tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post4283443874916574196..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: I abhor the implication that Mark Twain stories are a haven for cannibalismAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-47290427775785541122012-11-01T12:55:15.153-05:002012-11-01T12:55:15.153-05:00Meaning as a structural element, yes, as a typical...Meaning as a structural element, yes, as a typical component of the conventional short story. Not <i>actual</i> meaning.<br /><br />A joke has the freedom to dispense with meaning, or perhaps to have no more meaning than something like "clever people can do surprising things with language" or "surprises can be funny for some reason."<br /><br />Chekhov v Twain is not bad. Chekhov immediately entered the strange world of newspaper fiction - strange to me, although it still exists in some parts of the world - so even his sketches have a cloudy resemblance to what I think of as short stories. No one is beat up by Irish Indians and thrown over Niagara Falls ("Niagara Fall," 1869, "However, thus far [the doctor] thinks only six of my wounds are fatal. I don't mind the others.")Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-41510598403569808582012-11-01T11:07:10.286-05:002012-11-01T11:07:10.286-05:00What, are we going to talk about meaning now? Or a...What, are we going to talk about <i>meaning</i> now? Or are you going to compare Twain's development with Chekhov's. That might be interesting, since Chekhov wrote all those faux news not-quite stories when he was starting off. I eagerly anticipate your charts and graphs. Or have you stumbled across the key which unlocks the hidden story inside <i>Robert's Rules of Order?</i> It's actually a romance, isn't it?scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-12343178070427772022012-11-01T08:52:15.692-05:002012-11-01T08:52:15.692-05:00Moral standards were much lower in Twain's tim...Moral standards were much lower in Twain's times, as his writing repeatedly demonstrates.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-28349933550261108822012-11-01T00:12:42.866-05:002012-11-01T00:12:42.866-05:00Ironically, I believe it was Screamin' Jay Haw...Ironically, I believe it was Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" and not this Twain short story that was banned for being deemed "too cannibalistic." Great post title, by the way.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.com