Mark Twain’s Jews (review)

Abstract

Twain's Jews, by Dan Vogel. Jersey City: KTAV Publishing, 2006. 146 pp. $22.95. Dan Vogel's Twain's is predicated on a simple question, one I had posed in 1996: Was Twain an antisemite? Certainly, like many antisemites, Twain was fascinated by Jews, and Vogel notes Twain mentions infinitely more frequently than negroes, the dominated attention in his time (p. 2). And while Vogel's book artfully explores Twain's two obsessions, and making money, he ultimately offers the conclusion while Twain could not escape the limitations of his time, he was not antisemitic. Moreover, Vogel suggests Twain admired American Jewry, especially for their intellectual savvy (and, of course, their business acumen). But it is an argument is not fully convincing. The problem, perhaps, is Vogel's use of the term antisemite. It is only in his last chapter he defines the word, using David Gerber's pyramid of degrees of anti-Jewish sentiment. Vogel concedes if there is a hint of prejudice emerges from Twain's oeuvre, it is Innocent anti-Semitic (p. 117), not meant to harm, but to jostle. Furthermore, Vogel argues Twain's humor, his style of earnest delivery, was often misconstrued, which is not an unreasonable assertion. What is problematic, however, is Vogel often dismisses antisemitism as Hannibal Syndrome, arguing because Twain's exposure to Jewish culture was inevitably colored by his upbringing in rural Hannibal, Missouri, the anti-Jewish sentiment often emerges from his writing is inadvertent. Vogel provides proof against Twain's antisemitism by illustrating Twain's myriad associations with notable Jews, including Theodore Herzl and Sigmund Freud, and by Twain's honorific descriptions of in his writing. However, Vogel is on the defensive, and he directs his assault against two sources: my article, A Number-One Troublemaker': Twain's AntiSemitic Discourse in 'Concerning the Jews,' (Studies in American Jewish Literature 15 [1996]) and Sander Gilman's Mark Twain and the Diseases of the Jews (American Literature 65 [March 1993]). Vogel vehemently argues against both pieces, accusing me of being seduced into making a dangerous insinuation in the 'come-on' introduction phrase of the title. It implies, he writes, that the phrase was written by Twain and expresses his belief the are the'number-one'cause of'trouble in the world.' He concedes I admit Twain was not a virulent anti-Semite, but does not repair the implication she engendered by ripping the opening phrase of the title from a story by Bernard Malamud. How else, Vogel asks, might one label discourse slurs (p. 115). Indeed, how else to define Twain's stereotypical rendering of Jews? The purpose of my article was not to disparage Twain, but instead to illustrate how Twain was a product of his cultural roots. Even Vogel concedes the early Samuel Clemens wrote an article for a Cincinnati newspaper the blasted Jewsadultered the fuel by mixing coal dust and ground pepper (quoted in Vogel, p. 5). While Vogel stubbornly recognizes Hannibal Syndrome, he also cites Shelley Fishkin in her article on Racial Attitudes in the Twain Encyclopedia, noting Twain was never able to fully transcend completely the limits of his time, his place, and his race (Fishkin, quoted in Vogel, p. …