Lost in Excess: ‘Hunting the Deceitful Turkey’

Mark Twain’s humorous short story also teaches a valuable lesson about restraint.

A turkey managed to fool young Mark in "Hunting the Deceitful Turkey." “Great American Hen with Young,” plate 6, 1829, by John James Audubon. Public Domain

Temperance is a very undervalued and much ignored virtue. Though we usually associate temperance with food and drink, we should apply it to everything else in our lives for it brings clarity and order.

In his short story, “Hunting the Deceitful Turkey,” Mark Twain shows that surfeit, or excess, in anything leads to trouble. When young Mark hunts a turkey, he learns that giving in to excess gets him lost.

Young Mark Twain likes to go hunting with his uncle and his cousins. He admires their skill and aptitude, for they can shoot birds in the air and stun squirrels out of the trees. They hunt deer, turkey, and other big game.

Young Mark and his cousin Fred use “a small single-barreled shotgun which was properly suited to [their] size and strength; it was not much heavier than a broom.” He and Fred hunt smaller birds. However, unlike his uncle and cousins, Mark is not a good shot.

Deceitful Turkey

One hunting trip, young Mark sees a female turkey that is lame. Little does he know that the turkey is feigning lameness, for female turkeys pretend to be lame as a tactic to protect their young.

Mark cannot believe his luck and decides to hunt the turkey. Even though he carries the shotgun, he decides to catch it alive.

Mark thinks that he will catch the lamed turkey quite easily, for all he has to do is run, jump, and catch it. However, this endeavor proves worthless. Once Mark jumps, the turkey quickly scurries past his reach. It allows him to touch its tail feathers, but not catch it.

Again and again Mark lunges for the turkey, and again and again the turkey evades his grasp. Yet he “still thought her honest long after [he] ought to have begun to doubt her.” With each new attempt, Mark thinks that it looks just a little more tired than before, so he keeps chasing it.

Lost in Excess

After a while, Mark feels fatigued and hungry. He has now been chasing the deceitful turkey for 10 hours and still has not caught it.

A few times Mark has contemplated shooting it, but he fears that, if he misses, he will be rebuked. The turkey even seems to know of his bad shot, for it poses whenever he takes aim.

Mark follows the deceitful turkey’s trail until it finally tires of the chase, flies up into a tree, and leaves poor Mark confused and hurt. He has not caught the turkey and soon realizes that, in his excess desire to catch it, he has lost his way.

In this story, Twain shows, as Cicero says: “Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide.” Young Mark lets excess, not moderation, guide him and he gets lost.

When we let ourselves be ruled by temperance, we can better navigate through life’s temptations. With this virtue, we can take charge of ourselves and our lives, so that we can pursue the proper goals that lead to true joy and happiness.

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