What Does Mark Twain Mean To Say 'Two Views'?

What does Mark Twain mean when he says “Two Views”? In this writing, Twain tells of his experiences as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. When he uses the words, “Two Views”, he is talking about two separate occasions, which are the expressive views and literary views of the river. Twain shows how learning the ways of the river diminishes his sense of wonder for him. He first recalls a specific sunset journey where he is able to celebrate in the brilliance of the river surrounding him. He then reflects on how his inner dialogue would differ if he were to experience that same journey again years later. The beauty he so easily appreciated in his novice years, would most likely go unnoticed because he sees “danger” in the river now. Mark …show more content…
His experiences are a key characteristic of expressive writing. As he gains experience, he notices that his perceptions about the river change. As a very young man, being so naive, he admits that “I stood like one bewitched” in admiration of the river’s beauty. This demonstrates two more characteristics of the eloquent/expressive purpose: his expression of personal feelings and his use of “I” (first-person). He includes many features of the river in this writing, them being a floating log, the play of the currents, a forested shore, and most importantly, the many different colors sparkling on the water. Later on in his life, gaining experience has allowed him to learn about the river’s secrets and it’s “language”. Consequently, his feelings towards the river change. Another characteristic of the expressive purpose is displayed by Twain in this piece; self-definition. His self-definition is showed when he admits that as an older man, for him the “romance and beauty” are no more. There are also signs of figurative language to many of the things mentioned earlier in this paragraph. This piece is filled with figurative language used to describe his sense of joy and awe of the river when he is beginning his journey on the road to knowledge of steamboating. Twain gives the river human characteristics and even it’s …show more content…
Using the compare and contrast form of classification, he shows that his attitudes about the river has changed, just like it was mentioned earlier in the essay. He presents how his increase in knowledge about the river contrasts to his earlier fascination about it, making him produce a different reaction in himself. As a young man, naive of the what the water in the river surrounding him did, he celebrates in its mysteries. Everything in one “wonderful sunset” blinds him, and yet he takes it in in a “speechless rapture”. Later on though, he does admit that the time where he stopped noticing the “glories and charms” of the river had come. In the end, he realizes that all “the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river.” The use of compare and contrast proclaims the “two views” of the river, which is mentioned in the title of Mark Twain’s piece. That is substantially what Twain means when he says “Two Views”. Twain learns that appearances carry on much deeper meanings than that of what is being recognized. Each characteristic of the river’s beauty conveys a sign that there will be dangerous weather that will eventually hit and that it will be way too dangerous enough for a boat and it’s subordinates. Through his powerful use of eloquent and literary writings and the patterns of compare and contrast and description, Mark Twain