Description
While critics have generally dismissed Mark Twain’s relationship with France as hostile, Harrington and Jenn see Twain’s use of the French as a foil to help construct his identity as “the representative American.”
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The authors explore Mark Twain's relationship with France and the French in terms of how he moved from using France as a foil and viewing it negatively to its role as a counterpoint in developing his and America's cultural identity. They challenge the assumption that France and French culture in America played little or no role in Twain’s development as an American writer and show how they contributed to his construction of a new kind of American identity. Examining works like The Innocents Abroad, A Tramp Abroad, and The Innocents Adrift throughout, they consider Twain's childhood in the former French territory of Missouri, as well as his visit to New Orleans; his interactions with the French in the Sierras, San Francisco, and Hawaii; his travels to France; his “war report” on the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and his Map of Paris parodying France; and how his attitudes towards the French softened as he became more successful and had better experiences in France. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
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