This notice that Twain puts at the beginning of the novel is somewhat of a paradox. Although I agree that over-interpretation of a novel can lead directly to a distaste for it, Twain’s approach at trying to handle this is a little extreme. On the other hand, I believe that like most of this novel, this notice provides great ironic value to the rest of the story and novels in general.
The purpose of a fictitious work is to allow the reader to make his own interpretation of the story and decide what it means to him. With that said, Twain telling us to take the novel for what it is and not to dig deep into the cavernous sections of your brain to find some non-existent connection to something the novel doesn’t even subtly reference.
Let the story wash over you and afterword make conclusions based on what you read. Twain’s method is extreme, but sometimes in order to create a reaction amongst your readers they have to be looking down the barrel of a gun.
I totally agree with this. This often happens due to our extensive training in trying to find a deeper meaning to why the book was written and not for what it is.
I agree with your point. Twain wants us to enjoy the novel for what it is, but at the same time he must have been aware of the issues that he was bringing when writing this novel. I feel like that statement just makes us look deeper into finding a meaning for the novel.
I agree with this. We are so used to analyzing every detail to a particular piece, that we forget to enjoy what we are reading. The author wants to entertain his readers instead of making them think.