A Million Dollars (A Classic Short Story by Mark Twain)

Author: Mark Twain (USA), translated by Dong Hengsun and others
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Mark Twain wrote "The Million Pound Bank Note" very humorously and interestingly, with joy overflowing from the pages. "The $30,000 Bequest" contains satire, showing how we see money distort people's thoughts and emotions, leading the protagonist to become dizzy and, in the end, "drowning in a dream of vague regret and sorrow" before death. The protagonists realize that "sudden and ill-gotten wealth is a trap." In "The Gilded Man," Mark Twain hides his smile, full of biting satire, stripping off the hypocritical masks of those "honest and proud" upright citizens, exposing their greedy faces of "both being whores and setting up a plaque." This can also be called "laughter," but it is a cold, stern laugh. To help readers better understand the development of Mark Twain's creative thought, in addition to the first story "The Million Pound Bank Note," the other short stories in this book are generally arranged in chronological order of publication, with a time span from the mid-1860s to the early 20th century.