Life on the Mississippi

Though the narrative concerns the Mississippi River and Twain’s travels as they relate to the river, an underlying theme that runs through the narrative is the growth and prosperity of America. Twain begins in the first few pages of the novel to explore how DeSoto’s finding of the Mississippi influenced America’s prosperity. Explorers and settlers sought out the Mississippi’s potential, and in time, business and home life grew up along the river. Twain’s narrative highlights this growth. The Mississippi, with a course that flows and changes with man’s involvement, is a wonderful symbol of growth.

Twain describes the rise, prosperity, and fall of the steamboat industry, and how, much to his chagrin, the railroad mostly replaced the steamboat industry. He paints a lush portrayal of life as it was lived in various cities along the Mississippi while the steamboat industry thrived. Even after the war, and after steamboats were considered a thing of the past, Twain revisits many old cities and finds that they have grown exponentially due to their prosperity. Places like St. Paul and Minneapolis are examples of cities that grew and prospered, as well as New Orleans. Though the Mississippi changes, leaving some cities stranded and left to wither, Twain’s narrative highlights how, ultimately, the Mississippi River is the lifeblood of the region and, by extension, the rest of America.

Another theme at the center of the narrative is the concept of maturity. As Twain’s desire to be a steamboat pilot can only be realized through hands-on training, he leaves home and seeks out a trainer. A he learns about piloting and the Mississippi, he allows himself to become cocky and prideful. Twain is forced to deal with his pride when other pilots embarrass him. It comes as a revelation to him how immature he still is. Twain rectifies this mistake by focusing more on his training and not becoming too self-confident in his skills before he has fully learned them, illustrating that gaining knowledge is the best way to mature in a profession.

Twain’s narrative also shows how maturity is not always related to age or rank. There are many adults who make bad or foolish choices in the narrative. Brown is rude and cantankerous to Twain, and attempts to attack Twain’s brother, Harry, in anger. The tale of the two German soldiers who kill Karl Ritter’s wife and child are prime examples of how maturity does not equate to age or rank. Rather, Twain’s narrative highlights how maturity is tied to wanting to better the self and balancing oneself in life. Mr. Bixby is an example of an older pilot with years of experience behind him; though tough, he has a level of maturity that is evidenced many times throughout the novel.

Maturity is also shown in the way the land and river mature in relation to how they are being used. Twain’s narrative highlights how America matured as a nation, and how it dealt with its growing pains, with issues like war, disease, and the growth and decline of industries.

Twain’s narrative shows how both life experience and education are instrumental to the learning process, both for individual skills and the general process of life learning. Twain uses the Mississippi River’s history, which far predates DeSoto’s “discovery,” to illustrate that America had a history long before the white man decided to name it or catalogue it. This knowledge is lost on many who continue claiming that America at the time was the “New World.” As Twain notes, the use of the word “new” in books and in everyday speech caused the knowledge of America’s historical background to be stymied by time and an uneducated population.

Twain also uses his experience as a steamboat pilot to provide examples of knowledge and education at work. Through narrative, he allows readers to witness his hands-on knowledge gathering as a “cub,” or trainee, and how his steamboat pilot education is instrumental in learning what Bixby calls the A B C’s of knowing the Mississippi as an expert. In time, Twain navigates the river on his own. He points out that knowledge simply for the sake of knowledge will not get one anywhere. When Twain begins to become prideful in his abilities as a pilot, he is humbled by the fact that he does not know as much as he thought he did. This cautionary tale by Twain shows the importance of effective, lifelong education.