Mark Twain's Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows
Abstract
In this paper I am attempting a new approach to the body of Mark
Twain's writings: an examination of the repeated confusions of dream
and reality which occur in Twain's work. From this subject I have often
branched out into other topics more or less related. I consider my
approach valuable for two reasons: it provides a workable way of looking
at Twain, and it yields some new discoveries about his relation to other
important literary figures.
A note on procedures is perhaps in order. Because of the nature
of my project have been working mainly with primary sources; in
quoting these, I have not cited page references. Other critics of
Twain's well-known classics seem generally to have adopted such a
practice, and I use their writings as precedent.