Why I liked Mark Twain 's play “Is He Living or is He Dead?”

Mark Twain's play "Is He Living or is He Dead?», as it seems to me, is dedicated to the mundane side of creativity. The author tells about the life of the artist Francois Millet. Jean-Francois millet is a real person, he was a Barbizon artist. After his fictional death of the artist's paintings have become very popular, prices soared even on the outline. Mark Twain describes the lives of creative people who suffer deprivation, are forced to live in poverty and misery. The whole plot of the play is built around a group of artists who decided, that one of them needs to die fictitiously. This person will become very famous after death and as a result they will all become rich. But the so-called dead have to draw all the time, but only the defective paintings, and sketches and sign them with your name. In all these works there must be one distinctive feature by which we understand the author's identity. It is these small sketches that are valued by museums.

After this decision, a group of artists went to visit localities and spread rumors about the death of Francois Millet. And at the end we see the funeral of the artist with a wax doll in the coffin. Francois himself carried his coffin, pretending to be a distant relative. After that the prices of Francois Millet's paintings really jumped. Friends have achieved their goal - they have achieved a good price for their works during their lifetime. During their lifetime they were not so recognized. When he became rich Francois Millet began to live under a different name.

The theme of the poor artist and recognition only after death is very relevant in our time. It must be said that this is the only play by Mark Twain. It was discovered recently in 2003 in the archives of the University of California. And in 2012 at the Moscow Pushkin drama theater a new play based on this play premiered, which I was lucky enough to get to. The play is called " Talents and the dead". Sergey Lazarev, who plays the main role, fully reflects the character of the hero. On the stage, everything is colorful, the characters are also dressed very bright and catchy. I liked the performance very much. The laughter in the audience throughout the performance is sincere. The Director of the play did not focus on bright costumes, but on small things, touches that he noticed and embodied on the stage. Both the play and Mark Twain's play have a social theme. This is the theme that human life is worth nothing, and funerals "cost a lot".

Mark Twain's wit is very similar to the Russian classic Anton Chekhov. You can also see similarities in their biographies. Their stories are very brief, but at the same time very vivid, both signed with pseudonyms.

All his life Mark Twain was constantly developing, he traveled a lot, which helped him expand his horizons. His work is transformed from light humorous to reflections on the life of humanity. Until now, his works are interesting for both adults and children.