I can’t say I know Mark Twain’s typical humor. In the past, I
have read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for class and seen a local rendition of
the play in Zilker Park. Despite this, I can’t nail down his humor and pretend
I truly know what his humor is. But, reading The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain has given me a new appreciation. I
really enjoyed skimming through the sections of the book. It was also
interesting to see the variety of lengths under the sections. For example, “Liberty”
only had one quip, while “Lies” right below, listed six quotes. Also, there are
quotes from a range of topics on Twain. I think it is amazing how much he has
been quoted throughout his life in letters, books, lectures, and stories. Naturally,
everyone talks about multitudes of things over a lifetime. But, it really shows
Twain through the range of quotes that have been deemed wit and wisdom.
I found an endless amount of quotes I liked. I picked a few for
class, but there were many others I found to be funny, classic wit, or pieces
of wisdom. There is a single quote listed under “Golf” – Golf is a good walk
spoiled. I have always heard a variety of golf jokes and always found them
funny. My immediate family grew up playing tennis, never golf. My grandfather’s
on both sides played golf. My uncles play golf. My cousins can golf. Despite
this, like Twain, I never had an appreciation of golf. Until recently, I still
didn’t understand where the fun came in. My best friend golfed throughout high school
so I shared the bit of wisdom. He laughed and somewhat agreed—walking 18 holes
really isn’t that fun though.
Another thing I noticed throughout reading was the variety of
sources. The editor, Alex Ayres, compiled from multiple sources and repeated
several. I noted several times that I bookmarked quotes from “Notebook.” I
listed some that I liked or connected with.
“If you tell the truth
you don’t have to remember anything.”
“There are many scapegoats for our sins, but the most
popular is Providence.”
“Whenever you find you are on the side of the
majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
“When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not
your brain.”
Like I said, reading
through the book has given me a refreshed appreciation for Twain. I might not
agree with every piece of wit or wisdom, but overall, I was able to draw
insight from them. Along with Tales of
Juha, I have really enjoyed our last readings. I plan on keeping both of
these books to look back to later.
My girl, if you could not tell from class already... I loved this book! I agree reading it has definitely given me a new appreciation for the late, great Mark Twain. I thought the golf joke was pretty humorous, too. Except I don't play golf. Anyway, it was still funny! I am uncertain if you agree, but I thought some of his most witty pieces and possibly some of the best quotations came from his notebook. I wonder if his personal notebook was supposed to be found and published?? Oh just the random thoughts that stumble into my head. Good work!
ReplyDeleteAnnaliese, I completely agree with you on Mark Twain's humor--it is great. Prior to reading this book, I was unaware how funny he was because I had only read Huck Finn. Like you, I found the quotation about golf hilarious. I have never been its biggest fan, so the fact that a literary great agreed with me gave me a bit of a confidence pick-me-up. Like Bridget, I found his quotations from his notebook to be the most significant as they seemed the deepest. While the other quotations were funny, they tended to have lighter subject matter.
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