In "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg," Twain writes in his classic Twain style: his language and syntax are folksy and strewn with idioms, the better to convey the experience of a tiny rural American town, and his satire and moral clarity are shrewd—even excoriating—without being erudite. He makes ample use of italics and the em-dash to provide emphasis, modulate tone, and give his story its particular cadence—as when Edward Richards contemplates how he has lied to his wife, Mary, about being the rightful heir to the sack of gold:
At first his conscience was sore on account of the lie he had told Mary—if it was a lie. After much reflection—suppose it was a lie? What then? Was it such a great matter? Aren't we always acting lies? Then why not tell them? Look at Mary—look what she had done. While he was hurrying off on his honest errand, what was she doing? Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept! Is theft better than lying?
That point lost its sting—the lie dropped into the background and left comfort behind it.
Through these qualities, Twain's style is above all conversational. The power of the moral clarity he exercises in his account of the Hadleyburg citizens' greed is the stylistic clarity with which he writes—a clarity that ensures his story is easy and engaging to read, and has a lasting effect on the reader.
