... 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 violent and repressive) inculcated racial myths within Clemens during his antebellum childhood on the Mississippi that ... But even the potential detective hero (Wilson) shows how easily one succumbs to a belief in racial predisposition when he notes early in the book how Roxy's superstitious drop of black blood ...

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