The Pessimistic Themes of The Mysterious Stranger as Reflected in Mark Twain\u27s Previous Novels

The purpose of the thesis is to demonstrate that the pessimism exhibited in the themes of The Mysterious Stranger is evident in the themes of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1874-1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1877-1882), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1876-1885), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur\u27s Court (1888-1889), and Pudd\u27nhead Wilson (1891-1894). The thesis also demonstrates that the pessimism becomes more dominate as the novels progress chronologically through the repetition of the themes and the increasing number of themes being treated. The introduction briefly discusses the arguments over the origins of Twain\u27s pessimism as set forth by Van Wyck Brooks, who credits Twain\u27s pessimism to Twain\u27s mother, wife, and Elmira, Edward Wagenknecht, who credits Twain\u27s pessimism to Twain\u27s personal experiences, and E. Hudson Long, who credits Twain\u27s pessimism to Twain\u27s personal experiences and observation of man\u27s history. The body of the thesis begins by citing The Innocents Abroad and Roughing It to exhibit the seeds of Twain\u27s pessimism in his earliest works in which he criticizes the corruption of the church, man\u27s treatment of minorities, and man\u27s prejudices. Twain\u27s pessimistic themes treated in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are man\u27s manipulation of man and man\u27s self-deception. Twain\u27s pessimistic themes treated in The Prince and the Pauper are the effects of the multi-class system and the inequality of classes, criticism of monarchical government, man\u27s inhumanity to man, and the benefits of death over life on earth. Twain\u27s pessimistic themes treated in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are man\u27s inhumanity to man through meaningless feuding, cowardly mob violence and mob behavior, man\u27s disregard for human life, and effects of slavery. Twain\u27s pessimistic themes treated in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur\u27s Court are the corruptive effects of monarchical government and the aristocracy, the effects of the multi-class system and slavery, man\u27s disregard for human life, the corruptive effects of religion and the Established Church, cowardly mob behavior, and the power of laughter to destroy. Twain\u27s pessimistic themes treated in Pudd\u27nhead Wilson are the effects of slavery, determinism, the bad-seed theory, man\u27s inferiority to other animals, the evil of money, and the benefits of death over life on earth. All of the above themes are treated in The Mysterious Stranger in which Twain condemns man\u27s oppressive institutions, man\u27s behavior, man\u27s image of himself, man\u27s belief in life and after-life, and man\u27s fate in life. The comparisons of the previous novels to The Mysterious Stranger are made throughout the body of the thesis as the novels are treated in chronological order