Twain\'s \"To the Person Sitting

Twain's "To the Person Sitting in Darkness" master of satire and sarcasm, American writer Mark Twain provides powerful political commentary in his 1901 essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." In the article, Twain mocks American and European imperialist foreign policy and the ideology that underlies it. Although Twain refers specifically to the American involvement in the Philippines, his essay could be easily adapted to future actions by the United States government, including its most recent stint simply by replacing the word "Philippines" for "Iraq." Twain's rhetoric is gripping not solely because of its content and topical relevance, however. The writer's deft use of the English language is compelling, bringing into sharp focus the values, practices, and contradictions inherent in American political culture. Twain's power is the printed word, as he emphasizes certain concepts like "Persons Sitting in Darkness" through purposeful capitalization. However, Twain's writing works equally well to the ear, as he employs techniques like alliteration. Puns and hyperbole also characterize Twain's writing style. Combining gut-wrenching realism and dark humor, often within the same sentence, Twain creates a masterpiece of political opinion writing with "To the Person Sitting in Darkness."

The title of the piece evokes race subtly, as the persons sitting in the symbolic darkness, from Philippinos to Africans to Cubans, also happen to have dark skin. However, Twain refrains from discussing race outright, focusing instead on American foreign policy. According to the author, the "Premium of the most awful forms of vice is the Profit of the politicians." This sentence demonstrates the writer's use of capitalization ("Premium," and "Profit") and alliteration. Further usage of capitalization to emphasize key concepts includes phrases like "Blessings of Civilization," "Disseminators of Progress," and the titular "People who Sit in Darkness." The latter phrase refers to the paternalistic psychological stance of imperialism, which views the indigenous people of nations like the Philippines as being devoid of any meaningful, enlightened culture. They are so shrouded in mental and spiritual darkness, say the oppressors that they require outside assistance in the form of religious missionaries and military personnel. Christianity and the armies that propagate it are here to help the "Persons Sitting in Darkness," to save them from themselves. Thus, Twain uses the printed word to demonstrate how American foreign policy is founded on principles of social Darwinism and thinly concealed racism.

Throughout "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," Twain concentrates on lambasting the notion that America stands for freedom, liberty, and Civilization. According to Twain, these concepts are "only for Export." Moreover, they are costly. Twain makes sure to bring up the financial motives for American political maneuvers: "The Actual Thing that the Customer Sitting in Darkness buys with his blood and tears and land and liberty." The word "Customer" drives home the point that money, not concern for the well being of the people, motivates political decisions and colonialism. Occasionally Twain uses graphic imagery for emphasis: the Americans sentence "innocent little children to inevitable starvation and lingering death" for "blood money." The ideals that America purports to possess and implement become distorted when applied to its territories.