Revisit Socratic irony just to be sure you have a grasp of the concept. Consider how Twain makes use of such a technique in chapters 17-18 and 22. Consider the following questions as you examine his crafting of such irony and what he is revealing about society.
- Why are the two families feuding in chapters 17&18? How long has it been going on? How did it begin?
- What comments are being made about the antebellum South and genteel North?
- How might Twain have used these two families to make statements about social culture or class.
-What comments are being made about conformity and mob mentality by Col. Sherburn (p. 146-148)?
- How does this episode parallel what Twain is saying in the episode of the feud?
Your Blog:
- Reveal your findings in regards to how Twain makes use of Socratic irony in chapters 17-18 and 22; what is he trying to make readers see or question? Be sure to cite quotes to support your response.
- Respond to one of your classmates’ responses.
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ReplyDeleteThe source of argument is not known by both the readers and the characters, but what the readers discover is that there are two families who want to kill the other family. Back thirty years ago one member from both the families had an argument and the argument got very violent. The two families are out to avenge and there is no attempt to solve the problem that occurred thirty years ago. Each family is losing loved ones and have to live in constant fear.
ReplyDeleteThe two wealth families is a representation of the North and the South. Twain is say that the two sides are fighting for the things they don't understand and that both sides are suffering. Both family are adamant that they are right but they don't even know what they are arguing about. However sooner or later one is going to dominate.
Twain uses these families to show that even if you have all the money and education in the world, it still doesn't make you a better person and justifies what you have done. The two families called themselves, civilized, educated and Christians. Civilized and educated people do not go around and shoot each other down. People who believe in Christ, believe that one must turn the other check and one must not kill another human being. Twain's statement of society is that it is hypocritical and corrupt.
That mobs are just a group of scared and angry people who think they are capable of something that they really are not. Sherburn says to the hundreds of people that they are all cowards, because they can hurt a women and feel good, but when comes to a man they can't win. That they are all about the act of destructing and not actually fixing the problem.
Both the families and the mob are cowardly and are unable to face the truth and would rather kill each other. Both the mob and the families are frightened and see no other way out then violence.
1) The reader is not told why or what the two families are quarrelling about. It is unknown to even the families because the feud has been going on for so long, and they do not remember what brought upon the anger toward one another. No one has any idea how long this fight has occurred for, but a few people have been killed because of their irrational actions.Twain is showing that even though these families are Christian they cannot put aside their differences and follow the way of Christ.
ReplyDelete2) The two feuding families represent the North and South that fight against their own people because of a long ago disagreement.
3) Twain is trying to prove that even though these two families are from a higher class they still have issues that get in the way of their faith in the Church. “Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile, everybody on horseback. The men took their guns… "(Pg.110). Even when these families go to church to praise the lord they instead bring sinful thoughts and actions into where they show adoration toward Christ.
4) Sherborn is telling the mob that they are average people just like him, “don’t like trouble and danger" (Pg.148). He thinks their morals are wrong and that they are borrowing their courage from the 'officers'.
5) The families and the mob would rather hid behind viciousness then to make the morally right decisions. The families show that they are cowards by not trying to talk out the feud and resolve it but instead they would rather risk lives over it. The mob does not know why they are fighting, and they only hide behind their officers command. They both show cowardly actions.
Again Mark Twain shows the irony and hypocrisy in society. He shows that the wealthy class behave in a very savage mannerism, compared to the way they are suppose to act. Killing one another for meaningless reasons is very uncivilized. All throughout the novel Mark Twain show how ironic and corrupt the social structure Truly is.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 18, Huck learns that the Grangerford and the Shepherdson families have been feuding for over 30 years. Nobody knows exactly how it started, other than that there was a lawsuit against one of the families, and the losing family took action as a form of revenge. Twain uses these two families to show how prominent feuds and fighting is in society, many times for meaningless reasons.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 22, Colonel Sherburn says how the mob against him couldn't hurt him if they tried. He also says how "a man's safe in the hands of ten thousand of your kind-as long as it's daytime and you're not behind him (147)."
These two stories are parallel to each other because in both cases, Twain is saying how silly fighting in society really is. Instead of trying to resolve anything, people are consumed in fear and being powerful, and just resort to killing people.
Twain also wanted to point out that even though these two families are Christian, they still cannot put aside their differences to follow the morals of their faith. Even when they go to the church they still cannot see past their angst toward each other. Instead of praying and worshiping God, they bring evil into the Church by holding guns in between their legs.
ReplyDeleteShelby said that Twain wanted to point out that they're differences even came to the church. I think that's partially right. I think Twain wanted to point out that these families were always at each others throats no matter what, and that they would never make truce. In that sense, I agree. However, I do not think Twain particularly cared about them having "evil" between their legs in a "sacred" place.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 18 we learn of two feuding families, the Grangerford's and the Shepherdsons. Huck encounters members of both families on occasion, and learns that both families are indeed out for blood. Huck finds this mindless and pointless because neither side knows how the fighting started, or for what purpose the are fighting for. Eventually we learn that two of the children have fallen in love, however keep it secret do to their fighting families. Mark Twain uses this to remind us of a play on Romeo and Juliet. The real satire comes into play when the love birds do escape, instead of dying as in the original story. Twain does this to show his theme of everything is not always as it seems, and that we should not just blatantly assume things. He creates a twist in the story to catch us by surprise and create an example of the very thing he is trying to teach us.
ReplyDeleteNeither the reader nor the characters are told why the argument has started between two families, the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords, but it happened about 30 years ago and hasn’t been resolved since. Even though these families could both be considered to be in a high class, they still are so ingrained in their quarrel that they bring their guns to church (“we all went to church… the men took their guns.”(110)). This shows that their battle is so important to them that they can’t even expect the others to hold fire in church, and that their feud overpowers their will to follow a Christian lifestyle. Twain meant this as a metaphor for the dispute between the Union and the Confederacy, and how the battle wasn’t based on morals, but blind aggression towards the other side. Twain wanted to express that the battle had lost all meaning, and had caused the two families pain and suffering, without a hint of resolution.
ReplyDelete(In reply to Mekdes)
ReplyDeleteYou said that they both don't know what they're fighting about, but they're both adamant that they're right. I'd like to think that they both know exactly what they're fighting about, but it's not important, because in an argument, one party is usually wrong in one major way, and that's why many arguments exist in the first place. Also, without knowing what the two families are fighting about, the reader will put all of their focus determining if the fight is worth maintaining instead of who is really right and who is really wrong. Just like in Romeo and Juliet, the focus is taken from cause and put directly on effect.
(Quote for fun: "War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left." - Bertrand Russell)
In this part of the story, Huck witnesses a Shakespearean Feud between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords. Like Romeo and Juliet, the participating families have forgotten why they were arguing in the first place, the only clues being that there was a lawsuit and the losing party took revenge, but neither the original reason nor the offending party are known. The two feuding families are also brought together by the surprise marriage of two of their members in Twain's version. In an Ironic twist, it's the lovers that get away safely, and the families that are met with death, the Grangerfords being entirely wiped out.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Colin, the analogy to Romeo and Juliet was really clever. I never thought of it that way, but both stories are actually extremely similar. Good point, Colin!
ReplyDeleteAlthough the exact source of the family feuding is not ever mentioned, it is clear that the fight is very intense and violent. We don’t learn what either side is fighting for or even why. However, even while in church the families cannot put their differences aside which is very symbolic to how intense this feud truly is. However like other love stories such as Romeo and Juliet (mentioned by Colin) there is a person from each side in love with the other and unable to be together because of such a strong dispute. Twain is trying to make us question if reality is truly real. Is everything what it seems or isn’t it? Were the families really fighting until death or nothing? Twain wanted us to truly think about this feud and see if it truly had a meaning or was just put in there to catch us by surprise.
ReplyDeleteI also am really happy Colin pointed out the similarity to Romeo and Juliet. It was a very similar story and makes it easier to understand that families do fight for no reason.
ReplyDeleteAnd T.J., I think you have a really strong point that because we don't truly know what they are fighting about or why we can't really take sides but they are part of the fight so they know what is going on and why they are feuding in such a negative way. One may be majorly wrong or even slightly but there must be a reason that it all started.