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Mark TwainA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Mark Twain named the deceased friend “John B. Hackett” at a time when a “hack” was an inferior writer. Why might Twain have chosen this name for the character? What role does inferiority play in the frame story and/or the story within it?
Twain once wrote to his frequent editor and friend William Dean Howells that “fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water” (Twain, Mark. “Letter to William D. Howells, February 15, 1887.” The Letters of Mark Twain, Volume 4, 1886-1900. Project Gutenberg). Consider this statement in light of “The Invalid’s Story.” What elements in Twain’s work might appeal to “everyone,” and why? What makes his statement ironic today?
Consider Twain’s “The Invalid’s Story” alongside another one of his humorous short stories, such as “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” What parallels exist between the characters, structures, and stylistic choices? What larger point do these similarities make?
By Mark Twain
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
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A True Story
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Letters from the Earth
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Life on the Mississippi
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Roughing It
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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The Autobiography of Mark Twain
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The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
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The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
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The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
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The Mysterious Stranger
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The Prince and the Pauper
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The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson
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The War Prayer
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