Realism in Twain's "Two Views of the River"

Mark Twain's excerpt form his story, or memoir rather, titled "Two Views of the River" captures seemingly the essence of Realism as a literary genre, or what it is really all about. The story depicts Twain describing his previous ventures and dreams in life of wanting to someday become the captain of a riverboat on the Mississippi River. However, once this finally happens, and he has worked as this captain for a while, something is missing in his life as if his once loved river had no interest to him (Twain 504-505). This sad realization truly depicts real life and the sadness and depression of human nature. Concerning Realism, this excerpt really contains three main traits, or topics: nature affecting the protagonist's life, human nature is conveyed in a real sense, and Mark Twain fits the description of the classic Realism hero living his own American Dream. These are the basic characteristics which Realism portrays in the literature of its time with an overall sense of reality (Quinn).

Realism takes its most standard form throughout this story because the human nature of Twain's mind deals with the reality of realizing one's dream for an extended period of time. He had loved the Mississippi River for his entire life, and he had wanted to become a riverboat captain just as long. But once he finally achieved this goal, what was left for him? His previously beloved river had now begun to be boring and uninteresting (Twain 504-505). This exemplifies the old saying, "You can't always get what you want" not because you should not have it, but because you learn to appreciate it and cherish it more if it is not yours. Twain makes a great comparison to a wife and his doctor. At first, the doctor loves his wife, and she is beautiful. But after a while of simply doing his job as he should, like Twain, the doctor sees his wife as well as other beautiful women all day long, so he starts to just disregard all beauty (Twain 505). Unfortunately, this happens in life all to frequently, and Twain is attempting to make his readers do some thinking about what they truly want out of life. Of course, this captures Realism beautifully because it is deep and meaningful, yet simply written, and it is also relevant to the real human nature of all people (Werlock).

The physical nature in this short excerpt greatly affects Twain all throughout his life. He constantly describes the beauty and awe of the river itself, and how he is drawn to it (Twain 504-505). This is another typical trait of Realism; nature is almost a side note of the literal story, but it has a huge impact overall.

Although he is eventually depressed, Mark Twain really does live out the typical American Dream as a hero of American Realism being an ordinary man placed into, what he believes is, an extraordinary situation (Realism). He rises from just a boy with a dream to finally fulfilling this dream whether it is ultimately good for him or not, and this is really what people need in life in terms of success.

Quinn, Edward. "realism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0706&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).

"Regionalism and Realism." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 486-494. Print. 26 Jan 2011.

Twain, Mark. "Two Views of the River." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus; McGraw-Hill, 2010. 504-505. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 13, 2011.