Twain and James as American Writers, Research Paper Example

Twain and James are both quintessentially American writers and yet, as one critic noted, they are two writers “who have apparently gone as far as it is possible to go in diametrically opposite directions” (Chen 1).  On the surface, this appears to be true: Twain’s work is characterized by an active plot, strong dialogue and humor that is sometimes riotous, sometimes dark and bitter.  James, on the other hand, writes books that have been accused of being virtually plotless, with brooding characters and much of the “movement” in the story taking place internally, inside the minds of characters.  Bewley notes, in talking about the interactions between the two authors, that “It is well known that neither James nor Twain had an admiration for the other’s work” and yet, at the same time, that it is tempting to “imagine the two in some kind of relation” (Bewley 1). This may be because, those obvious differences aside, there are some similarities between these two which are inescapable.  Chen notes, indeed, that, “It is an odd reflection that the future literary historian who seeks the greatest American writer of the end of the 19^th century will surely have to choose between Mark Twain and Henry James.”  While this paper will not seek to make that momentous choice, it will underline these similarities (and differences), specifically dealing – as examples of writing style —  with Mark Twain’s “Innocents Abroad” and Henry James’s “The American”.

Mark Twain’s “Innocents Abroad”

Like James’s “The American”, Twain’s “Innocents Abroad” starts out with the conceit of the American traveler in Europe – in this case, Twain himself, who wrote the travelogue in the first person and this work is, in fact, a highly embroidered account of his own travels on the Continent (and later to the Holy Land).  Like James, Twain delights in the contrast between the Americans and Europeans, and enjoys poking fun at both himself and those he meets.  Part of their trip is through France, from Marseilles to Paris and he notably comments “In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language!”  (Twain 215).  In contrast, James’s description of his protagonist, Newman Archer, speaking French at the beginning of the book is a very different take on the same phenomenon of the language barrier:

“ ‘How much?’ said our friend in English. ‘Combien?’

‘Monsieur wishes to buy it?’ asked the young lady in French.

‘Very pretty. Splendide. Combien?’ replied the American.” (James 2).

Mark Twain’s strength as a writer lies, perhaps, in the witty (and sometimes acerbic) humor with which he treats his subjects – both the lands and peoples he encounters on his journey, as well as himself.  He certainly plays with the concept of the “ugly American” long before such a soubriquet was even known, but he is parodying the Old World as well as the new, and that lends a certain richness to the work.  His weakness, perhaps, is that he puts too much value on his own humor and at times this piece can tip into the ludicrous, such as this description of a French restaurant: “It was a pleasure to eat where everything was so tidy, the waiters so polite, the coming and departing company so mustached, so frisky, so affable, so fearfully and wonderfully Frenchy!” (Twain 241).  Still, even if he does overwrite at times, the power of his writing as a whole cannot be denied and in the pantheon of Great American Authors, he is certainly at or near the top.

Henry James’s “The American”

The plot of “The American” is similar to “Innocents Abroad” in that it follows the adventures of a sometimes hapless American around Europe, in this case Paris.  The American in question is one Christopher Newman, who, now that he has inherited his fortune, has come to Europe to find a wife.  The wife of a friend recommends he meet Claire de Cintre, and the ultimately ill-fated romance which springs up between the two of them is the heart of James’s book.  Like Twain, the tension in this work springs mainly from the differences which spring up between Newman’s brash, friendly American gaucherie and the more refined (and generally more scheming) manners of the Europeans he encounters.   This tension begins in the opening paragraphs of the book, where James introduces the reader to his hero, “An observer with an eye for national types would have no difficulty determining the local origin of this undeveloped connoisseur….The gentlemen on the divan was a powerful specimen of an American” (James 1).

In comparison, Twain – in presenting himself as his own protagonist – also heavily emphasizes his Americanism and his seemingly ingenuous impressions of the land through which he is travelling, “No, we sat calmly down — it was in old Dijon, which is so easy to spell and so difficult to pronounce except when you civilize it and call it Demi-john – and poured out rich Burgundian wines and munched calmly through a long table d’hote bill of fare, snail patties, delicious fruits and all, then paid the trifle it cost and stepped happily aboard the train again, not once cursing the railroad company” (Twain 235).

James’s strength as a writer lies in the fact that he can take the reader so easily into the minds of his characters, and the interest in his writing remains psychological (this is especially so in his later works such as The Golden Bowl).  One feels the sadness and wistfulness of Newman, particularly when talking with his happily married friend Tristram in the beginning of the novel.  His great weakness, however, lies in his sometimes rambling style, such as one of his opening descriptions of Newman, describing his expression as “Frigid yet feeling, frank yet cautious, shrewd yet credulous, positive yet skeptical, confident yet shy, extremely intelligent and extremely good-natured, there was something vaguely defiant in its concessions and something deeply reassuring in its reserve” (James 2).  Frankly, with over-description like that, one can understand Twain’s criticism of James when he said “Once you put down a book by Henry James, you simply cannot pick it back up again!” (Bewley 3).

Conclusion

In conclusion, a comparison of these two books yields at the same time a study in both the contrast and similarity of these two brilliant American writers.  Both of the pieces studied offer a basic similarity in overall plotline: American wanderers travelling through Europe, and the adventures that they have there and the contrast between their basic character and that of the Europeans.  However, while Mark Twain takes the reader on a rollicking journey across the Continent, poking fun at both European sophistication and American coarseness, James takes his reader, as he always does, into the sometimes sad, sometimes scheming mind of a traveler from the wilds of America reacting to the old culture of Europe.  It is very difficult to say which writer epitomizes the West and America itself more, as they both seemed to have tapped into a rich vein in regards to the American ethos.  Choosing one or the other of them to represent his time or place truly comes down then, to personal taste, as both authors are equally great.

Works Cited

Bewley, M. “Split in Twain”.  The New York Review of Books.  1966.  Retrieved from www.nybooks.com/archives/1966/sep/08/split-in-twain

Chen, M. “Mark Twain: Two Frontiersmen”. The Nation Online. 2012. Retrieved from www.thenation.com/article/mark-twain-two-frontiersmen

James, H. “The American.” Project Gutenberg Online Library.  2007. Retrieved from www.gutenberg.org

Twain, M. “Innocents Abroad”. Project Gutenberg Online Library.  2006. Retrieved from www.gutenberg.org