... difficult as they grew older and less capable of what we now deem "survival of the fittest." With this philosophy also came a new sense of livelihood and tradition. Certain ideas and conceptions of the frontier and its roughness drove pioneers develop their own aspirations and ideals. Readers ... basis. All of the main characters are radicals of sort whose desires to rebel and remain primitive have transformed into a righteous heroism. The reoccurring themes of movement, community, nature, and of course freedom are what ultimately develop this sense of heroism. Of all the thematic issues...

• Word Count: 3770
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 violent and repressive) inculcated racial myths within Clemens during his antebellum childhood on the Mississippi that were slowly fractured, but ... of its manifestations and through all of society's various human class and race strata. Oftentimes the best way to approach seemingly unmentionable themes was through the side door of comedy and satire - areas where Mark Twain had few, if any, equals. For Samuel Clemens ... to deny the sins of their forebea...

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