I'd mention that it's interesting that Huck Finn "borrowed" melons too; and that the cultural history of the watermelon trope is associated with Jim Crow long before 1901: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/ [https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/01/lead_large-4/facebook.jpg?1522683760]<https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/> How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope - The Atlantic<https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/> www.theatlantic.com While mainstream-media figures deride these instances of racism, or at least racial insensitivity, another conversation takes place on Twitter feeds and comment boards: What, many ask, does a ... Dr. Hal Bush Dept. of English Saint Louis University [log in to unmask] 314-977-3616 http://halbush.com author website: halbush.com ________________________________ From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of James N. Powell <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:11:37 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism? 我園の真桑も盗むこころ哉 wagasono no makuwa mo nusumu kokoro kana Even in my own field, I pick a melon As if stealing. ~ Buson Tr. Shoji Kumano -----Original Message----- From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Dave Davis Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 7:08 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism? Wiser heads will know more, but that sounds to me more like the voice of Paine than the voice of Twain. Are the narratives quoted found in the Autobiography (the full dictations, which have recently been published)? DDD https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ebooks.adelaide.edu.au_t_twain_mark_paine_chapter214.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=Pk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=f7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=O_q9Ul57LFXCfZatvQF5i636yefdbwZVbEeDnYRjwKI&s=iWIHIGKB2n7u8ZpXmsJ12yGKqCfSHnjHKZA48VN6WzQ&e= On Sat, Nov 24, 2018 at 6:14 PM John Greenman <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > from “the watermelons” (which Paine quotes in chapter CCXIV. MARK > TWAIN AND THE MISSIONARIES in his Biography) Clemens says: > “...This was down South, in the slavery days. It was the nature of the > negro then, as now, to steal watermelons…." > > Question: have y’all concluded that this 1901 concept accurately > reflects Clemens’ racial feelings are was there some other reason for his wording?? > > thanks, > > -j > > +++++++++++++++ > Coincidence is a messenger > sent by Truth > > [log in to unmask] > > Mark Twain Audiobooks from Librivox > > My Mark Twain audio recordings at Archive.org >
