"To the Person Sitting in Darkness"
From Mark Twain in the German Language Press
Mark Twain’s “To the Person Sitting in Darkness” is a polemical article which appeared in the North American Review in 1901 (172:531, 161-176). The first half of it is made up of satirical comments on the recent dealings of England, Germany, Russia, and the United States for their invasion of smaller undeveloped countries. The second half has specific references to the conduct of the United States in the Philippines. According to his biographer Albert Bigelow Paine “Mark Twain never wrote anything more scorching, more penetrating in its sarcasm, more fearful in its revelation of injustice and hypocrisy” (MTB 3:1129) The article received a lot attention in the American press and divided the country into two camps. “It was really as if he had thrown a great missile into the human hive, one half of which regarded it as a ball of honey and the remainder as a cobblestone” (MTB 3:1129).
Selected Contemporary Reactions:
- “Mark Twain and Ex-President Harrison on the Philippine Policy.” The Literary Digest, Vol. XXII, No. 8 (February 23, 1901): 217-219.
- “Among the Periodicals.” The International Socialist Review, Vol.1 (1900-01): 581-582. Calls it "one of the most scathing and sarcastic reviews of capitalism that has appeared in many a day."
- “Mark Twain on the Philippine Problem.” The American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol. 23 (Jan-Jun. 1901): 339-340.
Related Items:
- Mark Twain. “To My Missionary Critics.” The North American Review, Vol. 172, No. 533 (Apr. 1901): 520-534.
- Mark Twain and His Critics.” The American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol. 23 (Jan-Jun. 1901): 622.