Mark Twain의 비관주의와 도덕적 이상주의(3) = Mark Twain's Pessimism and Moral Idealism(3)

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The main purpose of this writing is to consider Mark Twain as a serious writer. All too often he has been misunderstood as one merely giving witty comments on life to entertain his readers. Another line of thinking doing scant justice to Mark Twain is examplified in Maxwell Geismer's Mark Twain： An American Prophet, in which the author concludes that Twain's thoughts reveal him to be a “natural and unconscious Marxist.”In this article I take issue with such positions. Mark Twain's ideals and thoughts inhis social criticism are characterized by his firm belief in American ideals, not by his “natural and unconscious Marxism.” Like Walt Whitman, Mark Twain was convinced that American democracy offered the best climate, not only for material progress, but also for spiritual and moral development.
This is divided into three chapters. The First Chapter, entitled “The Humanist Quarrelling with God,”deals with Mark Twain's religious background, his criticism of the Christianconception of God and of “Christian Science”in particular, and his deterministic view of the universe.
The second Chapter, entitled “Mark Twain's Negative Views of Man”deals with the view of man as presented in his writings. The chapter ends with the discussion of the limitations of deterministic views of man, also entertained by Twain. The Third Chapter, entitled “Mark Twain's Moral Idealism,”discusses Mark Twain's conscience and ideas, his denunciation of all forms of prejudice, and his pursuit of truth and honesty.
Though much of Mark Twain's writings are overshadowed by his mechanistic determinism, Mark Twain is at heart a romantic idealist. This dichotomy is a unique feature of Mark Twain's thoughts. In spite of his religious skepticism, he clung firmly to his belief in a Supreme Being, who had created the universe and whose majesty and wisdom are revealed in physical nature. Seeing nobility and goodness in individuals, he regarded the human race collectively as stupid, mean, and despicable. And yet, his heart was filled with pity and sympathy for doomed mankind, the victim of forces beyond his control, thus admitting a glimmer of hope for human betterment. Hence, the ambivalence of Twain's views of man.