Journal Entry "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences"

Stephen Greene

English 48B

January 26, 2011

Journal #18, Twain

"The reader will find some examples of Cooper's high talent for inaccurate observation in the account of the shooting match in The Pathfinder.  ...for this nail head is a hundred yards from the marksmen and could not be seen by them at that distance no matter what its color might be.  How far can the best eyes see a common house fly?  A hundred yards?  It is quite impossible.  Very well, eyes that cannot see a house fly that is a hundred yards away cannot see an ordinary nail head at that distance, for the size of the two objects is the same.  It takes a keen eye to see a fly or a nail head at fifty yards--one hundred and fifty feet.  Can the reader do it?"(299).

"On Nov. 30, 1835, the small town of Florida, Mo. witnessed the birth of its most famous son. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was welcomed into the world as the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. Little did John and Jane know, their son Samuel would one day be known as Mark Twain - America's most famous literary icon"(Bio, "The Official Website of Mark Twain, http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/bio.htm).

Mark Twain is in the middle of making it either painfully or humorously clear, depending on whose side you are on, that Fenimore Cooper's writings are not accurate, in any way, shape, or form.  Twain has listed multiple examples of Cooper's mistakes which range from poor word choice, to inconsistencies in his characters, to simple physical impossibilities.  In this particular situation in Cooper's novel, Deerslayer, three men are engaged in a contest, shooting at a nail head from a hundred yards, calling each shot from this distance.

Twain's scathing criticisms seem well grounded and backed with plenty of evidence.  At first, as the reader, I felt some sympathy for Cooper, being publicly challenged and given the dunce hat to wear.  However, Twain quickly points out numerous examples of his inept writing, and decidedly names his failures in a confident voice, although with only a slight air of authority or arrogance. 
The most meaningful and telling parts of Twain's critique seem to be his emphasis on accurate observation and true possibility in the details.  Twain exemplifies realism, chastising Fenimore Cooper specifically for his inaccuracy in observation.  Cooper's story lines do not come off as believable, because they are not, as Twain says. 
The natural restrictions of what is physically possible, what is truly reasonable, and what sort of speech is realistic for the situation, are obviously on the forefront of Twain's mind, clearly influencing not only his opinions of the contemporary hailed literature, but also his own work.  These criticisms surely helped Twain grow as a person and as a writer into what he became.  They shaped what his picture of quality writing was, and they inspired him to accurately observe. These ideals come across in all of Twain's writing.  His ability to observe, record, and accurately reproduce dialect, physical features, and natural tendencies on top of his outstanding ability to create brilliantly humorous, flowing, elegant, natural, story lines and characters while incorporating meaningful social commentary in his novels, short stories, and satires are what led him to his post as one of the greatest, if not the greatest writers of American Literature to have ever lived.