I will admit, I read only part of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, because I was told it was a classic, but I did not get very far. It is so different from most other books out there (mainly due to the dialect), and in my partial reading I failed to notice most of the things that you discussed in your presentation. What drew me most to your presentation was when you talked about the Hero’s journey. It is really interesting to me that you said although Tom Sawyer might be heroic, he is not actually a hero.
That statement does not really make sense at first glance, but once you explained it, I was in complete agreement. Huck and Tom are not heroes, they are informants; I think this is largely due to the fact that Mark Twain drew on society so much. Something that I deemed important in your presentation was the fact that Twain really considered his audience as he was writing, which is why racism is such a big part of the novels you read. Fitting the time period, the Jim Crowe Laws may have driven Twain to make his characters representative of society, and from what I could tell, he did not necessarily support society at this time.
Will, your discussion about the Hero’s Code was both intriguing and well-developed/researched. The comparison of Huckleberry Finn to the Hero’s Code yielded an interesting conclusion: that Huck is not necessarily a hero, but an informant. An excellent observation, you mentioned that a quest does not need a hero, a thought I had not seriously considered before. Perhaps that reflected some of the beliefs that Tom Sawyer—one of the most famous authors known—observed throughout life: the needlessness of a typical “hero”. Also, the point you brought up about Sawyer’s inclusion of children in his works contrasted itself with the traditional representation of innocence and the loss of it. In my own observation, children are almost always a representation of innocence—your argument that children are ultimately a façade of innocence are consistent with the humorous and satirical style of Mark Twain.
Your presentation was definitely one of the more memorable ones. The way you created and connected a piece of art to Mark Twain’s themes and style was brilliant. Your attention to detail and talent fused together a portrait of Twain and Sawyer (right and left) and demonstrated how one was a direct result and influence of another. This was not only creative, but insightful on the two-faced nature of Twain’s writing. Thank you for providing this new and thought-provoking perspective on Mark Twain; I appreciate the work you put into bringing Twain’s distinct style and tone to life within your promotion and presentation!
Will, I liked how you drew your own drawing to fit your whole team of your research because some people luckily found images to fit or just posted pictures of the author (like I did) but I thought it was very creative and fitting. I liked how you alluded to South Park during your presentation because even if not everyone has watched the show it was relatable and grabbed the audiences' attention. I also interesting how you qualified that Huck and Tom aren't really heroes but more of informants which really interested me to read your research paper to see what else you mentioned about this and what your criticisms said. You really proved really well how Mark Twain speaks through his characters like Huck and Tom to symbolize his different views. Also I think the bow tie was a nice touch!
I will admit, I read only part of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, because I was told it was a classic, but I did not get very far. It is so different from most other books out there (mainly due to the dialect), and in my partial reading I failed to notice most of the things that you discussed in your presentation. What drew me most to your presentation was when you talked about the Hero’s journey. It is really interesting to me that you said although Tom Sawyer might be heroic, he is not actually a hero.
ReplyDeleteThat statement does not really make sense at first glance, but once you explained it, I was in complete agreement. Huck and Tom are not heroes, they are informants; I think this is largely due to the fact that Mark Twain drew on society so much. Something that I deemed important in your presentation was the fact that Twain really considered his audience as he was writing, which is why racism is such a big part of the novels you read. Fitting the time period, the Jim Crowe Laws may have driven Twain to make his characters representative of society, and from what I could tell, he did not necessarily support society at this time.
Will, your discussion about the Hero’s Code was both intriguing and well-developed/researched. The comparison of Huckleberry Finn to the Hero’s Code yielded an interesting conclusion: that Huck is not necessarily a hero, but an informant. An excellent observation, you mentioned that a quest does not need a hero, a thought I had not seriously considered before. Perhaps that reflected some of the beliefs that Tom Sawyer—one of the most famous authors known—observed throughout life: the needlessness of a typical “hero”. Also, the point you brought up about Sawyer’s inclusion of children in his works contrasted itself with the traditional representation of innocence and the loss of it. In my own observation, children are almost always a representation of innocence—your argument that children are ultimately a façade of innocence are consistent with the humorous and satirical style of Mark Twain.
ReplyDeleteYour presentation was definitely one of the more memorable ones. The way you created and connected a piece of art to Mark Twain’s themes and style was brilliant. Your attention to detail and talent fused together a portrait of Twain and Sawyer (right and left) and demonstrated how one was a direct result and influence of another. This was not only creative, but insightful on the two-faced nature of Twain’s writing. Thank you for providing this new and thought-provoking perspective on Mark Twain; I appreciate the work you put into bringing Twain’s distinct style and tone to life within your promotion and presentation!
Will, I liked how you drew your own drawing to fit your whole team of your research because some people luckily found images to fit or just posted pictures of the author (like I did) but I thought it was very creative and fitting. I liked how you alluded to South Park during your presentation because even if not everyone has watched the show it was relatable and grabbed the audiences' attention. I also interesting how you qualified that Huck and Tom aren't really heroes but more of informants which really interested me to read your research paper to see what else you mentioned about this and what your criticisms said. You really proved really well how Mark Twain speaks through his characters like Huck and Tom to symbolize his different views. Also I think the bow tie was a nice touch!
ReplyDelete