Chapter 12 Summary

Twain now turns his attention to the so-called "Negro Musical Show." He bemoans the fact that the original stars, such as Billy Rice, Billy Birch, David Wambold, and Backus are long gone. Twain describes some of the routines and jokes from these shows, as well as his mother's insights..

Twain first saw a minstrel show as a boy, but church-going people in Hannibal did not go to these shows. When Twain's mother visited him in St. Louis ten years later, she had never seen one, although they had become common by that time. Twain actually tricked his mother and her friend Aunt Betsy into seeing a show, and they laughed so hard at all the old jokes that the rest of the audience found new humor in them.

Chapter 12 Analysis

In addition to providing a piece of cultural history, this chapter is further...