Clemens' Letter -- Discussion

Clemen’s Letter —
Discussion

When Sam Clemens was 23 years old, he was a cub pilot on a riverboat, a month away from receiving his steamboat pilot’s license. He would return to writing and create the pen name “Mark Twain” in February 1863, but for now he was a guy on a boat.

Then he got off the boat. And stepped into New Orleans on Mardi Gras day, Tuesday, March 9, 1859. The letter he wrote his sister Pam wasn’t meant for publication; instead, it was his personal narrative of his adventure at Mardi Gras. It wasn’t published until 1988 with the rest of his preserved letters.

There are two things that make this letter special:

It is an early glimpse into the writing style of one of the world’s great writers. He wasn’t yet a world-famous celebrity, but he clearly already has his voice.
Our world-famous author-to-be is by coincidence on hand for a critical moment in the history of Mardi Gras. So we have a first-hand account by an keen observer of the third Mardi Gras parade of the Mystic Krewe of Comus, the people who created the Mardi Gras parade. If you’ve been to Mardi Gras yourself, you’ll notice how much of current Mardi Gras tradition was already in place.

This letter amounts to a rough draft of a narrative essay. It was Clemens’ first impression of his experience. The letter is full of scratch-outs and corrections he made as he wrote. But it’s still a remarkable essay. The introduction is perfect. A narrative doesn’t have to have a thesis, but this one does: “I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans.”

The body really focuses on his experience on the day of Mardi Gras. What he does NOT do that frequently happens in these essays is give a superficial summary of the whole trip.

On Saturday, the steamboat left St. Louis and started south. Then on Sunday, we stopped for wood and took on some passengers in Memphis. Two of the passengers got in a fight. On Monday, we stopped in Natchez. Several of us got drunk. On Tuesday, we went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It was a blast.

That kind of writing lacks focus. Because you’re trying to deal with each aspect of the event, you don’t have the space to go into much detail about any specific part. Clemens focuses on two events from the day: his first entrance into the city and realization that it was Mardi Gras day, and his attendance at the third Mystic Krewe of Comus parade. In a polished essay, we’d expect a paragraph break when he moves from the daytime events to the night parade. We’d also expect him to leave off the events of the next day, which are after Mardi Gras and really don’t relate to his topic.

One of the rules of writing descriptions and narration is to “show, not tell.”

When you tell rather than show, you simply inform your reader of information rather than allowing him to deduce anything. You’re supplying information by simply stating it. You might report that a character is “tall,” or “angry,” or “cold,” or “tired.” That’s telling.
Showing would paint a picture the reader could see in her mind’s eye. If your character is tall, your reader can deduce that because you mention others looking up when they talk with him. Or he has to duck to get through a door. Or when posing for a photo, he has to bend his knees to keep his head in proximity of others. Rather than telling that your character is angry, show it by describing his face flushing, his throat tightening, his voice rising, his slamming a fist on the table. When you show, you don’t have to tell. Cold? Don’t tell me; show me. Your character pulls her collar up, tightens her scarf, shoves her hands deep into her pockets, turns her face away from the biting wind. (Terry Jenkins)

Clemens doesn’t tell us that Mardi Gras is exciting: he shows us with his detailed description

And here was the procession at last. The torches were of all colors, but their shapes represented the spots on a pack of cards-an endless line of hearts, and clubs, &c. The procession was led by a mounted Knight Crusader in blazing gilt armor from head to foot, and I think one might never tire of looking at the splendid picture. Then followed tall, grotesque maskers representing some ancient game — then an odd figure covered with checks, with a huge chess board & chessmen for a hat-then another quaint fellow gleaming in backgammon stripes, with two great dice for a hat — then the kings of each suit of cards dressed in royal regalia of ermine, satin & gold — then queer figures representing various other games, — then the Queen of the Fairies, with a winged troop of beauties, in airy costumes at her heels-then the King & Queen of the Genii, I suppose (eight or ten feet high,) with vast rolls of flaxen curls, bowing majestically to the crowd-followed by a couple of infinitesimal dwarfs, — and again by other genii, in costumes grotesque, hideous & beautiful in turn-then figures whose bodies were vast drums, trumpets, clarinets, fiddles, &c., — followed by others whose bodies were pitchers, punch-bowls, goblets, &c., terminated by two tremendous & very unsteady black wine bottles — then gigantic chickens, turkeys, bears, & other beasts & birds — then a big Christmas tree, followed by Santa Claus, with fur cap, short pipe, &c., and surrounded by a great basket filled with toys-and then-well, I don’t remember half. There were transparencies, marking the divisions, with a band of music to each. Under “May-day” was a beautifully decorated May-tree & a May-pole; — after “Twelfth-Night” followed a troupe of the most outrageously hideous figures, half-beast, half-human, that one could imagine; — Santa Claus & his crew followed “Christmas” — the games, &c., followed “Comus at his old English tricks, again,” and if there were any other transparencies, I have forgotten them. The long procession blazed with brand-new silk and satin, and the whole thing seemed to have been gotten up without any regard to cost.

Clemens has done just what we did in the “My Room” and “My Sister” exercises. He looked around and made a list: Invention. He now has put the details in a logical order that we can recognize: Arrangement. His method of arrangement was to describe the parade in chronological order, starting with the beginning of the parade and describing it in sequence. There are many other ways of arranging the facts, as we saw in the “My Sister” exercises. The only difference is that the Style Clemens does it with is much better than the rest of us.

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