Did the journalist in Sam Clemens foil the novelist in Mark Twain?
| Publisher | SJR St. Louis Journalism Review |
| Publication | St. Louis Journalism Review |
| Subject | Literature/writing |
| Format | Magazine/Journal |
| ISSN | 0036-2972 |
| Issues per Year | 10 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 267 |
| Published | 2004-06-01 |
| Role | Type | Name |
| Author | n/a | Mike Martin |
| Person | Criticism and interpretation | Mark Twain |
All modern American literature," Ernest Hemingway wrote, "comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn.' There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since."
Nothing as good, and perhaps nothing as good that is as flawed.
"In form and style 'Huckleberry Finn' is an almost perfect work," wrote literary critic Lionel Trilling. "Only one mistake has ever been charged against it--that it concludes with Tom Sawyer's too elaborate game of Jim's escape."
Why Twain may--or may not--have misfired with his literary magnum opus remains a...
[This journal article is 1815 words long]
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