Rating: 
Summary: A Story Review
Review: "The Story of the Bad Little Boy" is a satire on the stories we all heard in Sunday school with an interesting twist. While Twain seems to b satirizing the stories of old because his protagonist does not seem to encounter punishment for his sin, Twain still ends the story with something of a moral for us to think about. While Jim may have been able to get away with his bad behavior, he was still sinful. In other words, a person cannot base his or her behavior on the fact if he or she is punished or not. The truth is that many bad people get away with doing bad things all the time and we must be better and rise above such behavior. Goodness must come from one's own desire to be good.
Twain purposefully begins with Jim's bad behavior as what appears to be harmless. For example, his first bad at is replacing the jam with tar. This seems harmless enough. That act is followed by stealing apples from Farmer Acorn's apple tree. We are told that Jim "and the limb didn't break, and he didn't fall and break his arm, and get torn by the farmer's great dog" and he "stole as many apples as he wanted and came down all right."
Another interesting aspect of this story is how Twain is how Jim continues to live a bad life even as an adult. The sequence is essential to Twain's notion that evil, if allowed to grow, will take over a person's life. Jim's evil actions were innocent enough when he was a boy. However, they progressively become worse. For example, he moves from stealing apples to stealing a knife and then planting the knife in George Wilson's cap and allowing George to be punished. In fact, the incident with George reveals much about Jim's personality. We are told:
"No meddling old clam of a justice dropped in to make trouble, and so the model boy George got thrashed, and Jim was glad of it because, you know, Jim hated moral boys. Jim said he was `down on them milk-sops.' Such was the coarse language of this bad, neglected boy."
These statements reflect how Jim is growing more evil. He not only finds joy in doing evil things, but he also delights in the fact that good and innocent people suffer for crimes they did not commit. Jim moves from becoming a mischevious boy to an evil boy that hates good boys. This is a subtle action but it reflects how evil can subtly take over an individuals' life. In this sense we can see how people are not born completely evil. Instead, they wander through gray areas of life committing one evil act after another until they are transformed. The message here is that people rarely set out to be evil; rather they become evil after repeating one offense after the other.
Twain moves through the events of Jim's life to illustrate that although bad people do not always get caught, they end up with a life that is not pleasing or desirable. In the beginning of the story, the events Twain describes are what we would consider normal for an average boy. Stealing is something to which we can all relate. By introducing us to such events, Twain is engaging us as readers. When we read about Jim, we think that there is nothing wrong with him. However, as the story progresses, we realize that Jim's behavior begins to have negative effects on other people. Not only that, but Jim has little regard for these people. First, it is George then it become Jim's innocent family. By moving swiftly through these events, Twain is demonstrating how quickly a person can become evil.
I found this story to be fascinating in that its message is not terribly overt. I also enjoyed it because it is realistic. Many people do not get caught or punished for their crimes. But the most fascinating aspect is how Jim's character develops into a truly evil person. He goes from stealing jam to braining his entire family. At the end of the story, we are told that he "got wealthy by all manner of cheating and rascality; and now he is the infernalist wickedest scoundrel in his native village, and is universally respected, and belongs to the Legislature." Clearly, while this message seems to support the message that crime pays, it also indicates that Jim became an evil person one step at a time. In fact, Jim is probably not even aware of his own evilness.
It is also interesting that the narrator refers to Jim as lucky more than once. I also believe this is part of Twain's technique because at first glance, it would appear that Jim is lucky. he is never caught and is never punished for his crimes. In fact, he is well respected in his community. It would seem that he does have the best of luck. However, the underlying message is that we cannot rest on what society perceives as lucky when it comes to finding meaning in life. Jim's so-called luck is simply another one of society's misguided messages. In reality, Jim is not lucky at all.
In the end, Jim might have been considered lucky to some but more importantly, he was sinful. The story teaches us that goodness must come from within--it cannot come from Sunday school books nor can it come from how society perceives and treats us. While Twain mocks the typical Sunday school method of teaching, he is presenting the same message in that we must desire to be good and that desire must be our compelling force in life.
Rating: 
Summary: Get another edition!
Review: Don't buy this book! The stories, of course, are classic Mark Twain- one of the most thoughtful, humorous, and clear thinking writers ever born. But the Bantam edition is unreadable.
To save money, the margins run from 1/4 to 1/8 an inch. Not too bad on the outside edges, but on the inside edge near the spine the words are nearly hidden by the curve of the page. Either you break the spine to read the words, or you are forced to slide your thumb along the inner edge to reveal Twain's words. Find another edition.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to see why Twain is one of America's Classics
Review: It is hard to believe that one writer could create such a diverse group of stories on all kinds of subject matter; each one written with Mark Twain's unique sense of humor and extraordinary gift of imagination.
These stories also stand the test of time as they are every bit as entertaining now as they were over 100 years ago.
Some of the ones that I enjoyed the most;
The Canvasser' Tale; the story of a man's collection of echoes
The Diary of Adam and Eve; a humorous look at what Adam and Eve's first thoughts of each other and the world around them.
The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm.
The Californian's Tale with a twist at the end.This collection is writing at its very best; a treasure of American story telling.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars for the work and 3 stars for the edition.
Review: Ok, now I don't think I need to go on about Mark Twain's genius and how it is essential reading for anyone who fancies themselves a fan of classic American literature, he's number two on my list of great American writers. His work is of the sort that will make you laugh out loud no matter how much you try to hold it in. It's easy to look crazy when reading Mark Twain in public. Now about the edition...is it bad? Well not in this reader's opinion and certainly not to the extent that like a fellow reviewer I'd give it 1 star. The content is there and is far from the exaggerated description given in other reviews. You don't have to tear the book apart to read it's contents. This is a compact edition and fitting lots of stories in only 600 pages for a very affordable price. Quantity versus quality? Ever heard quantity has a quality all it's own? It applies here. You can get all these stories for one low price. You can even toss it around and not have a guilty conscience that you are dismembering a treasure.
Rating:
Summary: it was bad
Review: terribl
Rating:
Summary: What is the answer to this?
Review: The beauty of this short story is that it is really hard to find out wether it was heaven or hell. Only about 30 pages long 'Was It Heaven? or Hell?' is quickly read. But I would be surprised if one wouldn't just read it one or two times more. Because after having finished the story one has a lot of questions. The topic of this short story is so important and so delicate that every student should have read it. So to all the teachers out there: get the book, read it thoroughly and then give it to your class. To the rest of you: get the book, read it thoroughly and be prepared to sit back with unanswered questions for a long, long time. The way 'Was It Heaven? or Hell?' moves you is fantastic. Only one of the finest writters of all times could have accomplished what has been accomplished here.
Rating:
Summary: godlike
Review: The funniest, sweetest, truest book ever written. "Political Economy" and "Science vs. Luck" are very short and howling funny. "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" will make you laugh and cry. "The Mysterious Stranger," "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," and "Was it Heaven, or Hell" are masterpieces of religion, ethics, and humor. "What Stumped the Bluejays" is a believable account of a sense of humor in birds.
Rating:
Summary: godlike
Review: The funniest, sweetest, truest book ever written. "Political Economy" and "Science vs. Luck" are very short and howling funny. "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" will make you laugh and cry. "The Mysterious Stranger," "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," and "Was it Heaven, or Hell" are masterpieces of religion, ethics, and humor. "What Stumped the Bluejays" is a believable account of a sense of humor in birds.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Mark Twain
Review: This inexpensive book of over 600 pages offers an incredible value for anyone who enjoy Mark Twain's quintessential humor. It is one of those books that you cannot put down once you get started on it. A great way to while away a hot summer afternoon
Rating:
Summary: it was bad
Review: This is an important book in American literature. This collection truly shows off the massive range that Mark Twain had. From the author of books as divergant as Huck Finn and Joan of Arc, to the humorous travel writings and all the way past the bitter, hateful scribblings of his later life. These are some of the highlights, as I see it: "The Story of the Bad Little Boy", an early version of Twain's comprehenisive pessism and it proves that there is really no such thing. There's optimism and there's realism. "A Day at Niagra", an obvious parody of his own early newpaper feature writing. Perhaps it was an abandoned assignment on a trip to the falls and Twain had such a bad time he wrote this vicious, sarcastic piece. There are numerous other wonderful stories along the way, hilarious, mean-spirited, touching, beautiful, gently humorous and smile factoring. After the dreadful 1890s of Twain's life (lost a wife, a daughter, a fortune and another kid got sick), sometimes a few of the stories are near-misses. Still always amusing, but something is missing. Then, at recurring times over the last decade of his life, Mark Twain got angry. He popped the blister that became "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyberg", a brutal profile of mankind's inate greed and selfishness and how there will always be someone out there to laugh and enjoy your misery. "The $30,000 Bequest" is a heart-breaking tale about delusion and wasted lives, and how even the thought of money corrupts absolutely. "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" is a mercilessly blasphemous account of Heaven being no different, really, from the earth, the same classist behavior, the same tragic dreams of a better life never to be had. It shoots a hole the size of, well, Heaven in this shaky mythology. Finally, we visit with "The Mysterious Stranger", a categorically violent attack on the idea of God. It demystifies so many absurdities organized religion tells you to take for granted, don't be surprised if you lose your faith after reading this short novel. It is one of the ultimate masterworks of satirical tragedy ever produced by a writer and is desperately in need of some ingenious filmmaker to produce an R-rated animated movie. Hell, anyone out there who may chance across this add, I'm willing to write the screenplay or assist in production in some way. I have some experience and can do this one TOP NOTCH. Enough advertising--all in all, a beautiful, necessary book.
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