... interpret his work through the lens of the era in which he produced his art in an effort to comprehend the perplexing and often contradictory interpretations he presented. Simply stated, Twain's life reflects the contradictions he experienced in a country that was unable to live up to its own egalitarian rhetoric. The land of the free (except for slaves) and the home of the brave (and extremely ... facto re-enslavement through the establishment of Jim Crow laws. As blacks began to discover their humanity, it was necessary to overstate their dehumanization in order to get them back in th...

• Word Count: 3141
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate