The Twain Legacy

Gr 9 Up—This video offers an excellent, classroom-ready introduction to various facets of Mark Twain's great but controversial novel. The host provides background information and summarizes the material presented. Critical analyses by two English professors and a Twain editor/biographer are interspersed with archival photos and illustrations of scenes from the book. The scholars provide interpretations of key scenes and literary elements, as well as historical and cultural context for the novel. The first chapter sets the stage by introducing Twain's life, his early career as a journalist, his perspective on race in America, and initial critical reception to Huck Finn. The next segment discusses the influence of Twain's childhood spent in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri, on his work. The third chapter addresses the author's respect for African Americans and his use of dialect to represent their speech in his writing. Twain's treatment of slavery, prejudice, and class in his novel. is covered in the next section. The final chapter explicates Twain's subtle, somewhat risky use of irony (a teacher-provided definition of irony will be needed). The chapters provide natural breaks for teaching and discussion. Highly recommended as an introduction to literary analysis of Twain's thorny masterpiece.—Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA