True Motives Revealed in Mark Twain’s The Story of the...

Mark Twain’s â€Å"The Story of the Good Little Boy† is a short story about an ambitious and self righteous boy who acts on behalf of his own selfish motives. Jacob Blivens puts so much effort into trying to be â€Å"good,† but was never recognized for it. As touching as this may seem, the little boy might not have been as good as he seemed. Throughout the short story his intentions came back to bite him when he tried to get a book written about himself. Mark Twain brought out a strong plot and sequence of events that eventually lead Jacob to his death bed. This little boy’s major issue might have not been in his actions, but in what his real motives were. Jacob Blivens idolized the innocent young boys that he read about in his Sunday-school†¦show more content†¦Jacob Blivens seemed not to truly care for the dogs and release them quickly, but to be more concerned with judging the â€Å"wicked Tom Jones.† He died in a horrific way: â⠂¬Å"He took Jacob Blivens by the ear and turned him around, and hit him a whack in the rear with the flat of his hand; and in an instant that good little boy shot out through the roof and soared away toward the sun, with fragments of those fifteen dogs stringing after him like the tail of a kite. And there wasn’t a sign of that alderman or that old iron foundry left on the face of the earth; and, as for young Jacob Blivens, he never got a chance to make his last dying speech after all his trouble fixing it up† (333). This quote proves how concerned he was gaining his own self gratification from helping others. Jacob Blivens main goal was to tally up his great deeds on a score board and write them for everyone to praise his actions. Parts of the plot including Jacob’s internal conflict, foreshadowing, the climax, and falling action prove the universal theme of his misguided ambition. It is possible that Jacob, being young, may not have had the experience or k nowledge to know that his actions were not really â€Å"good† because his focus was on trying to receive the rewards from them. However, whether he was at fault or not, the boy’s interests were never in helping others, but in selfishly seeking praise and immortality byShow MoreRelatedOverview: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain2007 Words   |  9 PagesAmerican novel. The meaning of the story is a controversial topic with many different opinions. Some say it is merely Twain’s way of showing his views upon slavery. Though parts of the story may be linked to that idea, the story alludes itself to the Old Testament story of Moses and Egypt. Throughout history the Bible has proven itself to be a key document, and relevant in many parts of life whether one realizes it or not. The Bible was a religious book that told stories about how the world came to beRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesmay prove helpful. PLOT The Elements of Plot When we refer to the plot of a work of fiction, then, we are referring to the deliberately arranged sequence of interrelated events that constitute the basic narrative structure of a novel or a short story. Events of any kind, of course, inevitably involve people, and for this reason it is virtually impossible to discuss plot in isolation from character. Character and plot are, in fact, intimately and reciprocally related, especially in modern fictionRead MoreInterpretation of the Text13649 Words   |  55 Pagescharacter who is speaking, i.e. the figures the writer has created or imagined. What we have, then, is an independent little world made of words: a world of forms, images, and sounds that are all designed to work together. This does not mean that works of literature have nothing to do with reality. On the contrary, Walt Whitmans poems often address the reader directly; Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn has everything to do with the history of American slavery; and when Emily Dick inson writes, 1 neverRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesreasoning has been enjoyable for me, but special thanks go to my children, Joshua, 8, and Justine, 3, for comic relief during the months of writing. This book is dedicated to them. For the 2012 edition: This book is dedicated to my wife Hellan whose good advice has improved the book in many ways. vi Table of Contents Preface.........................................................................................................................................................iii CopyrightRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages247 . . . . . 273 . . . . . 278 . . . . . 284 . . . . . 286 . . . . . 359 . . . . . 378 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 389 394 399 . . . . . 469 Preface Thirty years ago, when the first edition of this book was published, little had been written about the management of libraries and information centers. Those seeking advice, examples, and information about how to manage libraries were forced to search for answers in the literature of public administration or business management