Mark Twain: The Five Boons of Life

Mark Twain’s, “The Five Boons of Life” is a very interesting short story in which life gifts are offered to a man, describing the effects each choice has on his life and where those choices led the man. I was intrigued by how often the fairy warned the man to choose wisely and the description of her reaction after the man chose a gift. I also found the results from each gift interesting. The man chose pleasure and ended up being disappointed and empty. The man then chose love, again being left with nothing after his wife died. After choosing fame, the man had years when he was praised, envied and hated and then was slandered, mocked and left with nothing. The gift of wealth had the opposite effect after a few years, landing him in poverty. When the fairy returned, she brought with her the four gifts of pleasure, love, fame and wealth but no longer had the fifth gift to offer, which she had expressed all along as the one with the most value. The gift had been given to a child who asked the fairy to choose the best gift for it. Now the man would have to remain in his state with nothing and no one to show for himself and the years he lived, until he eventually died. Death wasn’t an option or answer to his wishes.

Analysis

“The Five Boons of Life” was written by Mark Twain during the Realism period. Realism coincided with the Romantic period. Realism, however, rejected idealism and focused on solving real life problems; focusing on real people and their everyday lives dealing with poverty, hunger, violence and other difficult topics. Other core issues in that time period included growth of an empire, industrialization and urbanization. Realism is often considered a revolutionary movement where ordinary people and simplistic views were represented, which were often products of everyday life experiences and senses. Charles Darwin and his theories on evolution and organic species helped fuel the shift in thinking from faith based to scientific proof. Mark Twain focused on rich vs poor, wealth vs poverty, love vs solidarity. Each gift the man in the short story was given had the adverse effect on him in the end. Each gift offered instant gratification and the feeling of power, joy, and excitement. And each gift left the man wanting more. During the period of Realism, authors such as Mark Twain, focused their writing on how real people were affected by the social, economic, technological and political changes that were rapidly effecting the world they knew at the time. Mark Twain was no stranger to the hard times of life. Early in his life he lost his father, had to leave school and start working. While he grew to love working on steamboats on the Mississippi, when the Civil War started, he found himself traveling west to attempt mining. All the while, writing about his experiences and his view of the world.

Mark Twain married, fathered four children, three of which died. He, his wife and only living daughter traveled and met many influential people of this time period. He needed to go on lecturing tours due to debts he had accrued. He was given honorary degrees from Ivy League colleges, invited to speak to the president of the USA and Congress. He worked with other authors and continued to grow in popularity. He knew the ups and downs of life, the losses and gains. Through it all he retained his sense of humor, also being known as “the voice of a spirited and diverse nation”. Twain remains a popular author with today’s readers because his work is on a human level. He speaks to ideas and feelings everyone can relate to at some point in their life. He writes about human issues such as death, slavery, rebuilding a life. The struggle between wealth and poverty, fame and being alone, pleasure and wasting of years of life are all things people can relate to today and some struggle with.

Discussion

The information I gained from researching Mark Twain only validates the initial thoughts I had on “The Five Boons of Life”. Those living during the Realism period faced trials due to changes in social, economic, technology and politics. The focus from writers at this time was to portray people as they were, not glamorizing or belittling the issues at hand. “The Five Boons of Life” portrays the give and take of life. It shows man as wanting and desiring things we don’t have and once granted those desires ending up still feeling empty. This story also shows that man will disregard warnings and advice for what we think is best for our situation and that often we won’t stop to ask what others think is best for us. The fairy offered many warnings to the man about choosing wisely and had expressions of disapproval when the man chose incorrectly. The man was focused on himself and not the advice from the gift giver. Selfishness, desires to get ahead, be the best, have the best are still issues facing man today. People choose riches and power over simply living and making due with the day of life they were given. While Mark Twain may have written this short story hundreds of years ago, the core concepts still ring with truth for today’s society. If only they choose to listen.