Western American Literature

76 WesternAmerican Literature especially to James, tie Dooley’s thesis together. Each chapter has a good introduction, and subheadings and examples flesh out the text. An extensive bibliography and useful notes build the value of the work. Drawing on prior scholarly studies ofCrane, Dooleydemonstrates the influence ofJames. The first chapter about Crane’s “Mentors, Backers, and A Literary Creed” supplies background, while succeeding chapters titled “Metaphysicsand Epistemology : Exploring the Epiphanies of Experience,” “Humanism: Brotherhood in an Indifferent Universe,” and “Ethics: Tolerance, Compassion and Duty,” bring into play many of the great philosophical ideas and processes which Dooley seeks to include in hiswork. Afinal chapter on the “Philosopher-Poet” includes Crane’spoetic works. I onlywished for a more involved conclusion at the end ofthis chapter. David Halliburton’s The Color of the Sky: A Study of Stephen Crane, and Christopher Benfey’s The Double Life ofStephen Crane: A Biography, along with Dooley’sbook, round out the man Crane. This is a book for scholars and will be a valuable addition to those inter­ ested in Crane’swork.The technical, philosophical language shows that Dooley is adept and extremely knowledgable about philosophy. His continued use of the same quotations throughout the various chapters may be a good thing, showing continuity in Crane’sphilosophy, but Iwondered aboutusing some of Crane’sother, lesswell-knownworks. All in all, Dooley doeswhat he sets out to do. He examines Crane’s philosophy, often seemingly presented without thought, but like all ofCrane’swork, deeply considered bythe author. ROBERT STERLING LONG East TexasState University CriticalEssays onThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Edited by Gary Scharnhorst. (NewYork: G. K. Hall, 1993. 246 pages, $40.00.) Following the usual pattern of such works, this volume presents early commentary on Tom Sawyer along with criticism from more recent times. In general, the selections seem carefully chosen: the early commentary is drawn from the major organs of popular opinion during the 1870s (periodicals like The New York Times and the Atlantic Monthly) and the modern scholarship includes manyofthe mostimportantvoicesin Twain studies-critics like Hamlin Hill, HenryNash Smith, andJames Cox. What is most striking about this particular anthology is the waythe essays resonate with one another. Indeed, one begins to wonder what made Stanley Fish ask, “Is there a text in this class?”Not only are the critics talking to one another here, buttheyare all talkingaboutthe same thing, namelythe anatomy ofAmerican hypocrisy that lies at the center of Twain’s first, great children’s Reviews 77 tale. The essaysvary only in the quality oftheir insight. To be sure, all of these critics are helpful, but some illuminate Tom Sawyerbrilliantly: commentators like Smith and Coxopen the novelup in awaythatallowsusto learn something about both its cultural context and Twain’sdevelopment as awriter. It perhaps goeswithout saying that collections like this alwaysstirup mixed feelings. One part of you appreciates having so much critical material on a particular author or text collected in one place; another part wonders whether students who rely on such a convenience are not deprived of something valu­ able, aviewof the scholarship in its proper context. Anumber ofthe pieces in the book are presented in an abridged form; others, like Forrest Robinson’s “Social Play and Bad Faith” (to my mind, the very best on the subject), are fragments of much longer, richer arguments and deserve to be reckoned with as such. One can only hope that such appetizers do not keep us from partaking ofthe main course. BRIANCOLLINS Haverford College EcologicalLiteracy:Education and theTransition toaPostmodern World. ByDavidW. Orr. (Albany: State University ofNewYork Press, 1992. 210 pages, $14.95.) From the outset, the territory delineated in David W. Orr’sEcological Lit­ eracy:Education and theTransition toaPostmodern World, isa loftyand formidable one. In a collection of fifteen essays written during the 1980s, Orr sets out to unmask the shortsightedness (and ultimate self-destructiveness) of a long­ standing ecologically illiterate system of education. The tilt of his book is to replace such a curriculum with one “designed to heal, connect, liberate, em­ power, create, and celebrate.” The book begins with a series of thoroughly documented essays on sustainability in which Orr seeks to address ecological crises in a wide range of disciplinesand languages:from the economic to...