Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1981

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

English

Major Professor

Allison R. Ensor

Committee Members

Charles Maland, Edward Bratton

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the treatment that Benjamin Franklin receives in the writings of Mark Twain. The first chapter focuses on certain significant parallels in the biographical details, the writings, and the popularity of these two legendary American figures. Chapter II examines Mark Twain's presentation of Benjamin Franklin in his shorter works. Though Twain occasionally acknowledges Franklin's character and accomplishments with some degree of approval, these instances are the exceptions rather than the rule. Twain generally prefers to attack the stereotyped image of Franklin. The third chapter examines Mark Twain's treatment of Benjamin Franklin's maxims and compares the maxims of the two men. In spite of his abuse of Franklin's proverbs, Twain's own maxims in The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and in Following the Equator often show remarkable resemblances to both the substance and form of the maxims in Poor Richard's Almanac. Chapter IV indicates Twain's familiarity with Franklin's Autobiography and shows his farcical use of the work; however, Twain's own Autobiography is similar to Franklin's in its relatively loose structure, its presentation of the self, and its frequent didacticism. This thesis demonstrates that despite his repeated criticism of Franklin, Mark Twain seems, ironically, to share some of Franklin's values and traits of literary style.

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