In Defense of Huckleberry Finn - My Take

My childhood seems a lifetime ago, a time on which I can look back with the fond memories of forgotten summers spent pining for another week of freedom.   As a child, books were a part of my summer as much as summer camp with Boy Scouts, the beach or visiting Grandma.   I didn't mind these reading lists, in fact reading was as much a challenge as a pleasure for me (maybe that makes me weird).   Among my very favorites, even when I was very young was Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.  I first got hooked on the book because my parents had the book on a little white set of cassette tapes.  I'd pop the suckers in and listen to them for hours on my little tape deck in my room - over and over again, I couldn't get enough.

Twain was as masterful a writer as he was a storyteller, and the words came out like sparks of lightning laced in starfire - quick, rich and suspenseful.  Everyone knows the story, or should, and they know it comes from Twain's own experiences as much as it does imagination.  In a way, the book was his own recollection of the freedom of childhood, thus its appeal to me at that tender age.

 So it came as no surprise that I was interested right away to discover the sequel, and often thought superior title, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  I never got to read the book till high school though, and looking back, I wish I had read it earlier.  The book is a coming of age story, a story of friendship that surpasses the bonds of race or age.  Its a struggle of a boy growing beyond the boundaries of childhood, beyond the prejudices of the people around him.   Its a human story, perhaps one of the greatest American novels ever written.

Yet, you will find such hatred and vitriol for this book, a fear to read it and teach it nowadays- all because of one word.  We know the word I talk about, and I wont utter it here, but lets give it some due attention.   Words were Twain's greatest art, he famously said that

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

Twain lived in a time when this word had the very same meaning it does today, denoting racial prejudice, hatred, fear- yet it was the word used.   People seem to only see the word, and not the world surrounding it- that is to say, they don't see the lightning bug in the lightning.  We should look at the book itself, the meanings, the philosophies, the message beyond ONE word.  We need to embrace that word, hate it, but embrace it.  It should drip from the proverbial crevices of our mind when we see Huck set out on his own, seeking his freedom.  We should feel his torment, drawn between choices of good human nature, and his own interest.  We should rejoice when he makes the right decision- we should weep to share the woes between him and Jim.   

We, as readers, as writers, can only hope to accomplish such things, such lightning in a bottle as Twain does when he evokes this word.   He evokes a time, a place, a meaning that hasn't changed.  Twain, I think, knew the changing world, the changing of a word.  He used it in the sense that it was something the future understood was evil- as slavery was.  The story isn't even about a race, it is about two people, a boy and a man, the friendship and conflicts they endure in a pursuit of different freedoms.  

To deny this truth, to ban a book on one word, is myopic at best, unintelligent at its core, and deceiving at its worst.  We deny where we came from, we deny our own prejudices, and thus we cannot overcome them.  We throw a book away, we hide it, its meaning to future generations because we are afraid of ourselves.

I would like to hope Mark Twain smiles down on me as I open this proverbial can of worms.  I don't defend a use of this word by any means- indeed as a white male, I am the last person who should make this argument.  I wonder if I am wrong, alone in this train of thought, about a book, about a journey into adulthood- into enlightenment.  Something Twain knew all young boys, girls, men, women of every race and culture seek to embrace- and which he wrote as his masterwork.

Paris, Part 8 - The Fountains and Gardens of Versailles

Our museum pass had covered the palace, but we had to pay extra for the fountain show.  Normally the gardens are free, but it was well worth the price of admission.  Las Vegas might have the Bellagio, Saint Petersberg has the palace of Peter the Great, but before both of them there was one and only spectacle of water in the world:  the Versailles fountains.   There are 55 decorative ponds and fountains, 600 water features and 35 kilometers of piping spread over 30 hectares.  Most of this is the original plumbing, and all play exactly as they did for the French Kings.   It takes a department of 15 people, 8 of these qualified fountain hydraulic engineers to maintain and restore the systems year round.  (Sorry I do like these facts as they were presented on a sign.)

Looking out into the Gardens

 

Map of the Grounds that I found

The first thing one sees as they step out behind Versailles is the immensity of the ground before them.  It seems to stretch for miles into the distance, with the cross formation of the grand canals in the very center.  Boats row about the canal, and beyond this on either side are small forests.  It is essentially a huge park beyond the palace grounds, and inside the grounds are the actual fixtures and pathways leading to them in intricate, interweaving ways. 

Like inside, the theme is greek gods, goddesses and mythology.  You are surrounded by the pantheons and their followers, many of whom are whimsical children taken the forms of fauns, nymphs, angels, imps and other things.  In the very center of all the other features is the God Apollo, resplendent in his gilded gold covering in the middle of a round basin.  He stands in a chariot, pulled by horses on the back of a sea monster, and seems to rise out of the murky depths.

Its an impressive feature to start, but once the water gets to play, it is even moreso.  The spray rises high over and around him, jutting from the mouths of the monsters and the center of the fountain.  It creates a mist effect, making Apollo seem to rise from the very depths of the ocean.  This is the actual intent of the designers!   Before you can even reach him there is the Latona fountain.

Latona Fountain basin

This and the Apollo fountain share a theme of the Sun God, since Latona is his mother.   The fixtures of Latona’s poor victims are being transformed by Apollo for snubbing the woman.   Most take the form of frogs, lizards and other things but others are human, or vaguely human, fixed in the throes of inhuman shaping of their forms.  It’s both grotesque and gripping,   Unfortunately Latona was under reconstruction but the remains of the pipes and the basin alone were impressive enough.

ONe of the small fountains, this area is known as the avenue of infants

Most of the fountains are of mythical creatures depicted when they are young

I took the time to wander down a colonnade of smaller fountains leading away from the house and to a large basin way down below.  None of the features here were working yet, but it was still interesting to see.  The pyramid fountain stood at the head of the long walk, and I didn’t find its pot and tier structure as impressive as the dragon fountain down below. 

Dragon Fountain

Dragon is the guardian of the largest and most impressive of the fountains at Versailles:  the Neptune Fountain.  Aptly named for an amazing fountain, bearing the God of the sea at its center, it has the largest collections of jets, spouts, statues and fixtures beyond all the others.  

Main Structure of the Neptune fountain

Another part of the fountain

Sadly it was not playing when I came.  The water pressure used in all these pipes is tremendous, and the fountain requires the pressure of ALL others to run at the end of the day.  To give you a sense of size, it took me a good fifteen minutes to walk around the fountain, taking in each of the fixtures.  (Apologies ahead of time, I don't know why these movies are like this.)

Pyramid fountain flowing

By this time, I sensed a change in the air and the distant sound of music.  Hurrying up the path, I found water starting to flow down the structure of the pyramid fountain.  I hurried to my parents and we went to see Apollo’s show.   It was very impressive, but I knew it was only the beginning.  My parents had seen this fountain alone in their trip to Versailles and they never even knew about many of the others.  I’d done my research, and picked the very best of the best that I felt were worth visiting while we were there.

Apollo Fountain at play

First and most impressive is the Enceladus fountain, which sits nestled in the center of a small grove of tree’s surrounded by iron gables.  I wanted to get close to take a picture, but was swiftly shooed away, for good reason as I later found out.   Enceladus was perhaps the most expressive and human of the big fountains which we saw play.  He rises as a fallen titan, surrounded by rubble.  While the stone around him is black and volcanic, he is gold, frozen in the throes of his struggle to escape.  It is his face that captures you first, the great, gaping mouth, and eyes staring to heaven with a look of utter agony. 

Enceladus

The giant wakes

At first I felt disappointed that we would not see the fountain play, but then, suddenly a strum of music met my ears.   A voice, a man’s voice, cried out in agony, operatic as small burblers of water suddenly came to life around the center statue.  The music and the voice swelled, seeming to match the face and the voice I could imagine from this pool, trapped soul.   For a moment, there was just the music and the water, then there was a sound like a deep resonance.   The ground physical trembled, rumbled, there was the sound like a gunshot and suddenly a jet of water erupted from the mouth of the statue itself!   Enceladus had come alive!

The spray was incredible, and I swiftly backed away as it started to drift over us.  It must have gone up 50 feet into the air, taller than any other fountain (I would see it over the hedges later.)  This was a first example of the incredible power harnessed by these fountains.  They do not use pumps at all, but natural water pressure that builds up and builds up.  When the fountain turns on that pressure is released like the cork from a champagne bottle – lending that sound I heard.

Waking

Full spray

We stayed for a good while here, and the fountain was probably the most impressive of all the ones we saw play, but there were plenty more to come and I had a schedule to keep.   Next on the list was the bath of Apollo, which has the god resplendent in a cave and tended to by lovely ladies.  He’s resting, you see, from his day in the Apollo fountain, driving his chariot.  His horses are tended one side, while he ravishes with the bathing beauties.  Water flows down the artificial rock caves, creating a unique grotto feel that was quite beautiful.

Apollo fountain at play

From here we trekked through interwoven grottos and paths and saw the Colonnade, Ballroom and Mirror fountains. 

Colonnade fountain

Of the three only the Mirror was working, and was by far the most whimsical and interactive.  The water here comes out jets that rise or fall, shift and sway, swirl and turn, all by the pressure naturally exerted in the pipes.  It must have taken the original engineers every last bit of energy to turn on different fixtures at precisely the same time.  The font was playing to a nice show of music which I will let you enjoy for yourself.

MIrror Fountain, First show

There were only four other fountains worth noting, each marking a distinct fork in the paths that lead to all the rest.  The fountains represent four gods and the four seasons: winter, summer, fall and spring.  We saw spring working, but the rest were silent but still quite wonderful to see. 

Bacchus Faountain

It was the image of Bacchus, God of Wine and symbol of Fall that first got me interested in the fountains of Versailles.  He sits in the center, surrounded by fauns and enjoying the grapes with a pleasant and inebriated expression on his face.  It reminded me once more of the “Puck” statue back at the Louvre. 

Saturn Fountain

Looking back on the palace

I’d no idea how expansive and exhausting the gardens were, and I felt so bad for my parents because I dragged them hither and yon to see every last inch.  We took lunch at a wonderful little café just outside the grounds and on the shore of the canal.  It was here I found a map and traced our route.  We’d covered only a portion of the garden, and we had no energy to go see the hamlet of Marie Antoinette or the Trianon Palaces.  I had seen enough to give me fond memories for a lifetime.   It was another thing to check off my bucket list.  

Paris, Part 8 - Gilt Trip to Versailles, Part 1

Hall of Mirrors

When we planned our trip to France, one of my biggest desires was to visit the Palace of Versailles.   The house in itself was something spectacular, but it was the grounds and the gardens I really wanted to see.   When I was a kid, my grandparents had a book about Versailles, and I remember pouring over the pictures of the fountains.   I’ve always been fond of fountains and waterworks of any kind, and Versailles were perhaps the greatest ever.  I’d always wanted to see them play in person, and I was so sorely disappointed when my parents returned from their own trip having seen only one.

This time, I would be the tour guide.  I read books on the history of Versailles, though I had no map of the actual house or the grounds.  I had to hope I could figure my way around, because just from the look of it on Google Earth it was incredibly massive.  In real life, it is, and moreso.   Built by Louis XIV, perhaps France’s greatest King, the palace began as a humble hunting lodge and continually expanded over the course of its existence as a royal Palace. 

It is a beautiful but haunted place, and unfortunately extremely crowded the day we arrived.  Saturdays were the day when the fountains in the garden were turned on (all other days they remain inert) but on Saturday they would play to the sounds of Baroque music.  As a result, everyone and their brother was coming to the grounds for the show, and they were jam-packed in a line that ran from the front gate all the way up the long cobblestone walk to the front door. 

First view of Versailles, and the Palace Chapel

Versailles is only thirty minutes from Paris by train, and the town around it has its own quaint charm that we didn’t get to see too much.  Once you near the palace grounds, the quaintness vanishes to the tall, imposing site of what were once official buildings of the royal house.   You step from a tree lined path, and there before you is Versailles up on top of a crest of a hill, gleaming with gilt and gold massive and austere.

Front Gate

The royal crest, all in gilt gold.

Not solid gold of course, but impressive to see nonetheless

Palace chapel a bit closer to the view.

There is no mistake that this is a palace, in its heyday it housed around five thousand people, and that day it seemed like there were five thousand lined up and packing the halls.  Security was a cursory, quick check, a pass by a sign reminding us to watch out for pickpockets inside the house, and then we were off and up into the grand structure.   The first set of rooms was sort of a buffer, with history and models of the construction of the house.  There were also portraits of the people who lived there, and many of the visitors slowed down before going on into the actual house itself.  Even then though, it was still ridiculously crowded.  

Line to get into Versailles

Front clock, this rests in prominence above the King's apartments

It must have been incredibly nice to be a King of France, for the scale and scope of opulence here is a marvel for a simple person such as me to comprehend.  I’m lucky to have twenty dollars in my pocket at a time, but there was gold leaf everywhere, marble floors, incredible statues, expensive furniture, and the customary regalia that a royal family could possess. 

Louis XIV - The Sun King

Louis again, in bust form

And again, on horseback

Many of the portraits and statues were of the first inhabitant of the house, Louis XIV, resplendent riding a horse or standing as an Emperor.  He has a very athletic, outdoorsman appeal, XIV does, and he was when he lived.  He yearned for the hunt and he was a master with the ladies.   He gazes at you from walls or nooks with an expression not unfriendly but very secure in the knowledge that he is the master and you but the humblest visitor to his home.

By comparison, his descendants are far from spectacular, round and soft chubby looking people that lack his physical bearing and bravado.  Louis the XIV looks more like a surgeon, and Louis XV looks like he stumbled out of a buffet to get back to the bathroom.  Strangely enough though, XVI looks the friendliest out of all of them.  He smiles in this genuine and disarming way, as if he’d be quite comfortable sitting down with you for tea.  

Lonely Austrian - Queen Marie Antoinette and her brood

If it is not him, it is his wife that will catch your eye, or their two children.  Marie Antoinette, the child queen, sitting at an empty bassonet while her son and daughter reach up for her affection.   Her eyes seem soft, and strangely sad, no matter the portrait and no matter her other expression.  Looking at these particular two, the last of their family, I found myself feeling a very haunted presence.   It wouldn’t be the last time when gazing at Marie Antoinette. 

I couldn’t stop looking at her head, then her two children.  I kept thinking of the fate she’d endured, taken away from home and family and treated like royal trash by everyone around her.  Then, having to flee her home, her possessions, in fear of her life and the lives of her family.  Standing here in this house where Marie Antoinette spent her life I felt incredibly sorry for her and her family.   I won’t wax historical or philosophical, at least not yet, but for now, back to the tour at hand!  (Apologies for a lack of photos below of some of the rooms, but it was incredibly crowded.)

Chapel Interior

Closer look at the altar

Ceiling decorations

Another section of ceiling from the chapel

The following three pictures are sections of ceiling from the Diana Salon

Hercules Salon Fireplace

Close up look at Hercules on the fireplace

Lous XIV again

A side room

This is the King's Bedroom

Queen's Bedroom

Coronation of Napoleon - His section of the palace 

I love the expressions on the clergy here.  Especially the one guy in the back

This is Napoleon's gallery, it is reminiscent of the Louvre.  It traces the military history of France, bookended by Napoleon and Louis XIV respectively

A little American influence, the Revolutionary War.

The rooms of Versailles were all very much the same at first.  Dark rooms with heavy furniture, portraits, gold leaf and beautiful carvings or sculptures.  Images of gods and goddesses from greek mythology form the central theme of each room.  Chief among these is Apollo, God of the Sun, chosen avatar of Louis XIV – the Sun King.  They are all beautiful but chief and greatest of them all is the Hall of Mirrors.

Entering the hall of mirrors

Louis XIV wanted a room that would dazzle and impress anyone who stepped into it.  He got his wish, as he did many things, and the Hall of Mirrors still stands today as a testament to architectural and design genius.  Anyone who has not stood in this place should forget any notion and erase any picture they've seen from their mind.  The real thing is far more magnificent, opulent, and beautiful than anything else inside the house.  On one side are all the mirrors themselves, and on the other, windows looking out over the gardens.  Light flows through this place, hits the mirrors and reflects on the crystal chandeliers, the gold sconces, the marble floors and the painted ceiling.

It is the light that brings the whole together in the Hall of Mirrors, and even with the crowds of people, it was so incredibly impressive.  I walked the length twice back and forth, and caught my own reflection in one of the glasses.  At the time, this place was an engineering marvel, nothing like it existed, and today almost nothing like it exists anymore.  Even at night, the Hall of Mirrors must glow with an ethereal and otherworldly light.  This room is the true center of the house, the one thing people really come to see.  It is the crowning glory of a fallen crown, a faded house, kings and queen’s whose spirits still glance back from the reflection beside your own.

Self Portrait

After the Hall of Mirrors, the rest of Versailles interiors seem an afterthought, and they were for us as we went outside and into the clean, warm air.   I was only too glad to get out of the crammed corridors because like with most of my experiences with museums so far, the crowd prevented actual reflection and enjoyment.  Most everyone was just trying to get a picture.   Now that we were outside, there was the wider expanse of the garden and my true interest and passion of the fountains there.