Introduction When literature, art and culture live, the nation and the people, the whole of humanity lives in peace

2.Mark Twain as a realist writer.
According to Esther Lombardi Considered one of the great American Realist writers, Mark Twain is not only celebrated for the stories he tells but also the way in which he tells them, with an unmatched ear for the English language and sensitivity to the diction of the common man. To flesh out his stories, Twain also drew heavily on his personal experiences, most notably his work as a riverboat captain on the Mississippi, and never shied from portraying everyday issues in starkly honest terms.Mark Twain uses realism in his stories because they are based on real things that could happen in life. Twain portrays his stories in such a way that all readers can get an understanding of the characters.⁶
«Tell it like it is» was a slogan for artists during the period we refer to as Realism. This seems to be the drive and success formula behind Mark Twain’s fiction because his characters are endowed with all the aspects of human nature. This is especially evident in Huck Finn who tries to come to terms with his moral dilemmas, but also Tom Sawyer possesses human qualities we can recognise. The language and style are also genuine. The following is an example from Huck Finn where Nigger Jim is talking about ghosts: «Oh, it’s de dad-blame’witches, sah, en dey do mos’ kill me, dey sky’ers me so.»⁷ It takes intimate local knowledge and skill to render the language of this illiterate Negro so realistically.In American literary tradition Mark Twain belongs to the so-called Regional Realists, writers who experienced and wrote about the great changes in regional America. Post-Civil War America was a turbulent time; industrial America was rising, a massive immigration formed the population, urbanisation and new ways of transport marked the pattern of the nation. Mark Twain lived in the midst of all this, and his two major works reflect a social realism and a moral perspective which were typical and in many ways an accurate documentation of the American reality at the time. Samuel Clemens Longhorne, better known by his pseudonym, Mark Twain, is known to be a realist writer - one who, in his novels, has exhibited a strong abhorrence for sentimentality and Romanticism. An icon of American Literature, while Mark Twain has been lauded for his realistic portrayal of life, along with all its sordidness and reality, he has also been disparaged for his questioning of society's accepted ideals and beliefs. The verisimilitude in Twain's writings is believed to stem from his proclivity towards iconoclasm and misanthropy. In 1920, the famous American critic, Van Wyck Brooks observed that "to those who are interested in American life and letters there has been no question of greater significance, during the last few years, than the pessimism of Mark Twain... his oft-expressed belief that man is the meanest of the animals and life a tragic mistake." The misfortunes, regarding family and finances, that he faced during his lifetime seem to have formed the basis for his pessimistic cynicism and the unpleasant portrayal of mankind .
Defining "Realism" as a true picturing of everyday life, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is Twain's attempt to chronicle the factual picture of life in the Post Civil War America. Twain goes on to describe the social, religious and political scenario of his times. The novel tells us about the conflict between civilization and the crudity of "natural" life. Huck Finn, a fourteen-year old adolescent, is a crude and boorish lad - one who loves his carefree life of abandon. He is adopted by a Widow Douglas. She takes pains to ameliorate his social status by educating him and teaching him manners and the code of conduct that befits a gentleman. However, Huck decides that such refined manners and gentlemanly behavior are not for him. He detests the restrictions imposed upon him by the expectations of the genteel lot and chooses to embrace his erstwhile way of life..¹²
One of the most acclaimed representations of Twain's realism, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the novelist's sincere attempt to portray the thought processes of people of his times. Despite the fact that slavery had been abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the mindset of people was yet to change. They had lived in an environment that condoned the malicious treatment meted out to the blacks. The latter were considered incapable of basic human instincts like emotions and love. Huck decides to help a nigger, Jim, move towards his freedom. Like everyone around him, the young boy has also been brought up with the belief that slavery is the 'right' and 'acceptable' thing. During the course of his odyssey, he goes through an arduous time, trying to justify his actions to himself. In his heart of hearts, he knows that, in helping Jim, he is taking the right step. But his teachings and social conditioning dont let hum get over his guilty conscience. At every step, he is shaken by the his voice of conscience that makes him conscious of his socially unethical deed. In depicting the mental dilemma that drives Huck to learn to take his own decisions, Twain presents elements of psychological realism that forms the basis of his realistic mode of writing. Huck, like us, has learnt to satisfy his inner self by breaking away from the constricting and cramping codes of social demeanor. Whether it is his resolution to help the Wilks sisters or his decision to help Jim move towards freedom, Huck has gathered enough moral courage to find his own path and derive self satisfaction.The world of the day, seen through the eyes of the young lad, Huck Finn, is a faithful portrayal of Twain's times where the latter tries to invalidate the so called social norms and the duplicity of "civilized, society". The gloom, despair and pessimism of the times also come to light through the portrayal of Huck's personal circumstances. Huck is an inhabitant of the town of St. Petersburg: a young child, neglected by society and abused by a worthless father who remains drunk almost round the clock. Far from serving as a role-model for his son, the father beats him up mercilessly. In a drunken stupor, he evern tries to kill his son. In general, Mark Twain tends to depict the common folk, "the damned human race", with derision. The novelist comes quite close to viewing mankind as, by and large, bad and human nature as utterly hideous. His writings were in sharp contrast to the Romantics view of humankind as essentially good and kind. Some critics have attributed Twain's misanthropy and cynicism to personal circumstances and the ill-fortune, regarding family and finances, which he encountered right from a very early age. Twain lost his father when he was barely 12 years old. This loss entailed him to abandon his studies and look for employment, as a printer, to support his family. He also suffered failure in business, which left him with a load of debt. But Van Wyck Brooks avers that Twain faced no more than a reasonable share of troubles and misfortunes during his lifetime. But generally, he is believed to be a man of a cheerful disposition; he had been blessed with a buoyant personality and did not suffer from anything akin to clinical depression. Brooks ascribes Twain's pessimism and misanthropy to the fact that he was a frustrated artist who, despite his sweat to reach the pinnacle of literary ingenuity, ended up as a mere humorist and storyteller.
Whatever may be the reasons behind Twain's unhappy and disconsolate portrayal of human beings, the fact still remains that he viewed human race as essentially vindictive and spiteful. In his portrayal of the King and the Duke, he leaves no stone unturned to present humanity in its most insensitive and thoughtless form. The two men are icons of crassness. They lack any sense of humanity and do not cringe at the prospect of swindling people. They are base enough to plot against the innocent nieces of the deceased Peter Wilks and don't display the slightest emotion. They exhibit the most lowly demeanor by duping the "fatherless and motherless" girls, the "poor sweet lambs".⁷