This is the third post in this series where we discover ways to introduce Twain in engaging, relevant ways without relying solely on Huckleberry Finn.
“Was it Heaven? Or Hell?”: Harpers Monthly Magazine, Christmas 1902.
Lessons: Pandemic History, juxtaposition, parallel structure
Mark Twain is timely. Yes, he died in 1910; nevertheless, so many of his texts still offer frighteningly pertinent lessons, even for 2020.
Twain’s short story, “Was it Heaven? Or Hell?” is one of those frighteningly pertinent texts. In other words, it is relevant. That’s what we do here. We keep classics relevant. Relevance keeps kids connected and curious.
In “Was It Heaven? Or Hell?” two elderly sisters struggle to stick to their own moral code while caring for their family during a typhoid outbreak. Given our current world, this story makes a fantastic jumping off point for vigorous and important discussion. Nearly a semester in, many schools are still weighing the pros and cons of in-person, hybrid, and fully remote learning. Statistics aren’t always helpful. Neither is logic. Neither is prayer. A right decision is difficult, if not impossible.
At the beginning of August, I watched the live streaming of a neighboring district’s school board meeting. A doctor reported all the very real reasons students need to be in-person: Schools are the front line for noticing emotional and mental health issues, possible drug use, eating disorders, and learning disabilities. Schools are mandatory reporters for abuse and neglect. Then the doctor reported all the reasons students should not be in-person. They will be asymptomatic carriers. We won’t be able to control the spread.
The board president said to her, “So how can we make the right decision?” She said, “You can’t. It’s an impossible decision, but you have to make it anyway.”
One hundred years ago, Twain wrote about the same thing–the impossible decision that must be made anyway. The two good and holy women in his story “Was it Heaven? Or Hell?” are given orders to lie. It goes against everything they know to be true about the sanctity of the soul. Yet, to not lie might bring death to their loved one–death and heartbreak. They choose the lie. Afterwards, when the angel of the Lord descends and requires from them explanation and repentance, they can’t give it. God help them; they would lie again.
The choice is nearly an impossible one to make and one the sisters don’t make lightly. It’s a moral conundrum that will spur a powerful conversation with your students. What lies are we telling and accepting right now in order to maintain what bit of normalcy we have left? What are the consequences? Why are we willing to accept them?
Okay, I could stop right there with this text. The life lesson is certainly recommendation enough to add it to your short story curriculum, but there’s so much more. The style of the text elevates the message.
JUXTAPOSITION
Most students understand the basic concept of juxtaposition as the author’s highlighting of opposing or contradictory words, concepts or ideas. They’ve studied the character foils in Romeo and Juliet (usually a freshman text). They recognize the clever antithesis of Dr. King’s desire not to be judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. They’ve read Of Mice and Men (usually as sophomores) and understand the contrast of Crook’s isolation and the ranch hands’ bunkhouse. Twain’s story (which I suggest for juniors studying American literature) takes it to another level, starting with the title which also happens to be the last line of the story–the beginning and the end.
Twain’s juxtaposition creates complex characters. Helen, the young lady in the home, is described first as “the darling of the house”, then quickly as “the transgressor” and “the culprit” then as “darling” once more. Even the elderly aunts are “austere, not to say stern” and then two paragraphs later, they sit “white and stern”. The doctor, otherwise known as The Christian or The Only Christian, is a “good man” with a “good heart”. But it takes a year to “get over hating him”. His eye is “sometimes a pirate’s and sometimes a woman’s”. His face is a “thunderhead”, but his interaction with the girl results in her regaining a “sunny” disposition. These descriptors float on the surface of the story. Dive into the text. You’ll find even deeper contrasting ideas on religious authority and personal morality. For example, the old aunts approach The Only Christian with more reverence than they do the Angel of the Lord.
PARLLEL STRUCTURE:
Another interesting element of this story is Twain’s use of parallelism. I especially love to study this strategy after we’ve dissected Twain’s use of juxtaposition. Too much contrast can cause frustration for teen readers, but Twain’s doesn’t because it’s wrapped up so effectively in his use of parallelism.
Parallelism is also a concept students already understand. Again, we look to Romeo and Juliet, especially Act II, scene one and Mercutio’s clever use of parallelism in calling out for his friend.
“He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not.”
–Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet
Once again, Dr. King provides an excellent example in his “I Have a Dream” speech. (Let’s be real. We can look to Dr. King for nearly every excellent example of powerful syntax.)
Twain’s repetitive sentence structures also create a sense of rhythm. For example, in the aunt’s home, there were “no clashings, no irritations, no fault-finding, no heart-burnings. In it a lie had no place. In it a lie was unthinkable. In it speech was restricted to absolute truth.” The doctor is described as “a good doctor and a good man with a good heart”. Later, when the good doctor reprimands the aunts for their piousness, the lecture relies on parallel structure, as well.
“You lie from morning till night, but because you don’t do it with your mouths, but only with your lying eyes, your lying inflections, your deceptively misplaced emphasis, and your misleading gestures…”
–The Only Christian, “Was it Heaven? Or Hell?”
In fact, the repetitive nature of his syntax reminds the reader very much of a nagging parent. It’s as if the entire story is meant to nag us into an understanding. And when your students discover that, they’ll learn another lesson–one about the effective use of syntax patterns.
Lesson Ideas
Okay, so it’s a great story with a lot to offer, but what are some ways to interact with it? I have a few tips for you.
Tip 1: I suggest a color coding activity to effectively catch all the juxtapositional diction. Highlight in one color all the terms or phrases with positive connotation. Use another color for all the terms with negative connotation. Then examine how Twain uses these contrasting words and phrases. How does this strategy affect the reader? Does it cause confusion? Highlight hypocrisy? Or simply show both sides of the story? Perhaps it’s meant to reveal the contradictions often faced in real life. Twain was a realist, after all.
Tip 2: Twain’s use of parallelism or repetitive structures is a great one for application activities. You can accomplish a couple things with it: vocabulary practice and syntax experimentation.
Vocabulary: Have students emulate Twain’s habit of ending a descriptive sentence with a list of synonyms, as seen in the following example.
…the daughter conformed to its moral and religious requirements cheerfully, contentedly, happily, unquestionably.
Notice how one term (unquestionably) doesn’t quite fit with the other synonyms but almost acts as a commentary on the other three. Practice this sentence structure with a list of previous or current vocab words. Using previous lists is a great way to cement those terms into a student’s working vocabulary. It gives them an opportunity to revisit those words and discover interesting nuances of connotation.
Bonus: This application activity also helps with understanding part-of-speech variations. Students sometimes struggle with how to use a word they know in noun form and change it to a different part of speech, so they use the wrong word form even though the meaning might be appropriate. The Twain example above uses four adverbs. How can they rewrite this sentence and use all nouns at the end or all adjectives? Which variation of do they like best and why?
Syntax: Use the same emulation method with phrases or clauses. The following sentence is a great one for this practice. In fact, with this example, you can practice juxtaposition, too.
“Whom he loved he loved and manifested it; whom he didn’t love he hated and published it from the rooftops.”
When we allow students to emulate style for their own purposes, they begin to have fun with writing. They become eager to take other risks in their compositions, and that’s how they grow.
As always, with Twain texts, this one offers a lot of different lessons. It’s such a timely story for students trying to learn during a pandemic. It’s one that will stay with them, and the writing lessons will, too.
For more information and lesson ideas regarding this story, check out The Center For Mark Twain Studies 2020 Summer Teacher Institute online resources.
I hope you have a chance to study this one with your students. Please let us know how it goes.
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