RussellMohn
AP US I Per.4
June3. 1996
Mark Twain and ThomasNast:
A Discussionof the Similaritiesin their Works
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The Civil War left the northernstatesprogressingin economicsand technologyandthe
southemstatesin a stateof political andeconomicuncertainty.(Blum 457-9).Two of America's
greatestsatirists,Mark Twain andThomasNast,wereinspiredby the goings-onin Americanpolitics
andsocretyduringthe late 1860'sthroughthe 1870's.Mark Twain andThomasNastparodiedthe
comrptionin businessandthe lack of moralsin the Americanaristocracyin their works. During
the Civil War, nationalisticfeelingsin the North and the absenceof usualsouthernopposition
allowedthe Republicansin Congressto passtheHomestead
Act, protectivetariffs, nationalbanking
system,andthe fundingof thefranscontinental
railroad. Thesemeasuressignaledthe beginningof
era. Twaincalledthe era "TheGildedAge" becauseof the faith in materialism.Yet
an expansive
themassmovementof moneycontributedto comrptionin governmentasexemplifiedby the Tweed
RinginNewYork City. Theproblemswith integratingthe
freedmen,formerslaves,into American
societyalsofacedthe nation(Blum 457-9).
works.andthe similarsubjept.r{ratters
of their works-oppressignand cgmrptioq 4isplaya common
.,,
- ,
concernfor thg future.of the Arnericansocietv.
Mark Twain waschristenedSamuelLanghorneClemenson his birthdayNovember30, 1835,
in Missouri. He wasa Southerner
by birth andtraditionbut he movedto the Westandembodied
the spirit of the wild West. He eventuallysettledin New England. By living in threevery diverse
sectionsofthe countryTwain assimilatedthe differentvaluesandlifestylesof Americans(Lauber
64). His broadperception
ofAmericansfrom differentlocalitiesaddedto his genius.His writings
capturedthe "sprawlingdiversity,the epicadventures,the inner tensions,andthe cross-purposes
of
the post-CivilWarAmerica"@lum 450).
ThomasNastwasborn in Landau,Germanyin 1840. He arrivedinNew York City atage
six. He was educatedat the National Academyof Design in New York City. After threeyears
workingwith Frankkslie's lllusnarcdNewspaper,Nast begana long careerwrth Harper's lileekly
in 1855. Nast introducedthe now famouspolitical symbolsof the tiger for TammanyHall, the
donkeyfor the Democraticparty,andthe elephantfor the Republicanparty(MicrosoftEncarta).
In a time whenpoliticswascontrolledby party bosseswho led stategovernmentsand commanded
armies of henchmen,Nast represented
the liberal reformersby ridiculing and caricaturingthe
corrupt. In fact, the editor af Harper's Weekly,William Curtis,was one of the foremostliberal
reformers.The liberal reformerswerecalledMugwumpsby their enemies(Blum 458).
As clevermen,cogrtizant
of thepoliticalandsocietalproblemsin America,NastandTwain
bothutilizedtheirtalentto createpurposeful,ironic works. Twain workedin the written medium,
while Nast worked in the cartoonmedium. In Nast'scartoonentitled "The Modern Samson"
(1868)(Appendix
1),thegirl with the dresslabeled"southerndemocracy"is burningthe hair of the
freedman
versionof Samson.Thehair is labeled"suffrage".The participationof the peoplein the
governmentis a naturalconstituentof democracy.The right to vote is one of the mostpowerful
waysto participatein the government,andthe removalof the right to vote, as shownin the picture,
is blasphemous
to democracy.The southerndemocracy,inNast'sview, wasa bunchof racist,biblebumingclansmenwho unjustlyoppressed
theFreedmenby takingawaytheir right to vote. The fact
that thehandof democracyis takingthe right to voteawayfrom a goup of peopleis ironic in Nast's
drawing(Keller 39). Anotherexampleof Nast'suseof irony is the cartoon(Appendix2) of Boss
Tweedsittingdissatisfiedamongruinsandbootsin front of signsreading"TammanyBoys Whipped
outoftheirBoots"and"TheTammanyRing Smashed".The captionsays,"Whatareyou laughing
at? To the victor belongthe spoils." William Marcy "Boss"Tweedbuilt his comrptregimeon
giving the "spoils",usuallypolitical positionsor money,to his supporters.Ironically,the Tweed
'
Ring was not actually"smashed",
Tweedonly won re-electionby a 10,000majority insteadof a
coveted30,000majority(Keller 127). Nastusedalsousedirony in his depictionof the Freedmens
(Savings)Bank (Appendix3) which wasa bank setup by the RepublicansduringReconstruction
that wasintendedto help freedmenwith their fiscalaffairs. However,the comrpt carpetbaggers
and
scalawagsstolethe freeman'smoney. The signoutsidethe dilapidatedbuildingreads,"The first
savinp of theemancipated
slaveembezzled
here"(Keller 153). Nastutilizedirony extensivelyin
his cartoonsto makehis strongstatements
aboutthe ills of society.
In the samemanner,Mark Twainalsousedirony in his storiesasa deviceto makeincisive
insightsinto society.In the book TheAdventuresof HuckleberryFinn, Twain weavessatireand
irony togetherinto a perfectblend of meanings.For example,the characterMiss Watsonattempts
to "convert"Huck,the torvn'sbadboy, into a respectable
culturedChristian. "Shetold me to pray
everyday,andwhateverI askedfor I would getit. But is wasn'tso. I tried it. OnceI got a fish line
but no hooks.It wam'tanygoodto me without hooks...Isetdown onetime backin the woodsand
had a long think aboutit. I saysto myself,if a body can get anythingthey pray for, why don't
DeaconWinn getbackthe moneyhe lost on pork? Why can'tthe widow get back her silver snuffbox thatwasstole?Why can'tMiss Watsonfat up? No, sayI to myself,thereain't anythingin it."
(Geismar87) Twaindefiedwealth,success,
socialposition,andpracticedreligionsthroughHuck
Finn. Huck who was an orphaned,uneducated,
advenfurous
boy becomesthe hero of the book
throughhis adventures
on theMississippiRiver. ln a time when slaverystill existed,Huck actually
helpsJim, a runawayslave,to his freedomon the river. The socialsettingironicallyopposesthe
ideathat an unculturedvagrantboy could evenbe a heroby helpingto free a slave. As a result,
Huckdid not realizethathedid "right"in helpingto free a slave. Huck contemplated
the morality
"I saysto myself,hold on; s'poseyou'd'a'doneright andgiveJim up, would
of helpingJim escape,
you felt betterthanyou do now? No sayI, I'd feel bad-I'dfeeljust the sameway I do now. Well,
then, saysI, what'sthe useyou learningto do right whenit's troublesometo do right andain't no
trouble to do wrong,andthe wagesjust the sams?"(Geismar43-4) Twain laceshis sketchesof
Americanaristocracyasembodiedin two largefamiliesat war with oneanotherwith irony. The
two familiesshouldrepresentthe educated,economicallysecureclassof America,yet they slaughter
eachotherin thewoodsbecauseof a silly family feud. The family feud,assenseless
asthat of the
CapuletsandMonteques,
spawnsunjustifiedhatredfrombirth betweenthe families (Geismar147).
Twain alsousedthe conceptof irony to criticizewhathe sawbackwardin Americansociety.
Mark TwainandThomasNastalsosharedcommontargetsin their works: oppression
and
comrption.In the I 860'sand1870'soppression
wasbestrepresented
by the issueof slaveryandthe
place of former slavesin society. Twain becamea self-madeAbolitionist. In his book A
ConnecticutYankee,
Twain criticizedthe slaverysyrnpathizers
and newly militant racistswho were
anxiousto reimposetheyokeof white supremacy
on the "Reconstructing
South". He especiallywas
angeredby the poor white southerners
who wereeconomicallydepressed
becauseof slaveryyet
gavetheir lives for the institutionthat held them down (Geismarl2l). Twain outwardlystated,"It
would not be possiblefor a humanandintelligentpersonto inventa rationalexcusefor slavery"
(Geismar201). Twain tratreaof colonialism,racism,slaveryin any guise,cruelty,exploitation,
suffering,andmiserysparkedhis "hilarioushumorinvokedin the midst of his brilliant irony and
scathingmoral indignation"(Geismar216). In additionto speakingagainstslavery,Twain also
warnedof comrptionof rnorality. He rejectedconventionalreligionandmoralitybecausehe saw
conventionalmorality and conventionalChristianitybeing usedasthe "moral support"of tyranny,
especiallypolitical tyranny. ThomasNastwasalsoa "championof the underprivilegedand onewho
pleadedequalrightsfor all citizens-notonly for thenewlyfreedslavesbut for otherminorrty groups
aswell" (St.Hill 8l). Thecartoon(Apendix4) showedtheNegro'spost-warharassment
by whitesupremacyorganzationwasworsethanhis previousconditionasa slave.Nast arguedthat the Civil
RightsBill of 1875extendedto all rninoritiesof anynativity,race,or creedincludingAmerican
lndians,Asians,andNegroes.Nasfsidealof racialequalitycanbe seenin his portrayalof the great
AmericanFamily, a groupof differentnationalities,assembledfor "Uncle Sam'sThanksgiving
Dinner" (Appendix5XSt.Hill 65). In "TheChineseQuestion"(Appendix6), Columbia,the lady
in the flowing gown,protectsanAsianfrom a belligerentmob of racists(St.Hill 71). In addition
to defendingdifferentraces,Nastlampoonedthe comrptedTweedRing. Tweedwasthe headof
New York'sCommission
ofPublicWorks. He gaveout contractsto his cronieswho paid him with
"kick backs".To sealhis secrets,Tweedappointedhis TammanyHall associates public
to
offices
(St.Hill 18). Nastlampooned
the TweedRing in "Who StoleThePeople'sMoney?"(Appendix7)
Overall,both Twain andNasttargetedoppressionandcomrptionin Americansociety.
The similaritiesin the worksof Mark Twain andThomasNastseemto bridgethe balriers
betweenthe media of literatureand cartooning. Both artists sharedthe geniusof analyzing
Americansocietyandsawits faults. Both usedirony andsatiricalelementsin their worksasseen
in TheAdventuresof HuckleberryFinn and "The Modem Samson"to maketheir criticismsof
society. They criticized the oppressionof recently'freedslaveryand the coinuptionof morals
especiallyin politics. Overall,the similar deviceof irony andthe similar criticismsof American
societyby Mark Twain andThomasNast displaya cornmonconcemfor the futureof American
societv.
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\fforks Clted
Blum,John.TheNptrional
Experience:
Ftrarcourt
BraceJovanovich,
AHistoryoftheU,niFd.States.
Publishers.
NewYork 1989.
Geistnar,Maxwell. lvlffk Twain: An AmericanProphet.HoughtonMitrlin Company.Boston:
1970.
KelleqMorton.TheAFtandPolitiesof Thomas
Nast. OxfordUniversityPress.New York: 1968.
lauber,John.The-InventionsofMarkTwAin.
HillandWangPublishers.
NewYork 1990.
'Nast Thomas,"McrosoftEncarta.Copyri$t 1994MicrosoftCorporation.Copyright1994Funk
& WagnalisCorporation.
St. Hill, Thomas.Thomas\Iasf. Car[oons& Illustrations.DoverPublications,
Inc. New York:
t974.