Personification is also used at times in this paragraph. For Twain, the river "delivered its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice (Twain paragraph 1)." Personification of the river and writing about how it "told" him its secrets, Twain also shows readers his personal and deep connection with the river. He is enamored with it to the point where it is almost as if the river is "talking to him." For the most part, the second part of this paragraph emphasizes Twain's desire and ambition to constantly explore and discover new parts of the river. For Mark Twain, "there was never a page that was void of interest, never one that you would want to skip (Twain paragraph 1)." Overall the tone of the tone and mood of the first paragraph is very Mark Twain portrays the Mississippi River as an unknown beauty and this view represents Twain's innocence and his innocent perspective without any experience.
After learning how to pilot a riverboat, Twain lost his ability to see the simple and hidden beauties of the Mississippi river. After time passed by and he became more experienced as a steamboat pilot, he could only see the dangers in the river's subtle details. The charm of the river was lost, and as a result, Twain could no longer appreciate the river for tis natural beauty. In the process of gaining the knowledge throughout his career and in exploring the Mississippi River, he also lost something: his innocent perspective of the river's beauty. In his time as a steamboat pilot, Twain came know every little detail about the river, which was his original goal. Twain "had mastered the language of the water and came to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river." But with this Twain "lost something which could never be restored." The second paragraph is much more somber and more reminiscent that the first paragraph.
