Mark Twain Dangerous Water

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Mark Twain, meaning the difference between safe water and dangerous water, was a wise play on words for such a great story. As Mark Twain or Samuel Clemens, narrates his journey of mastering the Mississippi as a riverboat pilot, he reveals that in everything gained, there is something lost. As Twain becomes an experienced riverboat pilot, the river loses the magical essence he so wonderfully described it had over him. At the beginning of this excerpt, Twain recalls a specific sunset that comes to mind and he describes all of the small details such as the color, and size, and all of the things that make up the river, which then later contradicts his statement when he says he has “come to know every trifling feature”, if the features of the…show more content…
Describing it as gold, and red as blood. This creates a picture in the reader’s mind of the most beautiful sunset, that is so wonderful and perfect. The literal side would not look at the river as a beautiful whole, but rather just simply a river. A hyperbole is used in the first sentence, when he claims he “mastered” the language. Mark Twain did not actually master the language of the Mississippi, as he so claims. He uses the word master, to create an essence as if the river is something real, with such large amounts of trifling features that need learning. Rivers do not have languages, but just like a doctor may have a masters degree in Biology, they still would not know everything there is to know. It is merely impossible. As Mark Twain became more educated, he also became more literal. Studying and mastering a subject takes away the beauty, causing one’s eye to instead only look for the danger that lied ahead, or that a log floating meant the river was rising. He then looked at the river without depth, much like a doctor would look at a patient’s body, simply as if it is just a job or a subject. Is it important for Twain to understand all of factors of danger, in order to maintain the safety of his boat and crew members. If he did not do so, he would no longer be the experienced captain he claimed to be. The Two views of the Mississippi are not easily understood, and could be very easily overlooked of what the true meaning Mark Twain is trying to show, but once looked at in depth, Twain makes a very good point, and that is with everything gained, everything is lost, and you are at the same place you
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