Character Sketch of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain - Essay Example

Joan shows exceptional character traits that help her to defend her country from the foreigners who had invaded their land. She was patriotic, brave, and hard-working, which enabled her to win battles against the England army. In this essay, Joan’s characteristic traits and the main theme of the story is discussed by listing evidence from the book, Joan of Arc.   Mark Twain, describes Joan as a patriotic, through the way she stands firm and fights for her country, France. After an angel visited her and instructed that she liberates her people from the foreigners, her patriotic characteristic makes her to accept the call, since she esteemed her country.

In Joan of Arc, she makes an effort to convince the French army to attack the England military, so that freedom may prevail. Her patriotic trait makes her ready to die for her country since the execution she faced did not diminish the love she had for her country. Another characteristic trait Mark Twain describes Joan is that she was brave. The bravery is shown in the story when she audaciously fights the England army, although they were well-armed and organized. Her bravery is seen when she arrested several times and faced death with a lot of courage, and was composed throughout the trial.

Her hard work made the people choose her as the commander-in-chief of the army at the tender age of seventeen. As the commander of the army, she saved the King of France by assembling some soldiers who marched with her to the territory where the king was stationed. She was able to help the king even after being mocked by the enemies, “What, you?  You are only a child.” This proves how she was hard-working as the leader of the French military by managing to save the king of the land.

Joan's personality traits are constant throughout the story and do not change. She maintains to be a patriotic citizen by fighting against the foreigners until her demise.  Conclusively, Mark Twain describes the main characteristics traits of the Joan, which are patriotic, brave, and hardworking. The traits are shown through her actions in the story, and she does not change but remains constant with her mission and believes. The main theme discussed in the story, Joan of Arc, by Mark Twain is religion.

Religion as a theme in the story is the main factor that results in all the events that occur in the narrative. "I will tell you, but do not be disturbed; you are not in danger. It was the shadow of an archangel - Michael, the chief, and lord of the armies of heaven." These are the assertions of Luis to Joan after being visited by an archangel. Joan's motivation came from her faith in religion, which encouraged her to do great things, such as winning battles against the English army. The priest of the Catholic Church condemned Joan of practicing witchcraft, because by saying that her actions are holy and directed by God.

Religion as the theme is manifested in the entirely in the story of Mark Twain. It is through the faith in religion by the Catholic Church priest that Joan faced her death. The accusation was that she was obsessed with wickedness spirits. Mark Twain's story is written in a religious setting, whereby people had the capability to communicate with the spiritual world. For example, Joan frequently was visited by the angel of God while Luis made prophecies. Therefore, religion was the central ideology of the tale because its effects are felt in all the events of the narrative.