Last Blog

Wow! I cannot believe that this school year is over already! Overall, I really enjoyed this course and learning more about Mark Twain. I think that he is such an interesting guy, and much different than I thought he would be! Huck Finn was my first and only novel that I had read from Mark Twain before this course, so I had no idea how cynical and harsh a man he could be. By the end of the class, I felt very sad that Mark Twain was so unhappy at the end of his life. I think that his constant ridicule of people, religions, and other things in life wore him down at the end. I think that he would have been much happier if he took his focus off of others and placed it on Christ alone. Sometimes it's easy to get down on people and become frustrated with institutions and organizations, however, focusing that energy on Christ and His grace, brings much more joy that one cannot find in anything else. I hope that at one point in his life, Twain felt that joy and excitement from putting his trust in Christ alone. I guess we will never know though! I have enjoyed learning more about Twain overall, and I truly thank you Dr. Williams for all of your hard work that you have done for this class. You are a great professor, and your discussions are very interesting. I appreciate all that you do!

Following The Crowd

I think that it is fascinating how Twain brings up the idea of imitating in some form in two of the pieces that we read for today. In the piece, Regards to Patriotism, Twain mentions the idea that you become a Traitor to your own internal morality, so you are not publicly branded as a Traitor. He is referring to the idea that you had to turn away from what you believed in so that you will not be accused of something else. Also, in the story, The United States Lyncherdom, Twain mentions how people simply imitated other people whether or not they believe something to be a good thing.

I completely agree with Twain in the statements that he is making about people following the crowd. I know that I have fallen victim to this is many different cases, and it seems so easy to do so. Many people are looking for someone or something to follow. Whether or not that someone or something is a good thing, they can easily begin to follow without thinking about some of the consequences that may occur. I know that being in a sorority, it is very easy for me to see this mentality among my peers.

"Bible Teaching and Religious Practices"

In this essay, the main point that stood out to me in class the most was the line when Twain says that the patient creates the change instead of the physician, implying that God is not in control. In our society today, I have seen this many different times. In Twain's time and earlier, people were becoming tired of pastors and priest always preaching "hell, fire and damnation." Although many were preaching this, the people began to dislike this version of the Bible. Because of this, the priests, in a sense, had to cater to the customer. The "customers," or church goers, began to desire to hear more about God's love for us instead of the consequences of our sin, being hell. The essay also discusses how people tend to take a concept of the Bible out of context. I have seen this many times. I have a friend who literally crosses things that she does not like out of the Bible. In today's society, it seems as though people desire to hear only the good news. Churches (not all, but a lot) tend to water down the Gospel simply to cater to people's needs, and allow them hear what they want to hear. Radically living for Christ seems to be on the back burner, and "American Christianity" tends to be at the forefront. When Jesus says, "how hard is it for a rich person to get to Heaven," many of us (including myself), struggle to believe that we fall into this category. However, the more and more money becomes an issue in my life and others, I am beginning to believe it. If Jesus came to me like He did the rich young ruler and told me to sell everything and follow Him, I know for a fact that I would struggle immensely to do so. But living for Christ is not the easy thing to do. I personally pray for churches and the struggle to water down the Gospel simply to give people what they want to hear. It can be the easy thing to do, however, I do not think that is what Jesus would do. He came to bring a message of hope and Grace yes, but He also desires us to follow Him, leaving everything in our old lives behind. This is not an easy thing to do, and I am so thankful for Grace, because I have no idea where I would be without it. Instead of complaining about the church (which is easy for me to do personally), people who follow Jesus should simply be the Church that He has called us to be. I just find that Twain's struggle with the church seems to be a struggle still existent today among many Christians.

Money=Root of All Evil?

I found this question in class yesterday to be a very interesting one. I feel as though many different people contemplate whether or not money is the root of all evil. Most people understand that it is a contribution to the many issues that we have in the world, but is it the central problem? Well, I believe that it is simply a contribution to the problems, rather than the absolute problem. I believe that humans are broken and sinful, and money causes many different problems in this upside-down world. Because of human pride, selfishness, greed, envy and many other issues, we as humans can tend to use money in an evil way. But again, money is not the central problem, only an additional issue in the society today. I feel very sad when I think of all the problems that come from having money or not having money. I wish that things in this world were different, and people were not greedy. I will be the first to admit that I struggle with greed, envy and other frustrations with having money or not having money. So is money the root of all evil? No, I feel that it is only a contribution to the brokenness.

"Eden and the Flood"

I found this question very interesting in class today, because it really made me think about telling a lie verses telling the full truth in a medical situation. I completely agree that a positive attitude can truly have an effect on a person. I believe that this question is hard to answer in a black and white format, because it can depend upon the particular situation. It seems as though humans long for a drop of hope in this world, and encouraging people really can have a an effect on their overall attitude about life. I struggle with this dilemma, because I do feel as though telling the honest truth is very important. Although, the way in which you doctor approached the situation Dr. Williams, was not appropriate. I believe if you are telling someone that their time on this earth is up (that was essentially what he said to you) out of the pride in your heart, you can truly do damage to a person. I think that he did not approach the situation in an appropriate manner with you. I struggle with this question, because I see so much value in being honest, however, I believe that the approach of the honesty is the most important aspect to it. I believe that the doctor should have told you in a more encouraging manner that you have hope to live, and he should have motivated you to fight with everything in you for your life. I think that many other aspects go into this question, such as morals and ethical reasoning. This calls into question whether or not the doctor was a good person or not in the story, “Was it Heaven? Or Hell?” To be honest, I cannot decide which side I am on. I feel as though the doctor was trying to help, however, the way in which he went about it was inappropriate.

Ghosts!

When reading, “A Ghost Story,” I felt as though the story was rather hard to understand without knowing the background information. I did not know what the Cardiff Giant was, and therefore, felt as though I could not fully grasp the satire in it. After hearing the discussion about the story, I understand that Twain was satirizing the idea that people believe everything that they hear. During this time period, society was really searching for sensationalism. People desired to hear stories that were rather outlandish and outrageous instead of ordinary. I think that this story is fairly typical of Twain in that he is making fun of something that was occurring in society. He was making fun of those who simply believe something without knowing the facts. I enjoyed reading this story, because I feel as though today, people are not quite as gullible. People are much more skeptical of what they hear now a days, so I find it funny that people were so gullible during Twain’s time. Overall, I really enjoy Twain’s satire.

"Cannibalism in the Cars"

"Cannibalism in the Cars" was a very interesting short story written by Mark Twain. First, I found the title very interesting of this short story, because it does not attempt to hide the overall plot of the story. The title is very straightforward, and covers the entirety of the short story. When I began to read the story, I was not quite sure how the cannibalism was going to come about, however, when the two men began to talk in the train station, I figured that it would probably occur on a train. The imagery of the train traveling through this desolate area, and coming to a stop in the snow would be very frightening to think about. I found the man’s reaction to the story very interesting as well. He was immediately afraid of the man telling the story. I found the overall satiric meaning behind the story very interesting. This story takes a stab at the structure of politics in the U.S., and just the overall corruptness of it all. I also found the fact that Twain used names of his friends on the train very interesting as well. I feel as though this really reveals a part of his personality, and simply how funny of a man he was. He was trying to be ironic and sarcastic in this story. Twain is a real character, and through reading all of his short stories, I am learning more and more about his personality.