Corn-Pone Opinions by Mark Twain

As I flipped throughout The Best American Essays, Mark Twain's name jumped out at me.  Little is needed to say about this author, as he is arguably by many the greatest author of all time.  His Mark Twain Prize award is the most prestigious award for American humor.  I have always heard so much about his prodigious writing, but have never actually read any of it.  So, I dove into Corn-pone Opinions, and immediatly realized why he is such a praised writer.  Twain analyzes the meaning of corn-pone opinions throughout this essay, and writes on how there are no true, self made opinions in the world.  There are only opinions that are made based off of what others think.  He begins this by telling a short story of a young black slave that he would listen to preach during his teenage years in Missouri.  One day, as the slave was preaching his daily sermon, he said "You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I'll tell you what hus 'pinions is" (1).  From that day on, Twain was intrigued by how all opinions come from the influence of others.  His purpose is highlighted when he uses a rhetoric strategy, connotation, suggesting why "Catholics are Catholics, why Presbyterians are Presbyterians."  It is because they follow the opinions of what their associates follow.  If I stop wearing blue jeans to school one day, then my peer will notice and stop wearing blue jeans, and this whole process will snowball.  The audience of anyone from students to pleasure readers can assume from here that there are truly only corn-pone opinions in this world, which is what Twain is trying to convey.  After finishing the essay, I realized that Twain hit the nail right on the head,  he proved his purpose that opinions never come from one's self-realization, and are only formed from what they are influenced by from others.

Cartoon by Glenn Mccoy.  Illustrating how the voter is basing his opinion on someone else's.