How did Mark Twain develop his satirical writing style?
Satire, you see, is like putting a joke on a man's funeral. It’s a way of laughing at ourselves, and at the foolishness that abounds, without being outright mean. My travels and my time on the Mississippi River gave me a grand stage to observe folks. You see all sorts of characters out there, from the pompous to the pious, and it’s hard not to notice the inconsistencies. I learned to use exaggeration and irony, much like a steamboat pilot uses his knowledge of the currents and snags, to navigate the treacherous waters of human nature and expose the absurdities. *The Innocents Abroad* was a good early exercise in this.
Ask Mark Twain the follow-up →