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Nick Dickson
Professor Amy Fair
English 254
23 March 2018
Mark Twain’s A Ghost Story Literary Analysis
It is said that Mark Twain’s writing style is that of a humorist, and is
characterized by broad, irreverent humor or biting social satire. Twain also uses realism
of place and language, his characters are memorable, and he has a hatred for hypocrisy
and oppression.
Mark Twain’s short story A Ghost Story, written in 1870 and published in 1888
follows the above formula of wit and humor when in 1869 one of the best American
hoaxes had taken place known as the Cardiff Giant. Now to fully understand this short
story and its humor you have to understand the history that had taken place prior to this
story, and exactly what is humorist writing.
“Humorist writer is someone who specializes in humorous material. Unlike
comedy writers though, who go for all out laughs, humorist writers are more subtle and
cerebral. But don’t take that to mean they’re any less funny.”(Graves) Mark Twain is the
best example of an American Humorist, as his works while can be quite funny are
defiantly not made to be purely comedic, but tell a story, and sometimes have subtle
meanings.
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One of my favorite things about the Cardiff Giant is the origin of the hoax. A man
named William C. Newell buried a giant made of stone by a man named George Hull to
prove how far people are willing to go to believe and see what they want to see, and the
hoax clearly got out of hand. Now giants have been around in fairy tales, fables, and the
bible for hundreds of years, which gave the foundation for a petrified giant being
discovered in 1869 the perfect backstory to pull in Christians who believe in Goliath, and
the scripture like Genesis 6:4 “4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also
after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown”.
(Bible) The Cardiff Giant is like a carnival sideshow attraction that pulls in tourists, and
