Two views of the Mississippi River (Book Review Sample)

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Two views of the Mississippi River
Mark Twain in his book "Two views of the Mississippi" describes the views on his thoughts that arose before he became a crew worker on a steamboat, later becoming a steamboat pilot, and afterward.
On his experience of the Mississippi River, Twain puts down his thoughts into writing, splitting it into two parts. The first section of the piece gives a pleasant account of his time before joining a steamboat crew. The later section of the article takes a somber tone as his perspective changes.
Twain begins his recollection by viewing the river with "speechless rapture" and enjoying the "new marvels of coloring" (Twain). He sees the Mississippi River as a popular tourist attraction with beautiful sceneries, acting as a source of happiness and adventure to its visitors. In Twain’s thoughts, the river was also a source of hope with the sun signifying that better weather conditions would be experienced in the subsequent days.
But with time piloting the steamboat along the Mississippi River, after he had "mastered the language of this water" (Twain), Twain was no longer impressed by the sights that dazzle tourists. He comments , "the romance and beauty were all gone from the river" (Twain, 185). His comments are as a result of experiencing and seeing all what the river could offer as he woke up each day to pilot the steamboat. The rivers majesty had faded in his eyes. Twain writes, "all the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river.”
Mark Twain states, "But I had lost something, too. I had lost something that could never be restored to me while I lived." Mark Twain had become desensitized to the rivers majesty and beautiful scenery. He had gained mastery and skill over the river but lost something more special. The beauty he felt on waking up to the river was long gone.
The author recollects of a beautiful sunset during his first few days as a steamboat crewman. Twain is enamored by the sunset view along the riverbanks commenting on it as part of the river’s charm, the fading sunlight being a sight to behold.
Twain shows a bit of anguish in his recollection. His past view vastly contrasts how he currently viewed the river as the steamboat pilot. "I still keep in mind a certain wonderful sunset that I witnessed when steamboating was still new to me," he states.
In vivid detail, he describes all aspects of the river during that fateful sunset. He writes, "A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold." He goes on to write, "There were graceful curves, reflected images, woody heights, distances; and over the whole scene, far and near, dissolving lights drifted steady, enriching it every passing moment with new marvels of coloring.”. This colorful, vibrant recollection of the river shows how he is at least partly regretful.
Mark Twain writes, "Then if the sunset scene had been repeated, I should have looked at it without rapture." Mark Twain’s perception of the river had apparently changed. When he viewed the river, he only saw it as part of his daily job. The sunset over the river that evoked wonderful memories now was part of his tools of the trade.
This is seen when he writes a sunset made him comment inwardly, " this sun means that we are going to have wind tomorrow; the floating log means that the river is rising, small thanks to it”. The setting sun helped him navigate the river.
Not only becom...