The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 and died on April 21, 1910 (Bloom, P 48). He was born in Missouri, Florida. His parents were John Marshall Clemens and Jane Langhorne Clemens. His original name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens until he became a professional writer and adopted the name Mark Twain. He also began his writing in the 1850’s.His father John Marshal Clemens was the judge for the town of Hannibal, Missouri. Before he began his literary career he held many diverse jobs ranging from being a river boat pilot a

“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” first appeared in Harper’s Monthly in December of 1899 (Parkes, P 246). Many critics compare the activities and personalities of the townsfolk to various features of the American character. It remains unclear whether if Mark Twain based Hadleyburg on an actual place or constructed it as a fictional symbol. He portrayed the characters and the scenes in the story very well just as the critics had said and praised him for it. Critics often interpreted the short story in the relationship to Twain’s discontentedness attributing to the stories pessimistic theme and tone of disillusionment with human nature to his own misfortunes during the 1890‘s (Volteter & Young, P 294). Some critics emphasize the revenge theme pointing to the hypocritical and deterministic tone of the story. Hadleyburg could be understood as a “microcosm” of America and the story has been interpreted as warning adhering too closely to nationalism (Bloom, P 43). Twain gives great detail about the opinions of the Hadleyburgians, such as what they believe in and hate. It seems as if he knew the characters personally and acted as if it were real in the story. As a critique of the community, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” demonstrates the dangerous consequence of a ‘herd’ mentality (Volteter & Young, P 298). Twain’s work is best know for its humorous depiction of human imperfection. Twain was justly renowned as a humorist, but was not always appreciated by the writers of his time as anything more than that. His work was inspired by the unconventional west, and the popularity of his work marked the end of domination of American literature by New England writers. His adherence to American themes set him apart from many other novelists of his time and had a powerful effect on such later American writers. His work during the 1800 and 1900’s is marked by growing pessimism and bitterness. Numerous critics have admired the literary structure of, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” for its economy and efficiency. Some other critics analyze, “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” in terms of a revised Edyn myth citing the mo

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