THINKER'S ALMANAC - April 9

How did Mark Twain see the Mississippi River differently as a novice versus as a professional steamboat pilot?

Subject:  Education - Twain describes the Mississippi

Event:  Samuel Langhorne Clemens earns his steamboat pilot’s license, 1859

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice.”  Perhaps no man ever exemplified this concept so clearly as the American writer Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Twain grew up on the Mississippi River in the port town of Hannibal, Missouri.  Like every boy who grew up on the river, Twain’s ambition was to become a steamboat pilot.  In his 20s, after studying the river for two years as a cub pilot, Twain earned his steamboat pilot’s license on this day in 1859 (1).

In his memoir Life on the Mississippi, Twain recounts his education as a cub pilot and his experiences as a steamboat pilot. In Chapter 9 of his book, Twain recalls how he first saw the river when he was just beginning his education:

I still keep in mind a certain wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me. A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold, through which a solitary log came floating, black and conspicuous; in one place a long, slanting mark lay sparkling upon the water; in another the surface was broken by boiling, tumbling rings, that were as many-tinted as an opal; where the ruddy flush was faintest, was a smooth spot that was covered with graceful circles and radiating lines, ever so delicately traced; the shore on our left was densely wooded, and the somber shadow that fell from this forest was broken in one place by a long, ruffled trail that shone like silver; and high above the forest wall a clean-stemmed dead tree waved a single leafy bough that glowed like a flame in the unobstructed splendor that was flowing from the sun. There were graceful curves, reflected images, woody heights, soft distances; and over the whole scene, far and near, the dissolving lights drifted steadily, enriching it, every passing moment, with new marvels of coloring.

As he learned to read the river and as he acquired a more professional perspective as a pilot, Twain’s vision of the river changed.  He no longer saw “the grace, the beauty, the poetry” of the river; instead, he perceived the river from the perspective of a pilot who needed to navigate his steamboat safely.  The beautiful, majestic sunset he once saw was now much different:

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 blind place at night without the friendly old landmark? (2)

As we compare these two descriptions of the same river by the same person, we see the wisdom of Heraclitus, for Twain’s view of the river has changed from one of beauty and romance to one of practicality and utility.  Reflecting on this change in perspective Twain uses an analogy of a doctor, wondering if he is still able to see the beauty of his female patient or instead is confined to view her only professionally, seeing only possible signs of disease or other illness. Finally, he asks a provocative question relating to anyone who has acquired focused professional training in a field:  Has this person “gained most or lost most by learning his trade?”

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How and why did Twain’s view of the Mississippi change once he became a full-fledged river pilot?

Challenge - Knowledge is Power; Ignorance is Bliss:  We gain much through learning, but as Mark Twain reminds us, with every new perspective gained, we can lose the ability to see things as we once did.  Reflect on your own experience in an area you know well.  Try to recapture and describe how you used to see it and how your education in this specific area has changed your perspective.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

April 9, 1626:  On this day the philosopher Francis Bacon died of pneumonia  (See THINKER’S ALMANAC - January 22). In his essay “On Death,” Bacon said, “It is as natural to die, as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other.”

Source:  

1-”Mark Twain receives steamboat pilot’s license”  This Day in History. History.com.

2-Twain, Mark.  Life on the Mississippi. Project Gutenberg