Reaction to Two Views of the Mississippi by Mark Twain

         People's reactions, ideas and way of thinking are influenced by their experiences and their environment. The age- old example of the glass half-filled with water adequately summarizes what this essay is all about. The same glass can be half full to one person, but it can be seen as half empty by another. Likewise, the Mississippi, and all other things for that matter, can be seen by two point of views.

          The Mississippi river is a beautiful sight to many travelers and tourists. The scenery at different times of the day can be the source of adventure and happiness for many new visitors of the river. The author provides a specific example, a sunset. To a newcomer, the sunset is a magical and beautiful sight. The changes in the color of the river and its surroundings can be awe inspiring to someone seeing it for the first time. Without a doubt, when we experience something good for the first time, we don't want the moment to end. However, that same sunset is just another ordinary sunset for someone who has lived along the river for a long time.

          A person who has lives along the river for all his life will no longer be impressed by the same sights that impress tourists. That is because he has seen, heard, felt and experienced everything has the river has to offer. Everything that happens along and around the river has a meaning, and you discover the meanings as you live with the river. Twain writes 'I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river'. The feeling of happiness and excitement slowly fades away as you spend more time in a place or doing something. Perhaps that is why people are always seeking adventure, travelling to different places and trying new things. Those activities give them the excitement and the thrill they lack in their otherwise monotonous lives.