The Mesmerizer Essay - 635 Words

The essay â€Å"The Mesmerizer† by Mark Twain is a story about a young yet mature boy who encounters an opportunity to get noticed. This all happens when Simmons, the hypnotist, comes to his town named Hannibal. At first the mesmerizer seems just like your â€Å"average† hypnotist, enchanting and intriguing. But the real question is ,† Is this really an act?†. When Twain takes the stage he instantly begins playing along and then realizes that Simmons is a fraud just like himself. The townspeople have no clue though and still remain fascinated with every stunt, skit, and performance on the stage. The truth is that they are all just actors in the story and in reality. The mesmerizer is just doing his job moving from town to town earning his living.†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The age at which a boy is willing to endure all things, suffer all things short of death by fire if thereby he may be conspicuous and show off before the public†. This e xcerpt provides evidence that Twain was in it for the thrill of getting a rise out of people. He honestly admits that he acts out because of his age, meaning that he must be but an actor of course young or old. The audience also plays a big role when proving that it was all just an act. As it says in the story, they bought their way into the show and were amazed by everything that was performed on the stage. â€Å"Come forward and test him, ladies and gentlemen, â€Å" the men and women both complied eagerly, and stuck pins into both Hicks and Twain. The audience went along with this all and thought of it as entertainment, because they came up and actually participated in the acts. This of course shows that the crowd really didn’t know what the heck was going on. The mesmerizer was actually a hypnotist, bottom line. The tone is very significant within a novel because it depicts how the author is feeling about the certain events that arise throughout the story. For example, Twain’s attitude in the novel makes us see that he is a real showoff. It also proves that he is in it for the attention and to receive a sense of self worth. The pompous attitude only redirects us to the idea that it was all just for self gratitude and to provide anShow MoreRelatedEssay The Autobiographical Nature of The Mesmerizer, by Mark Twain640 Words   |  3 Pages In the article â€Å"The Mesmerizer,† by Mark Twain in his autobiography, Twain tells us a story when he was a teenager. In 1850, there was an exciting event taking place in the village Hannibal. A mesmerizer named Simmons came to town to advertise his show. Simmons has a subject in his show named Hicks. Fifteen year old Twain participates in this show that Simmons promised marvels to his audience, the townspeo ple. Twain usurps Hicks’s place stealing the spotlight with a lie. Although TwainRead MoreThe Use of Sensory Imagery in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge579 Words   |  3 Pagessailor’s tale by telling about the appearance of the Ancient Mariner, the Nightmare Life-in-Death, and the great Albatross. Appearing ostensibly timeworn, the Mariner has a long gray beard, brown skinny hands, and a glittering eye, being a sign of a mesmerizer as he holds the wedding guest’s attention during the gruesome tale. The Nightmare Life-in-Death, who has rosy lips, free looks, golden hair, but also, â€Å"skin as white as leprosy,† radiates beauty in a lifeless spirit. Seeing the great Albatross,Read MoreEssay on Edgar Allan Poes The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar2595 Words   |  11 Pageshe visits her sepulcher by the sea. In fact, it even seemed that Poe was obsessed with mesmerism. Mesmerism was a pseudo-science that was developed by Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer in the 18th century. It involves some social role-playing with the mesmerizer making suggestions and his clients becoming absolutely mesmerized by him. Mesmer used his extraordinary powers of suggestion to send people into frenzied convulsions or sleeplike trances. Mesmer claimed that he could cure various ailments with