primarily as one of several publications in which Twain paid tribute to the verbal skills and historical memory of particular black story-tellers and acknowledged their influence on his own art. For Fishkin, like Mary Ann were “[s]tories Cord’s central to the genesis of Huckleberry Finn” What has not been noticed, (89). however, is how the climax of the passage directly echoes language raftsmen’s used by Mary Ann Cord. Mary Ann Cord told Twain of being torn from her family on a slave auction block. She particularly emphasized the trauma of the loss of her youngest son: dey begin to sell my dem away, I begin to cry; chil’en an’ take an’ de man up hit me on de an’ say, “Shet yo’ dam blubberin’,” an’ mouf wid his when de one was gone but my little han’. An’ las’ Henry, I him clost up to my so, I ris up says, grab’ breas’ an’ an’ take him I de man dat “You shan’t away,” says; “I’ll kill teches him!” I says... (Writings of Mark Twain, Definitive Edition, Vol. VII, Henry is sold, but later escapes slavery and journeys North to freedom, and after the war is reunited with his mother. Twain said his published story is an exact of the tale Cord told him in the summer of 1874, two years before Twain “copy” began Huckleberry Finn; what he published in a national magazine was in “not my words but her to shameful tale of and own,” testimony “a wrong & hardship” also curiously strong piece of “a literary work.” In discussing this tale, Fishkin stresses its general influence on Huckleberry Finn. That is, she sees it as one of the stimulants for own Twain’s new perspective in that novel on the world of his Missouri childhood—a world where love of his family, the pain of slavery, and his determination to seek Jim’s
primarily as one of several publications in which Twain paid tribute to the verbal skills and historical memory of particular black story-tellers and acknowledged their influence on his own art. For Fishkin, “[s]tories like Mary Ann Cord’s were central to the genesis of Huckleberry Finn” (89). What has not been noticed, however, is how the climax of the raftsmen’s passage directly echoes language used by Mary Ann Cord. Mary Ann Cord told Twain of being torn from her family on a slave auction block. She particularly emphasized the trauma of the loss of her youngest son: dey begin to sell my chil’en an’ take dem away, an’ I begin to cry; an’ de man say, “Shet up yo’ dam blubberin’,” an’ hit me on de mouf wid his han’. An’ when de las’ one was gone but my little Henry, I grab’ him clost up to my breas’ so, an’ I ris up an’ says, “You shan’t take him away,” I says; “I’ll kill de man dat teches him!” I says... (Writings of Mark Twain, Definitive Edition, Vol. VII, Henry is sold, but later escapes slavery and journeys North to freedom, and after the war is reunited with his mother. Twain said his published story is an exact “copy” of the tale Cord told him in the summer of 1874, two years before Twain began Huckleberry Finn; what he published in a national magazine was “not in my words but her own,” testimony to “a shameful tale of wrong & hardship” and also “a curiously strong piece of literary work.” In discussing this tale, Fishkin stresses its general influence on Huckleberry Finn. That is, she sees it as one of the stimulants for Twain’s own new perspective in that novel on the world of his Missouri childhood—a world where Jim’s love of his family, the pain of slavery, and his determination to seek
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