The Autobiography of Mark Twain · Chapter
Mark Twain explained
Twain recounts a mass meeting at Carnegie Hall for Booker T.
What happens
Twain recounts a mass meeting at Carnegie Hall for Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, describing the crowd, Choate's presence, and his own observations of Washington. He reflects on the awkwardness of meeting people who claim to know him or his family, and discusses a past speech he now finds offensive. The chapter also touches on Joe Twichell's fortieth anniversary and an old manuscript about an episode involving Twichell.
Themes in this chapter
Slavery and Race
Booker T. Washington's work for African American education and the racial dynamics of the era are central.
Hypocrisy and Human Nature
Twain reflects on the polite lies and social deceptions involved in meeting strangers who claim to know him.
Memory and Autobiography
Twain examines his own changing memory and judgment of his past speech, and the unreliability of others' memories.
Characters to notice
- Mark Twain
Narrator and central figure; attends Carnegie Hall meeting, reflects on past speeches and encounters.
- Booker T. Washington
Speaker at the Carnegie Hall meeting; founder of Tuskegee Institute; described as a mulatto with blue eyes.
- Joe Twichell
Twain's friend from Hartford; attended the meeting; discussed Twain's Boston speech; his congregation celebrated his fortieth anniversary.
- Jane Lampton Clemens
Twain's mother; mentioned in context of people claiming to have known her intimately.
Key passages
“There was a great mass meeting at Carnegie Hall last night, in the interest of Booker Washington’s Tuskegee Educational Institute in the South, and the interest which New York people feel in that Institute was quite manifest, in the fact that although it was not pleasant weather there were three thousand people inside the Hall and two thousand outside, who were trying to get in when the performances were ready to begin at eight o’clock.”
A large crowd gathered at Carnegie Hall for a fundraiser for Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, with 3,000 inside and 2,000 outside despite bad weather.
Describes the scale of public support for Washington's cause.
“I find it gross, coarse—well, I needn’t go on with particulars. I didn’t like any part of it, from the beginning to the end. I found it always offensive and detestable.”
Twain now considers his old Boston speech to be crude and offensive, reversing his earlier opinion.
Reflects Twain's changing judgment on his own work.