BarkellWH -> RE: Best book you have red. (Sep. 14 2019 16:26:21)
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If you havenât done it already, you must read âThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,â by Mark Twain. Structured as picaresque, it tells of young Huckleberry and the runaway slave Jim, who raft down the Mississippi from Missouri to New Orleans and Jimâs freedom. Twainâs superb but easygoing humor keeps the reader entertained, while Huck and Jim traverse the 19th century heartland of America, its manners, foibles, small time crooks, civic leaders and ordinary citizens. The entire book is a narration of the universal racism of the time, whose consequences I saw as a boy two generations later. Thus it is a tragicomedy, with humor and a âhappy ending.â But one lays the book down with a sense of darkness. To my mind, âThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finnâ is the Great American Novel, long sought but unrecognized in its day, and Twain is our greatest writer so far. Another recommended cultural experience is the sight of the Mississippi River. I remember vividly my first view of it 75 years ago, as the train crossed the bridge at Memphis on a bright moonlit night. It still moves me to see it. At Memphis it is a mile wide. It gets bigger downstream. Its huge mass, rapid current and irresistible force are some of the rawest displays of natureâs power. Good reading! I couldn't agree more with your assessment of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and Mark Twain, Richard. I have always considered "Huckleberry Finn" as one of two candidates for the title, "The Great American Novel," the other being "Moby Dick, " by Herman Melville. The opening sentence of "Moby Dick"-- "Call me Ishmael"-- is one of the great lines in literature. The whaling ship is a microcosm of many races, discoveries, and truth as the crew perceives it. Although Ishmael initially is afraid of Queequeg (a harpooner) as a tattooed cannibal, he soon decides, "Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian." Back to Twain, his friendship with Ulysses S. Grant is one of the more moving aspects of his life. Grant, of course, was the great General who won the Civil War and later served two terms as president. He had lost his money in bad investments and was convinced by Twain to write his memoirs, which even today are considered beautifully written. Mark Twain published Grant's memoirs and arranged the publicity that led to their sale. Because of Twain's efforts, Grant left his wife a secure future, although he died of throat cancer just days after completing the memoirs. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and had never been around blacks, as there were none in the schools I attended. At the age of 20, I joined the Air Force, and after basic training was sent to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi for seven months of training in intelligence gathering to man "listening posts" overseas. Biloxi was my first experience in the South. This was 1963-64, and there were water fountains and public rest rooms labeled "Whites" and "Colored," and one dared not use the wrong one. It was a shock to me at the time. While at Keesler AFB, I made several trips to New Orleans, which was only 90 miles away. It was a revelation for me, too, to see the Mississippi River. I met a girl who lived in the town of Gretna, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. She invited me to her home for dinner and we had a few dates, but of course it ended, as it should have. Germany and Pakistan awaited my assignments. Bill
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