Twain and Freud on the Human Race: Parallels on Personality, Politics and Religion

by Abraham Kupersmith

Overview

This work explores the psychological insights and theories of Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud. Though at first glance these two men seem to constitute an unlikely pairing, each formulated a comprehensive theory of individual and group psychology and subsequently applied that understanding to the realms of religion, morality, patriotism and politics.

After an extensive overview of each man's approach, the author examines the effect of this reading of Twain's understanding of human psychology on Twain studies and on our own sense of contemporary events.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786433063
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	12/10/2008
Pages:	215
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Abraham Kupersmith is a retired professor of English at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. He has presented numerous times at the Center for Mark Twain Studies, and has also written about American political theory. He lives in Bronx, New York.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction     

I Two Models of Human Nature     
“What Is Man?” and Freud’s Structural Model of Personality

II The Creation of Character     
The Role of Circumstance in “The Turning Point of My Life”

III Civilization and Group Psychology     
Herd Behavior in “The United States of Lyncherdom” and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

IV Character and Civilization     
The Five Worlds of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

V The Relationship Between Temperament and Training     
Social Ideology in “The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg”

VI Race and Temperament     
Personality and the Ideology of Race in Pudd’nhead Wilson

VII Religion and Civilization     
The Democratic Demagogue in Christian Science

VIII History and Character     
Temperament and Training in Two Historical Periods: A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court

IX Politics, Patriotism, and Leadership     
The Democratic Leader in Personal Recollections of Joan of

X Leadership, Ideology, and the Church     
Temperament and Religion in the Eseldorf Version of “The Mysterious Stranger”

Conclusion     
Afterword     
Appendix: “What Is Man?”     
Notes     
Bibliography     
Index