Literary Response 2 - Essay Example

In “Life on the Mississippi” what allure did being a steamboat man hold for young boys who live along the Mississippi River. ‘Life on the Mississippi’ is a memoir by the famous American author Mark Twain. Twain. The first part of this memoir describes a beautiful and nostalgic account of a young boy, who nurses the ambition of being the cub pilot of a steamboat on the Mississippi river (Perkins and Perkins, 2007). The book brings back the memories of the steam boating in Mississippi river during the early 1800s.

As a young boy, Mark Twain spent a considerable amount of time learning to be a competent pilot of the steamboats. However, after thirteen bridges were built across the river, the tradition of steamboats lost its charm (Lloyd, 1981). Hence, Twain becomes nostalgic when he visits the river after ages. For the young boys who lived along the Mississippi River during the early 1800’s, the steam boatman was regarded as the ultimate hero. All the young boys had secret desires to be a strong steam boatman who wades across the river in the boat, battling the rough waves of the Mississippi.

Twain recalls how, the steam boatman generated a considerable amount of envy from young boys with his talks. The way they described the streets of 'St. Looy' in a casual manner, so that even the boys who had been to St. Louis once felt that their days of glory were over. The conversations would be loaded with the technical jargons of the steam boat and would create awe among Twain and his friends. The way the steam boatman carried the rusty bolt to scrub the boat so that the young boys could 'see him, envy him and loathe him' (Twain, 1917, page no. 35). As much as they hated the sight of the steam boatman being popular, they all nursed the secret ambition of being someone like him so that they also could be the object of envy.

As Twain rightly puts it 'If ever a youth was cordially admired and hated by his comrades, this one was' and 'he cut out every boy in the village' (Twain, 1917, page no. 36). Thus, the steamboat man took the role of a secret super hero in the minds of the young boys, who aroused both envy and admiration in their minds. Among all the careers that young boys could aspire for, the pilot or the steamboat man was the grandest position of all. It was more covered because the parents of Mark twain and his friends would not allow them to take to the river.

Eventually, Twain managed to live his dream of being a cub pilot. However, the changes post the Civil war marked the end of steam boat travel in the river (Anderson and Sanderson, 1972). As Mark Twain says in the book, 'But these were only day-dreams - they were too heavenly to be contemplated and real possibilities' (Twain, 1917, page no. 35). Therefore, the steam boatman stands as a metaphor of heroism, courage, class and valor among the young Twain and friends. References Perkins, G, and Perkins, B, (eds.) (2007).  The American Tradition in Literature, Volume II, 12th edition.

New York: McGraw-Hill Lloyd, J. B. (ed). (1981). Lives of Mississippi Authors 1817-1967. Jackson, MS: University Press of MS .Twain, M (1917), Life on the Mississippi. PA:Wildside Press Anderson, F. and Sanderson, K. M. (eds) (1972). Mark Twain: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge, Keegan & Paul of London