Larry Cebula: I have taught Mark Twain's literature at the high school level some time ago, and have been a huge fan of his for many, many years. Your letter asking for thoughts regarding Twain's dislike for slavery while demonstrating a prejudiced view of the Native American prompted me to think about it for the first time. I would suggest that Twain having grown up smack in the middle of a slave culture, and knowing many black African slaves and their families would have had much to do with his sympathies regarding their condition. The segregation of the blacks from the whites that existed in much of the United States for so many years had one very specific purpose. That purpose was to prevent the social contact that might lead one group to see the other as human, and deserving of equal treatment and privileges. Sam Clemens had little or no contact with Native Americans, especially in a setting that would allow him to come to understand their culture, traditions, and beliefs. Sam could see the plight of the Chinese in the West, the Irish in the East, but for him, the beauty of the Native American culture was probably little more than an abstraction. Just a thought, but he's reading this right now from over my shoulder, and nodding his head in agreement. Larry, does your college offer correspondence courses in the literature of Mark Twain? Or do you know of any that do? I'd love to take such a class. David DePauw