636 unit 4: regionalism and naturalism

Mark Twain

background This excerpt from Mark Twain’s autobiography focuses on a traveling show that visits Twain’s small town around 1850. These entertainment shows were popular in a time before radio, television, or computers. They featured magic acts, ventriloquists, and mesmerizers (or hypnotists). Hypnotists placed people in suggestible, trancelike states and then ordered them to perform various antics.

10

An exciting event in our village was the arrival of the mesmerizer.1 I think the year was 1850. As to that I am not sure but I know the month—it was May; that detail has survived the wear of fifty years. A pair of connected little incidents of that month have served to keep the memory of it green for me all this time; incidents of no consequence and not worth embalming,2 yet my memory has preserved them carefully and flung away things of real value to give them space and make them comfortable. The truth is, a person’s memory has no more sense than his conscience and no appreciation whatever of values and proportions. However, never mind those trifling incidents; my subject is the mesmerizer now. a

He advertised his show and promised marvels. Admission as usual: 25 cents, children half price. The village had heard of mesmerism in a general way but had not encountered it yet. Not many people attended the first night but next day they had so many wonders to tell that everybody’s curiosity was fired and after

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

1. mesmerizer: hypnotist; from the name of an Austrian physician, Franz Anton Mesmer, who popularized hypnotism in the 1770s.

2. embalming: preserving.

ANALYZE VISUALSLook at the poster on page 637, especially at the image in the top circle. What can you infer about the mesmerizer depicted?

a PREDICTBased on the clues presented in this first paragraph, what can you predict about what might happen in the story?

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differentiated instruction

Practice and Apply

a predictPossible answer: Readers can predict that the young Twain might interact with the mesmerizer who has come to his village.Extend the Discussion What clues lead you to that prediction?

R E A D I N G S K I L L

summaryIn this excerpt from his autobiography, Twain tells of a mesmerizer’s visit to his hometown. Jealous of audience members who serve as the mesmerizer’s subjects, the teenaged Twain fakes being hypnotized. He soon becomes the star of the show; in fact, he is so convincing that by the time the mesmerizer leaves town, Twain is the only person who doesn’t believe in hypnotism. Years later, when he confesses the deception to his mother, she refuses to believe him. Twain concludes that a well-told lie has a long life.

for all studentsEnhancing Learning Styles Provide these projects for various learning preferences:• Aural Prepare an oral interpretation that

captures Twain’s style.• Spatial Choose a dramatic scene from

the Autobiography, decide how it could be staged, and write the stage directions for the actors who play Twain and the mesmerizer.

For further details on these projects, see

RESOURCE MANAGERIdeas for Extension pp. 24–25

for less–proficient readersIn combination with the Audio Anthology CD, use one or more Targeted Passages (pp. 638, 640, 642, and 644) to ensure that students focus on key events and concepts. Targeted passages are also good for English learners.

636 unit 4: regionalism and naturalism

636 unit 4: regionalism and naturalism

Mark Twain

background This excerpt from Mark Twain’s autobiography focuses on a traveling show that visits Twain’s small town around 1850. These entertainment shows were popular in a time before radio, television, or computers. They featured magic acts, ventriloquists, and mesmerizers (or hypnotists). Hypnotists placed people in suggestible, trancelike states and then ordered them to perform various antics.

10

An exciting event in our village was the arrival of the mesmerizer.1 I think the year was 1850. As to that I am not sure but I know the month—it was May; that detail has survived the wear of fifty years. A pair of connected little incidents of that month have served to keep the memory of it green for me all this time; incidents of no consequence and not worth embalming,2 yet my memory has preserved them carefully and flung away things of real value to give them space and make them comfortable. The truth is, a person’s memory has no more sense than his conscience and no appreciation whatever of values and proportions. However, never mind those trifling incidents; my subject is the mesmerizer now. a

He advertised his show and promised marvels. Admission as usual: 25 cents, children half price. The village had heard of mesmerism in a general way but had not encountered it yet. Not many people attended the first night but next day they had so many wonders to tell that everybody’s curiosity was fired and after

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

1. mesmerizer: hypnotist; from the name of an Austrian physician, Franz Anton Mesmer, who popularized hypnotism in the 1770s.

2. embalming: preserving.

ANALYZE VISUALSLook at the poster on page 637, especially at the image in the top circle. What can you infer about the mesmerizer depicted?

a PREDICTBased on the clues presented in this first paragraph, what can you predict about what might happen in the story?

FL_L11PE-u04s11-Twain.indd 636 1/28/08 10:03:18 AMFL_L11PE-u04s11-Twain.indd 637 1/28/08 10:03:32 AM

analyze visualsPossible answer: The viewer can infer that the mesmerizer can control the behavior of other people—and can even defy the law of grav-ity—simply by using his hands.

backgroundMesmerism Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815) was an Austrian doctor who gave his name to what he considered a system for curing illness. Mesmer believed that every part of the universe was connected by magnetic fluid and that illness occurred when the balance of fluid in a person’s body was disturbed. According to Mesmer, magnetic passes of a doctor’s hands over the patient’s body could cure sickness by redirecting that fluid. After frenzied convul-sions or hypnotic trances, Mesmer’s patients reported themselves restored to health.Mesmer experienced considerable success when he introduced his system of “animal magnetism” to Paris in 1778. King Louis XVI was skeptical, however, and he appointed a scientific commission to investigate Mesmer’s claims. Benjamin Franklin and other commis-sion members declared Mesmer a fraud, con-cluding that his cures were simply the product of people’s imaginations.Although Mesmer’s theory of magnetism as a therapeutic technique was discredited, interest in the hypnotic trance state flourished during the 19th century. In the United States, mesmerism became a form of entertainment —the kind of traveling performance that young Mark Twain encounters in this account.

for english learnersPrereading For prereading instruction for English learners, see

BEST PRACTICES TOOLKITScaffolding Reading Instruction

pp. 43–46

for advanced learners/apAP exercises in the bottom channel provide additional challenge for students. Use these suggestions for small groups or individuals.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINESFor more help with differentiation and tips for classroom management, see

BEST PRACTICES TOOLKITDifferentiated Instruction pp. 31–38

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