Writers and Writing
A recurring theme throughout Twain’s essays is an appreciation of the fine art of writing. This theme is explored through literary critiques that range from positive (in support of William Dean Howells) to negative (“Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences”) to devastating (a point-by-point implosion of the credibility of a biography of Percy Shelley unconscionably short on facts and long on gossip). In addition to writing about writers, Twain reveals his love of his craft in a series of essays designed to stimulate better writing. High standards for himself and other published authors is conveyed through these advisory essays in the hope that all writing in the English language is raised to another level.
Anti-Imperialism
Twain’s popularity rose in conjunction with a sea change in American geopolitics as the 19th century moved into the 20th century. Traditional American isolationism from outside engagement was engendered in part simply to keep up with the Joneses of the world. This was a period of global imperialist expansion from England to China and Twain saw the sinister potential for devastating consequences with the acute vision of a psychic. The tone and nature of the many essays which espouse his anti-imperialist views ranges from the broadly satirical (“A Defence of General Funston”) to exercises in irony that grow increasingly darker in form and content (“To the Person Sitting in Darkness”).
Religion
From Adam to Satan, Judaism to Christian Science, free will to evangelical reformation movements, Twain is a student of the actual impact upon society of blind religious faith. Generally speaking, he’s against it. While expressing admiration and respect for the various religions into which people put their faith so blindly, his tone toward the impact of organized religion on the history of western civilization is ironic even when the essay isn’t really about religion at all. When the topic is nothing is but religion—as in the essays written in story form appearing in the collection Letters from the Earth—the famed satirist expresses a sincerity of belief in his own faith that often comes close to moral-mongering and even successful makes the crossing on a few occasions. Twain seems particularly obsessed with the figure of Satan, making him the central figure in a number of works that defy categorization as fiction or non-fiction and have him showing up as a prominent spokesperson for the human race in a large number of other essays. Readers even learn in the essay titled “Is Shakespeare Dead?” that Twain’s first serious foray into writing non-fiction was a biography of Satan commenced against the advice of his Sunday school teacher when Twain was just nine years old.
