#16 Mark Twain - Letters from the Earth

Bila Lee
English 48B
February 27, 2009
Journal #16 Letters from the Earth

Quote
“He saved out Noah and his family, and arranged to exterminate the rest. He planned an Ark, and Noah built it. Neither of them had ever built an Ark before, nor knew anything about Arks; and so something out of the common was to be expected” (Twain 314).

Summary
Honestly, the above quote is arbitrary excerpted (actually not that arbitrary, but “the Ark” recalls my high school memory which I will further explain in the “Responses” section) because I feel this piece of literary work is hilariously interesting, in which I wish to include at least twenty inspiring quotes in the journal. In short, it requires both bravery and encourages, rather than any talented writing skills, for Mark Twain to publish the “Letters from the Earth.” Twain risks himself from exasperating Christians and challenging the mighty religious doctrine. He employs Satan, and archangels Gabriel and Michael, to demonstrate his disappointment of humans, and hence their creator, the God. Twain discloses how ugly, selfish the nature of human beings is by listing examples aplenty.

Responses
Mark Twain is undoubtedly one of the most influential writers in human history, yet some of his work is incredibly controversial (at least I think both assigned readings are controversial). Suggested in Wikipedia, Mark Twain was facing a hard time when he decided to write “Letters from the Earth” that “he was deep in debt and had lost his wife and one of his daughters” (Wikipedia). So I guess the obstacles he was facing were the rationales for Twain to write this piece of writing.

Prior to making any comment on the compilation of letters, it is better for me to state my religious view and background. I am not a Christian but my life is tightly tied to Christianity. I have attended Christian schools for thirteen years, my ex-girlfriend is a pious Christian and I have been occasionally participating in church functions. In other words, I am flooded with the positive perspectives of Christianity. The quote reminds me one of the sweetest moments in high school when I played in the musical “The Ark” (though I forgot which role I was starring), and yes, everyone tells me that Jesus Christ sacrifices himself for all mankind and so we should resemble his well-doing to love each other. In fact, I am never skeptical to the holy and pure Christian; yet I do really understand some of Mark Twain’s standpoints and truly appreciate his bravery to point out something that not everyone dares to say.

Twain tactically employs Satan to address his central idea. On one hand, it displays his imaginative and skillful writing techniques; on the other hand, it helps neutralizing the tension between himself and Christians, as he might argue Satan holds the contradictory values. Anyhow, I especially like he mocks humans’ immorality – the interesting ideas really encourage and motivate me to think deeper, and perhaps have to think beyond any religious beliefs. Sometimes I am tired to discuss discrimination in my assignment, but nearly all of my classes required critical thinking touch this issue because unfairness is undeniably real in our society. Not only does discrimination reflect unfairness but natural disasters, income gap between developed and developing countries, or simply personal traits also are signs of unfairness. Today it is frustrating to compare my returns to yours, and perhaps tomorrow it is heartbreaking for you to compare your situation to mine. Is this fate or the God’s intention? If it is the God’s intention, Mark Twain is somehow justified to conclude the God does not treat everyone equally.