Lost in Excess: ‘Hunting the Deceitful Turkey’

Mark Twain’s humorous short story also teaches a valuable lesson about restraint.
Lost in Excess: ‘Hunting the Deceitful Turkey’
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
Kate Vidimos
Updated:

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.
Kate Vidimos
Kate Vidimos
Author
Kate Vidimos is a 2020 graduate from the liberal arts college at the University of Dallas, where she received her bachelor’s degree in English. She plans on pursuing all forms of storytelling (specifically film) and is currently working on finishing and illustrating a children’s book.
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