Two of the USA's greatest literary classics, Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1851) and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter (1850), were written more than 20 years before Mark Twain was first published. They are done in traditional language. Twain was the first uniquely American author. He incorporated the vernacular of various citizens in his work. He used the "N" at least 200 times in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in the mid 1800's. He was the rock star of his time, his readings attracting thousands. He always left his audiences laughing. The following hilarious tidbit was gleaned from an article at mentalfloss.com by Joy Lanzendorfer (kudos): 10 Facts About The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, edited slightly by yours truly: "...As the book went to press, someone—it was never discovered who—added a penis to the illustration of Uncle Silas. The engraving shows him talking to Huck and Aunt Sally while it bulges from his pants. According to Twain’s business manager, 250 books were sent out before the mistake was caught. They were recalled and publication was postponed for a reprint..." Here's the offending pic alongside how it should have appeared. For those squeamish about such things, look away:
In line with the theme of today's blog, here are some pranks I gleaned from a list at buzzfeed.com:
Tweet: "My brother's changed his photo on the staircase to Kim Jong-un and my mum still hasn't noticed after 2 weeks."
Tweet: "In 2007 the seniors at my high school spray painted this on the roof of one of the buildings... It was only discovered a year later after a news reporter in a helicopter spotted it and reported it to the school." (Must have been the great-grandson of whoever punked Twain & company.)
Tweet: "I get most of my entertainment by putting different colored gatorade in starbucks cups and telling people it's a frappajappajooza."
Last but not least - a woman frustrated at her kids not doing dishes pulled a classic, which her daughter discovered when she went to the kitchen cabinet:
There were stacks of paper plates as well - and not one dish! Good one, mom.
My thanks to the middle aged woman with the bewitching eyes who purchased John Grisham's The Whistler and Janet Evanovich's Turbo Twenty-Three, and to the elderly woman who bought four books in Russian, and the young one who selected one in that language. Special thanks to the gentleman who pulled up on his bike and handed me a bag full of books, all in Russian save one by Danielle Steel.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
Read Vic's Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza
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