Ken Burns "Mark Twain"

[Jenny_Jackson]

Am I the only one who watched this on PBS? I found part 2 to be sad. Burns relates Twain's fall in the latter part of his life from rich and famous to sad, depressed, broke and starting over at 60. Then the death of his daughters and wife leaving him sad and alone.

Twain said at one point, (paraphrasing) "Laughter isn't from Humor, but sadness." In many ways I agree with that. However, at the end of his life it was no longer true because he was unable to write at all and had been abandoned by his one remaining daughter. Instead, he became a comical figurehead who reveled in the public eye while resting on his laurals.

Sad.

 

[Belegon]

I haven't seen... wasn't even aware of it. I'll keep an eye out for it on DVD now... I'm a fan of both Ken and Mark...

 

[DesertPirate]

Have to say I did miss that one. It will show again or come out on DVD and I will see it. Twains wisdom and common sense should be required study for all Congresscritters.

 

[trysail]

Twain was an incredibly gifted writer and a keen observer of the foibles of mankind. However, as an investor and businessman, he was an idiot. For the life of me, I'll never understand why someone who was as misanthropic as Twain could be so easily gulled. As many know, John D. Rockefeller's hatchet man, H. H. ("Hell Hound") Rogers rescued Twain from his own financial bumbling. Few are aware of the multiple tragedies that stalked Twain in his later life.

Not many people are aware of Mark Twain's dark side, as seen in many of his short stories such as "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg," "The $30,000 Bequest," "The Mysterious Stranger," "Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven," or "The Diary of Adam and Eve." These, among many other stories, reflect his deep cynicism- born of his troubles in life. Most only know the Twain of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (assuming they've even read it- you'd be amazed by how many haven't*), but there is a whole other Twain lurking in the shadows.

Mencken was enormously influenced by Twain, calling his adolescent discovery of Twain, "The most stupendous event of my life." Burns' Twain documentary is a good introduction though it is, on the whole, a bit shallow and cursory.

If you're interested in a good biography, Justin Kaplan's Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain is a fine read.



*"A classic is a book that everybody knows about, but nobody's read."
-Mark Twain

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Am I the only one who watched this on PBS? I found part 2 to be sad. Burns relates Twain's fall in the latter part of his life from rich and famous to sad, depressed, broke and starting over at 60. Then the death of his daughters and wife leaving him sad and alone.

Twain said at one point, (paraphrasing) "Laughter isn't from Humor, but sadness." In many ways I agree with that. However, at the end of his life it was no longer true because he was unable to write at all and had been abandoned by his one remaining daughter. Instead, he became a comical figurehead who reveled in the public eye while resting on his laurals.

Sad.

Twain was sad, a fabulous story creator who often failed when putting pen to paper in grammatical terms - I can forgive that. He didn't get that much respect for his writing in his lifetime - he did have problems - the work he left us is priceless. Of his age,a white man writing 'Huckleberry Finn' is fantastic.

So often the greatest talents are troubled souls so I'm just glad I'm an also-ran.

Serious, I think Twain is a permanent member of the Hall of Writers' Fame.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Twain was a cousin of one of my ancestors. Twains line and mine emigrated from Louisa County, Virginia to Illinois and Missouri. My ancestor was a writer, too. Not a genius like Twain, but talented. The same cynicism in Twain's writing is evident in my ancestor's published prose. It isnt as good as twain, but its the same sort of droll, black humor. Especially how small and petty people are.

One story I have involves a new bonnet. My ancestor observed that in the early days of Illinois people lived a Spartan existence of making do or doing without. No one ever got anything new or nearly new. So something new was cause for curiosity and wonder and suspicion and envy.

In the story a young groom went to Missouri to trade stuff for necessities he and his bride needed. After trading he had some extra money that he used to buy his bride a new bonnet. He brought the stuff and bonnet back to their settlement. He wasnt prepared for the crisis a new bonnet precipitated. My ancestor interrupts the story to remind readers THAT NO ONE EVER GOT ANYTHING NEW. The women went nuts about that bonnet, and accused the bride of using that new bonnet to sexually attract and lure their husbands and sons into hell.

 

[jomar]

Huh. I missed the documentary a well - I usually pick up on the Burns' specials. I read a Twain autobiography in a psychology class as a personality study back in the day.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Twain was a cousin of one of my ancestors. Twains line and mine emigrated from Louisa County, Virginia to Illinois and Missouri. My ancestor was a writer, too. Not a genius like Twain, but talented. The same cynicism in Twain's writing is evident in my ancestor's published prose. It isnt as good as twain, but its the same sort of droll, black humor. Especially how small and petty people are.

One story I have involves a new bonnet. My ancestor observed that in the early days of Illinois people lived a Spartan existence of making do or doing without. No one ever got anything new or nearly new. So something new was cause for curiosity and wonder and suspicion and envy.

In the story a young groom went to Missouri to trade stuff for necessities he and his bride needed. After trading he had some extra money that he used to buy his bride a new bonnet. He brought the stuff and bonnet back to their settlement. He wasnt prepared for the crisis a new bonnet precipitated. My ancestor interrupts the story to remind readers THAT NO ONE EVER GOT ANYTHING NEW. The women went nuts about that bonnet, and accused the bride of using that new bonnet to sexually attract and lure their husbands and sons into hell.

Great. As I read him, Twain wasn't petty or prejudiced - quite the opposite.

James, I can totally relte with what you say - the 'nothing new' point comes across in the 'Conneticut Yankee'.

Wish I had a famous ancestor.

 

[slyc_willie]

If you ever get the chance, head to Elmira, New York, Clemens' real home town. There's a theater there called the Domes that puts on a play chronicling Clemens' life. It's a very dramatic production, with humor and tragedy to spare. Guaranteed to leave you with dripping eyes.