The Devil's Race-Track
Mark Twain's "Great Dark" Writings
The Best from Which Was the Dream? and Fables of Man
$17.95, £10.95 paperback
978-0-520-23893-0
Available Now
405 pages, 6 x 9 inches,
March 2005, Available worldwide
Categories: Literary Studies; American Literature; Mark Twain
March 2005, Available worldwide
Categories: Literary Studies; American Literature; Mark Twain
Mark Twain explores the darker side of life in these lesser-known later writings dealing with personal tragedies, nightmarish world events, and a doubtful cosmic order. He views his own situation as that of a ship trapped in a fearsome Bermuda Triangle-like region, the Devil's Race-Track. He sees history as a treadmill of endlessly and monotonously repeated events. And he conceives of a universal food chain, a vast round of devourers who in their turn become victims, humankind and God included. The tone of these writings is lightened considerably by Mark Twain's sagely ironic humor and his warmth, which together balance his tough-mindedness. And even when he shows the human race caught in some vicious circle, he may be seen courageously seeking a way out and at times believing he has found it.
FROM THE DEVIL'S RACE-TRACK:
"How often we are moved to admit the intelligence exhibited in both the designing and execution of some of [God's] works.Take the fly, for instance.The planning of the fly was an application of pure intelligence,morals not being concerned. Not one of us could have planned the fly, not one of us could have constructed him; and no one would have considered it wise to try, except under an assumed name."—Thoughts of God
"When I became a microbe, the transformation was so complete that I felt at home at once.This is not surprising, for men and germs are not widely different from each other."—Three Thousand Years among the Microbes
"[The admiral] was eighty years old....He had very decided opinions upon most matters, and he had architected them himself. Sometimes they were not sound, but what they lacked in soundness they generally made up in originality."—The Refuge of the Derelicts
"How often we are moved to admit the intelligence exhibited in both the designing and execution of some of [God's] works.Take the fly, for instance.The planning of the fly was an application of pure intelligence,morals not being concerned. Not one of us could have planned the fly, not one of us could have constructed him; and no one would have considered it wise to try, except under an assumed name."—Thoughts of God
"When I became a microbe, the transformation was so complete that I felt at home at once.This is not surprising, for men and germs are not widely different from each other."—Three Thousand Years among the Microbes
"[The admiral] was eighty years old....He had very decided opinions upon most matters, and he had architected them himself. Sometimes they were not sound, but what they lacked in soundness they generally made up in originality."—The Refuge of the Derelicts
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