"Extracts from Adam's Diary: Translated from the Original Ms." is a comic short story by the American humorist and writer
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
. It was first published as a book in 1904, by Harper & Bros. with numerous illustrations by
Frederick Strothmann
Frederick Strothmann (1872–1958) was an American illustrator of magazines and books. He also drew political cartoons and
posters.
Early life
Strothmann was born in New York City in 1872, although some sources say in Philadelphia in 1879. Littl ...
. The story was first published in 1893, ''The Niagara Book'' (Buffalo: Underhill and Nichols), pp. 93–109.
Adam (based on Twain himself) describes how Eve (modeled after his wife Livy) gets introduced into the Garden of Eden, and how he has to deal with "this new creature with the long hair." The piece gives a humorous account of the
Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
. It begins with the introduction of Eve, described as an annoying creature with a penchant for naming things, which Adam could do without. It moves on to detail Eve eating the apple and finding Cain, a perplexing creature which Adam can not figure out. He devotes his ironically scientific mind to demystifying Cain's species, thinking it a fish, then a kangaroo, then a bear. Eventually he figures out it is a human, like himself.
The work is humorous and ironic, and gives a new spin on Genesis: few people have considered what life must have been like for Adam, who is discovering everything anew. The work does not consider God's role at all, and eventually, despite his initial deep annoyance with Eve, Adam finds himself in love with her.
References
External links
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* https://books.google.com/books?id=fMOxoqRJHIoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
* http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/extracts-from-adams-diary-by-mark-twain
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