Mark Twain was clearly well-liked by the readers of his day. He was popular on the lecture circuit, advertising simply with phrases or pictures. However, a lot of his work tends to poke fun at his audiences, which makes me wonder how he could be so popular.
In Letters from the Earth, he takes a rather antagonistic stance regarding Christianity. He notes that the heaven that most desire embodies everything they dislike on earth. Some of these points, such as singing and harps, would not likely offend his audience. However, his thoughts regarding mixing the nations happily in heaven, while “here in the earth all nations hate each other” could be seen as a comment on the hypocrisy of the Christians in his day who support segregation even though they claim that all races are equal before God (313). I would think that this attack on Christianity would upset his largely Christian audience. This theme continues throughout Letters from the Earth, culminating in the satirical response by the “Department of Petitions” to one man’s prayers (318). Here Twain points out that some who profess to be Christians pray for and receive answers to petty prayers that conflict with the goodwill prayers they say out loud in a group setting (318-320). Twain certainly makes a worthy point, although I would presume that many of the audience would take offense.
This idea of prayer being utilized for personal gain appears in “The War Prayer” as well in which a stranger, claiming to be a messenger from God, points out the unspoken part of the prayer delineates all the calamities that they wish will befall their enemy (323). Twain concludes by saying that the people gather “believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense if what he said” (324). Here, as in Letters from the Earth, Twain is calling attention to hypocrisy, probably attempting to bring about social change, but as people tend to resist looking at themselves that closely, I would imagine that the general public would not be thrilled with these works that scrutinize them.
Granted, these works may not have affected his popularity since they were both published after his death. Most likely this delay in publication was due to their controversial subject matter. However, similar elements could be found in works published in his lifetime as well. For instance, in “A Visit to Niagara,” Twain criticizes the racist views toward Native Americans.
Yet, even with his satire, he was very popular. Perhaps Twain became more bold in his depictions of the public as he gained a foothold or perhaps he became more antagonistic in his old age. I just find it strange that he enjoyed such popularity when he often offended his audience in his works.
Works Cited
Clemens, Samuel. “A Visit to Niagara.” Sketches New and Old. 1903.
Twain, Mark. “from Letters from the Earth.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Ed. Nina Baym, Jeanne Campbell Reesman, and Arnold Krupat. Vol. C. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 307-321.
Twain, Mark. “The War Prayer.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Ed. Nina Baym, Jeanne Campbell Reesman, and Arnold Krupat. Vol. C. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 322-324.
Jessica, those are interesting points about Twain's views on prayer for petty concerns. He starts with less controversial points (harps, etc.), as you say, and works his way into the ideas that really would offend an audience in his day and possibly in our own.
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