Mark Twain was a very famous--and well deserved of that fame--author in the United States of America. He falls under the realism literary period, and his works can be classified into the sub genres of the realism literary period, naturalism and regionalism. One of his works that falls under naturalism, is "Two Views of the River." This is his short little journal of how the river now appears to him. Instead of a romantic appearance, the river takes on more of a scientific and logical appearance. This is why it fits so well into the realism and naturalism. It fits into realism, because it talks of Mark Twain's own experience on the river, and he uses many facts and emotions to back his experience up. This puts it into the realism literature category.
The characteristics of naturalism that are present in his journal is what really makes the excerpt interesting and wonderful. Mark Twain uses nature, describing it in a scientific way, but also in a colorful way, to make his work really come to life and poetic. "...This sun means that we are going to have wind tomorrow; that floating log means that the river is rising, small thanks to it; that slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody's steamboat one of these nights, if it keeps on stretching out like that; those tumbling 'boils' show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there; the lines and circles in the slick water over yonder are a warning that that troublesome place is shoaling up dangerously; that silver streak in the shadow of the forest is the 'break' from a new snag, and he has located himself in the very best place he could have found to fish for steamboats; that tall dead tree, with a single living branch, is not going to last long, and then how is a body ever going to get through this blilnd place at night without the friendly old landmark? No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river." (Twain, 505) In these two sentences, Mark Twain gives detailed examples of how he sees the river. Earlier, he saw it in a majestic romantic way, but now he sees it in a majestic scientific way. However, the way he describes the river to the point that one can just imagine all of the characteristics makes his work romantic in a way, again characterizing it as realism.
The last thing that really and truly classifies it as naturalism is the fact that he admires the river, and he is awed by the river. He appreciates nature, and nature seems to appreciate him, which is another characteristic of naturalism. "Now when I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had mad a valuable acquisition" (Twain, 504). Mark Twain loves the river, its many bends and features that make it unique. It gives him peace and he goes on to master steam boating, and he seems at peace with nature, as nature is at peace with him. This feature of his journal is what gives this such a naturalistic feel.
Works Cited
Twain, Mark. "Two Views of the River." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 504-505.
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