ie n c e f i r s t
and l e t a l l
other
lo yalties
go.
I have r e f e r r e d t o t h e f a c t t h a t when a man r e t i r e s
from h i s p o l i t i c a l
nounced in p l a i n
p a r t y he is a t r a i t o r - - t h a t he
lan gu age .
many i n t o t h e f a n c y t h a t
a r e th e terms a p p l i e d .
it
That
is b o l d ; so b o l d as t o d e c e i v e
is t r u e .
W e l l , j_s i t ?
an army of. c o n s c r i p t s ,
t o him a p o l i t i c a l
f o r they a re
No,
Is
it
is f i n i s h e d ?
party
is not
f o r these e n l i s t
J_s
f o r a s p e c i f i e d and
r e p r o a c h when th e
an army o f v o l u n t e e r s who have e n 1 i s t e d f o r
No,
Those f i n e m i l i t a r y
it
i f th ey l e a v e b e f o r e th e
is no t even an army
terms a r e h i g h - s o u n d i n g ,
a r e no more r a t i o n a l l y a p p l i c a b l e
they would be t o an o y s t e r bed.
he is so many f e e t h i g h ,
in t h a t sense.
empty 1 i e s - - a n d
to a p o l i t i c a l
p a r t y than
The v o l u n t e e r s o l d i e r comes
t o t h e r e c r u i t i n g o f f i c e and s t r i p s
no f i n g e r s gone,
Do th e y
o r an army o f v o l u n t e e r s .
t h e w a r , and mey r i g h t e o u s l y be shot
war
is
in t h e ranks by compul s i o n .
w e l 1- u n d e r s t o o d t e r m .and can r e t i r e w i t h o u t
te rm is up.
party
id en tical?
N ecessarily a p o l i t i c a l
i t must be a r e g u l a r army,
i t a r e g u l a r army?
treason--these
form r e v e a l s t h e t h o u g h t
Are t h e two t h i n g s
even re se mb le each o t h e r ?
Then
D esertion,
Th eir m i l i t a r y
in t h e man's mind who uses them;
an army.
is so p r o ­
him self,
and has s u f f i c i e n t l y
and is s u f f i c i e n t l y
and proves t h a t
good t e e t h ,
and
sound in body ge ne ra l 1y ;
64
he is a c c e p t e d ,
bu t not u n t i l
he has sworn a deep o a t h ,
or
made o t h e r solemn form
of
prom ise,
to
march under t h a t
u n til
or
h i s term
of
enlistm ent
What
t h a t war
is done
is t h e process when a v o t e r j o i n s a p a r t y ?
t h a t he is sound in any way, mind or body?
fla g
co mpleted.
Must he p r o v e
Must he prove t h a t
he knows a n y t h i n g - - w h a t e v e i — is c a p a b l e o f a n y t h i n g ?
Does he
t a k e an o a t h or make a promise o f any s o r t ? - - o r d o e s n ' t he
leave him self e n t i r e l y
ical
boss t h a t
that p a rty 's
if
he
free?
jo in
chattel
I f he were
informed by the p o l i t ­
i t must be f o r e v e r ; t h a t
and wear
i t s brass c o l l a r
days, would no t t h a t
i n s u l t him?
It
would say some ru d e ,
u n p r i n t a b l e t h i n g and t u r n
th a t preposterous o r g a n iz a tio n .
no c o n d i t i o n s upon him
ises,
e n lists
re s t ofhis
goes w i t h o u t s a y i n g .
a l 1 ; and
He
h i s back on
But t h e p o l i t i c a l
f o r no s t a t e d t e r m .
p a r t o f an ar m y, he is
Y e t he w i l l
at
the
he must be
boss p u ts
t h e v o l u n t e e r makes no prom­
He has
in no sense become
in no way r e s t r a i n e d o f hi s
a
fr ee do m .
p r e s e n t l y f i n d t h a t h i s bosses and h i s newspapers
have assumed j u s t
the reverse o f t h a t ;
t h a t th ey have b l a n d l y
a r r o g a t e d t o the m se lv es an i r o n - c l a d m i l i t a r y a u t h o r i t y over
him;
and w i t h i n
t w e l v e months,
have s u r r e n d e r e d h i s
lib e rty ,
if
he is an a v e r a g e
and w i l l
a c t u a l l y be
t o b e l i e v e t h a t he cannot l e a v e t h a t p a r t y
e v e r , w i t h o u t being a shameful
for
man, hew i l l
s illy
enough
any cause w h a t ­
t r a i t o r , a deserter,
a le g iti­
m a t e l y di s h o n o r e d man.
T h e r e you have the j u s t measure o f t h a t
c o n s c ie n c e ,
freedom o f o p i n i o n ,
which we hear so much i n f l a t e d
freedom o f
freedom o f speech and a c t i o n ,
f o o l i s h n e s s a b o u t , as be in g t h e
65
p r e c i o u s po ss es si on o f t h e R e p u b l i c .
Wherea s,
in t r u t h , t h e
s u r e s t way f o r a man t o make o f h i m s e l f a t a r g e t
universal
scorn,
ob lo q u y ,
slander,
d l i n g about t h e s e p r i c e l e s s
e x e r c i s e one o f them.
I f he is a p r e a c h e r ,
clamor f o r h i s e x p u l s i o n ,
t h ey f i n d
it w ill
i n j u r e real
lawyer,
he w i l l
his c l i e n t s w i l l
is a d o c t o r ,
is t o stop t w a d ­
i n d e p e n d e n c i e s , and a t t e m p t t o
tio n w ill
he is a mechanic,
and i n s u l t
f o r alm os t
and w i l l
estate
h i s own dead w i l l
expe l
him,
ex cep t
in the ne igh borhood;
be d i s c h a r g e d ,
take th e ir
h a l f h i s c o ng re g a­
promptly;
if
i f he is a
bu siness e l s e w h e r e ;
i f he
t u r n a g a i n s t him.
I r e p e a t t h a t the new p a r t y member who supposed h i m s e l f
independent w i l l
p r e s e n t l y f i n d t h a t t h e p a r t y has somehow got
a mortgage on h i s s o u l ,
n i z e th e mor tgage,
he cannot r e t i r e
hi gh and r i g h t ,
Is
it
and t h a t w i t h i n a y e a r he w i l l
d e l i v e r up h i s l i b e r t y ,
and a c t u a l l y b e l i e v e
from t h a t p a r t y from any m o t i v e ,
howsoever
in h i s own e y e s , w i t h o u t shame and d i s h o n o r .
p o s s i b l e f o r human wickedness t o
t r i n e more i n f e r n a l
and poisonous than t h i s ?
i n a b l e a b a se r s e r v i t u d e than
it
imposes?
I n v e n t a doc­
Is t h e r e
What s l a v e
degraded as t h e s l a v e who is proud t h a t he jis. a sla ve ?
is t h e e s s e n t i a l
any o t h e r
recog­
d i f f e r e n c e between a l i f e - l o n g
k in d o f a 1 i f e - l o n g
sla v e ?
Is
it
imag­
is so
What
Democrat and
less h u m ilia tin g
t o dance t o t h e l a s h o f one m as te r than a n o t h e r ?
This a tro c io u s d o c tr in e o f a l l e g i a n c e to p a rty plays
d ire c tly
i n t o t h e hands o f p o l i t i c i a n s
o f t h e b a se r s o r t - - a n d
doubtless f o r th a t
i t was b o r r o w e d - - o r s t o l e n - - f r o m the monar­
chical
en a b l e s them t o f o i s t upon t h e c o u n tr y
system.
It
66
o f f i c i a l s whom no s e l f - r e s p e c t i n g man would v o t e f o r ,
c o u ld b u t come t o un d e rs t a n d t h a t
firs t
and h i g h e s t d u t y ,
not
lo yalty
lo y a lty
w i r e w o r k e r s , c o n v e n ti o n p a c k e r s ,
t o put up t h e f i t t e s t man f o r
the d o c ile p a rty w i l l
even though
to h im self
t o any p a r t y
th e o f f i c e ,
name.
for
t h e y know t h a t
resemble a man.
en cy-unchangin g a lle g ia n c e to p a r t y --has
idea o f cons i s t -
low ered the manhood
o f t h e who 1e n a t io n - - pu 11ed i t down and dragged
it
When H r .
B l a i n e was nominated f o r t h e P r e s i d e n c y ,
man; no,
1 judqed
painting
d u r i n g which
call
I knew him;
it
I knew t h e
f o r my d a i l y paper had been
and b l a c k e r s t i l l , f o r a s e r i e s o f y e a r s ,
had no c a l l
t o be m a l i c i o u s
t o be o t h e r w i s e than j u s t
about him,
in t h e mud.
I d o n ' t know him now, but a t
I knew him;
him b l a c k ,
The
v o t e f o r any f o r k e d t h i n g they put u p ,
i t do not even s t r i c t l y
I j udqed
is h i s
know they a r e not o b l i g e d
I am p e r s u a d e d - - c o n v i n c e d - - t h a t t h i s
t h a t ti m e
i f he
s i n c e he belonged t o
to wa rd him,
no
s im p l y and h o n e s t l y ca nd id
i t s own p a r t y and was not
b e f o r e t h e n a t i o n as a d e t e c t a b l e c a n d i d a t e f o r a n y t h i n g .
But w i t h i n
him a l l
th irty
days a f t e r
th e no m in at io n t h a t paper had
p a i n t e d up whi t e a g a i n .
That
is no t a l l e g i a n c e t o
or&e's b e s t s e l f , o n e ' s s t r a i g h t e s t conv i c t i o n s ;
ance t o p a r t y .
Nobody l i k e s
sin gu lar
feast?
is a l l e g i ­
t o e a t a ton o f b l a c k p a i n t , and
none bu t t h e m as te r can make t h e s l a v e do i t .
alone at t h is
it
Was t h i s
paper
No; ten thousand o t h e r Repub­
l i c a n newspapers s a t down a t t h e same t a b l e and w o r r i e d down
t h e i r ton a p i e c e ;
and not any fe w er than 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 m o r e - o r - l ess
prom in ent p o l i t i ci a n s
s a t down a l l
ov er t h i s
c o u n t r y and
w o r r i e d down t h e i r ton a p i e c e ;
and a f t e r
lo n g ,
long and b i t t e r
g a g g i n g , some m i l l i o n s o f th e common serfdom o f t h e p a r t y s a t
down and w o r r i e d down t h e i r ton a p i e c e .
Enough o f
P ain t?
i t was e a t e n by t h e meek R ep u b li ca n p a r t y t o b u i l d
a r a i l r o a d embankment from h e r e t o J a p a n ; and i t
t h i n k t h a t a y e a r from now t h e y w i l l
a ll
I t was d i r t .
pa ins me t o
p r o b a b l y have t o
eat i t
ov er a g a i n .
W ell,
days.
t h e r e was a l o t o f queer f e a s t i n g done in t h o s e
One l e a r n e d
and o t h e r f r i g h t f u l
v e rd ic t;
in t h e law pondered the
lite ra tu re ,
M ulligan
and r en de red t h i s
le tte rs
im p r e s s iv e
he s a i d t h e e v id e n c e would not c o n v i c t Mr.
Blaine
a c o u r t o f l a w , so he would v o t e f o r
him.
wh et h er the e v i d e n c e would
?nnocent o r n o t . T h a t
wasn't
prov e him
He d i d not
in
say
important.
Now, he knew t h a t t h i s v e r d i c t was
i t s e t t l e d nothing,
ab solutely
in con­
clu sive.
He knew t h a t
e s ta b lis h e d nothing
whatever,
and was w h o l l y v a l u e l e s s as a g u id e f o r his a c t i o n ,
an answer t o h i s q u e s t i o n i n g s .
He knew t h a t
the m ercifu l
and r i g h t e o u s b a r r i e r s
r a i s e d up by t h e laws o f our humane age f o r t h e s h e l t e r and
p ro te c tio n o f the po ssibly
in n o c e n t ,
p r o t e c t e d and rescued the c e r t a i n l y
have o f t e n and over ag a in
g u i 1t y .
He knew t h a t
in
t h i s way many and many a p r i s o n e r has gone u n c h a s t i s e d from
th e c o u r t when j u d g e and j u r y and th e whole p u b l i c b e l i e v e d
w ith a l l
th e ir
h e a r t s t h a t he was g u i l t y .
not d i s c r e d i t to our age t h a t
It
f r e q u e n t , so alm os t commonplace
He k n e w - - a 11 c r e d i t
is s o - - t h a t
th is
resu lt
t h a t t h e mere f a i l u r e t o
is so
68
sa tis fy
t h e e x a c t i n g forms o f law and p r o v e a man g u i l t y
a co urt,
cent .
is a hundred thousand m i l e s
in the morning;
weigh t h e d e t a i l s o f
w ith
from p r o v i n g him in no ­
You see a h ic c o u g h in g man w a l l o w i n g
two o ' c l o c k
it
in
in the g u t t e r a t
you t h i n k th e t h i n g a l l
over and
in your mind as you w a l k home, and
immeasurable wisdom a r r i v e a t th e v e r d i c t
t h a t you d o n 11
know he w a s n ' t a P r o h i b i t i o n i s t . Of co urse you d o n ' t , and i f
you stop and t h i n k a m in u te you would r e a l i z e
t h a t you d o n ' t
know he w a s , e i t h e r .
W ell,
a good clergyman who read t h e M u l l i g a n and o t h e r
p u b l i s h e d e v id e nc e s was not a b l e t o make up h i s mind, bu t con­
c lu de d t o t a k e r e f u g e
learned
in the v e r d i c t
in t h e 1aw; t a k e h i s
second-hand,
in telle c tu a l
though he d o e s n ' t
u n ab le t o chew h i s own moral
r en de re d by the c i t i z e n
and moral
food a t
ra nk as an i n t e l l e c t u a l
and mental
no u r is h m e n t;
in fa n t,
he
d e ci d ed t h a t an a p p a r e n t l y c o l o r e d person who c o u l d n ' t be
proven t o be b l a c k
in t h e b a f f l i n g
law was w h i t e enough f o r hum,
anyway,
c ro s s liq h ts o f a court o f
he b e in g a l i t t l e
in m a t t e r s where t h e p a r t y
came r e l u c t a n t l y to t h e p o l l s ,
h i s co un tenance,
and put
is c o nc e rn ed ,
w ith
his
co lor b lin d ,
and so jne
redeeming blush on
in hi s v o t e .
I met a c e r t a i n o t h e r clergyman on t h e c o r n e r t h e day
after
the nomination.
He was v e r y uncompromising.
n I know B l a i n e to t h e c o r e ;
and
He s a i d :
1 have known him from boyhood u p ;
I know him t o be u t t e r l y u n p r i n c i p l e d and u n s c r u p u l o u s . "
W i t h i n s i x weeks a f t e r
mass m ee ti ng
th at,
th is
in t h e Opera House,
clergyman was a t a R e p u b l ic a n
and
I t h i n k he p r e s i d e d .
At
69
any r a t e , , he made a s p ee c h .
ch aracter depicted
i t m e a n t - - w e 11,
I f you d i d not know t h a t the
in i t meant H r.
there
Blaine,
i s n ' t anybody down h e r e on t h e e a r t h
t h a t you can use as a comparison.
praise;
laudation ,
fic a tio n ,
upheaval
you would suppose
laudation ,
canonization.
It
is p r a i s e ,
lau dation ;
g lo rific a tio n ,
Con ceive o f the g e n e r a l
g lo ri­
c r as h and
and r i p p i n g and t e a r i n g and r e a d j u s t m e n t o f t h i n g s
t h a t must have been going on
chaos f o r s i x weeks!
rheumatism and S t.
What
in t h a t man's moral
is any c o m b in a ti o n o f
V i t u s ' s dance t o t h i s ?
o f a l l e g i a n c e t o p a r t y can u t t e r l y
s titu tio n
e x te n d in g
it,
perpetuating
in to the g u t t e r ,
bes i d e s ?
Oh, no!
Shall
it,
you say,
and become a mouthing
you say;
i t produce t h a t ,
it
con­
o f him b e s i d e s , what
teaching
and h i s con­
lu n atic,
does not demand t h a t .
in spi t e o f you?
There
it,
th e b e s t good
o f th e c o u n t r y demands t h a t a man k i c k h i s t r u t h
science
i n f la m m a t o r y
When the d o c t r i n e
f o r preaching
it?
and mental
up-end a man's moral
and make a te m p o r a r y f o o l
excuse a r e you going to o f f e r
if
praise,
But what
is no o b l i g a t i o n
upon a man t o do t h i n g s which he ought not t o do, when d r u n k ,
but most men w i l l
do them, j u s t
arguments about o b l i g a t i o n s
t h e same,
in t h e m a t t e r ;
and so we hear no
we o n l y hear men
warned t o a v o i d th e h a b i t o f d r j n k i n q ; g e t r i d o f th e t h i n g
t h a t can b e t r a y men i n t o such t h i n g s .
T h is
is a funny b u s i n e s s ,
who e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y preach
loyal
p a r t y a r e always ready and w i l l i n g
Chinaman or an
a ll
round.
The same men
c o n s i s t e n c y t o church and
and anxious t o persuade a
I n d ia n dr a Kanaka to d e s e r t hi s chur ch,
or a
70
f e l 1ow-Amer i can t o d e s e r t h i s p a r t y .
them is a l l
that
is high and pu re and b e a u t i f u l - - a p p a r e n t l y ;
t h e man who d e s e r t s
cable.
This
The man who d e s e r t s t o
from them is a l l
that
is f o u l
is C o n s is t e n c y w i t h a c a p i t a l
and d e s p i ­
C.
W it h t h e d a i n t i e s t and s e l f - c o m p l a c e n t e s t sarcasm t h e
life -lo n g
lo y a lis t
him, w i t h
cu ttin g
s c o ffs a t the
irony,
i n g l y funny f o r a n y t h i n g
Mugwump can st an d
stretch ing
try.
it,
t h e Mugwump; makes h i m s e l f too k i l l in t h i s w o r l d about him.
fo r th ere
down t h e c e n t u r i e s ,
He knows t h a t
I n d e p e n d e n t - - o r , as he c a l l s
B ut--the
is a g r e a t h i s t o r y a t hi s ba ck,
and he comes o f a m ig h ty a n c e s ­
in t h e wh ole h i s t o r y o f t h e r a c e o f men no
s i n g l e g r e a t and high and b e n e f i c e n t t h i n g was e v e r done f o r
t h e s o ul s and b o d i e s ,
o f th is w orld,
it
to v ic to ry .
Washington,
the hearts
and b r a i n s ,
b u t a Mugwump s t a r t e d
And t h e i r
Garrison,
o f the c h ild r e n
i t and Mugwumps c a r r i e d
names a r e th e s t a t e l i e s t
G alileo ,
Luther,
C hrist.
in h i s t o r y :
L o yalty to
p e t r i f i e d o p i n i o n s n ev er y e t b r o k e a c h ai n o r f r e e d a human
sou 1 in t h i s w o r l d - - a n d never w i l l .
To r e t u r n
to t h e s t a r t i n g
t h e w o r l d has been t r i c k e d
point:
I am persuaded t h a t
i n t o a d o p ti n g some f a l s e and most
p e r n i c i o u s n o t i o n s about cons i s t e n c y - - a n d t o such a degree
t h a t t h e a v e r a g e man has t u r n e d t h e r i g h t s and wrongs o f
t h i n g s e n t i r e l y a r o u n d , and is proud t o be " c o n s i s t e n t , ”
unchanging,
immovable,
fo s s ilize d ,
h u m iliatio n
t h a t he is so.
where i t
sh o u ld be h i s
71
QUEEN VICTORIA3
You do me a high honor,
speak o f my c o u n t r y
in t h i s
indeed,
in s e l e c t i n g me t o
commemoration o f th e b i r t h d a y o f
t h a t n o b l e lady whose l i f e was c o n s e c r a t e d t o t h e v i r t u e s
t h e h u m a n i t i e s and t o th e prom ot ion o f
a model
upon which many a humbler
beautiful
s till
w h i l e she l i v e d ,
be formed
which f i n d s
place
t h a t a r e t o co me--a l i f e
image in t h e s t a r which f a l l s
in t h e sky and out o f e x i s t e n c e ,
'
'
its
fire s
th e abysses o f space long
in her g r e a t o f f i c e .
s o ur ce .
t h a t t h e most e x a c t i n g
As a f a r - r e a c h i n g and e f f e c t i v e
f o r c e she had no pe er
monarchs or commoners.
its
i
As a woman t h e Queen was a l l
b e n e f i c e n t moral
out o f
but whose l i g h t s t i l l
have been e x t i n g u i s h e d a t t h e i r
s t a n d a r d s co ul d r e q u i r e .
and was
and upon which many such l i v e s w i l l
streams w i t h unfaded l u s t e r ac ro ss
after
id eals,
l i f e was formed and made
in th e g e n e r a t i o n s
its ju s t
lo fty
and
in her t i m e among e i t h e r
As a monarch she was w i t h o u t re pro ac h
We may not v e n t u r e ,
p e rh a p s , t o say so
sweeping a t h i n g as t h i s
in c o l d b lo od about any monarch t h a t
preceded her upon e i t h e r
her own t h r o n e or upon any o t h e r .
It
bu t
is a c o l o s s a l
eulogy,
it
is j u s t i f i e d .
In th o s e q u a l i t i e s o f t h e h e a r t which be ge t a f f e c t i o n
in a l l
rich ,
s o r t s and c o n d i t i o n s o f men she was r i c h ,
and f o r t h i s
she w i l l
s till
be remembered and r e v e r e d
in t h e f a r - o f f ages when t h e p o l i t i c a l
"
su rp ris in g ly
3 . Ma r k T w a i n ' s Spe e ch es , pp.
g l o r i e s o f her r e i g n
387-88.
72
shall
have faded from v i t a l
h i s t o r y and f a l l e n
to a place
in
t h a t s c r a p - h e a p o f u n v e r i f i a b l e odds and ends which we c a l l
tra d itio n .
w ill
Which
is to sa y,
l i v e a lw a y s .
And w i t h
the h is to r y o f th rones,
since
it w ill
tio n s ,
not
in b r i e f e r
it
phrase,
her c h a r a c t e i — a fame r a r e
do minio ns ,
p rin c ip a litie s ,
r e s t upon h a r v e s t e d s e l f i s h
b u t upon l o v e ,
in
and powers,
and s o r d i d am bi ­
ea rned and f r e e l y v o u c h s a fe d .
broken h e a r t s where she c o u l d ,
She mended
b u t she broke none.
What she d i d f o r us in America
and s t r e s s we s h a l l
t h a t her name
not f o r g e t ,
in our t i m e o f storm
and whenever we c a l l
i t to
mind we s h a l l
always remember t h e w i s e and r i g h t e o u s mind t h a t
guided her
in
it
A l b e r t 1s.
We need not t a l k any
p o s s i b l e or
w ill
and s u s t a i n e d and supp orted h e r - - P r i n c e
i d l e t a l k h e r e t o - n i g h t about
i m p o s s i b l e wars between t h e two c o u n t r i e s ;
there
be no war w h i l e we remain sane and the son o f V i c t o r i a
and A l b e r t s i t s
may, j u s t l y
upon t h e t h r o n e .
claim to u t t e r
In c o n c l u s i o n ,
th e v o i c e o f my c o u n t r y
t h a t we h o ld him in deep honor,
and a l s o
him a long 1 i f e and a happy r e i g n .
I believe
I
in s a yi n g
in c o r d i a l l y w i s h i n g
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