Many Twain scholars believe that his skepticism was based on personal tragedies of later years. Others find skepticism in Twain's work as early as The Innocents Abroad. This study determines that Twain's atheism is evident in his earliest writings. Chapter One examines what critics have determined Twain's religious sense to be. These contentions are discussed in light of recent publications and older, often ignored, evidence of Twain' s atheism. Chapter Two is a biographical look at Twain's literary, family, and community influences, and at events in Twain's life to show that his religious antipathy began when he was quite young. Chapter Three examines Twain's early sketches and journalistic squibs to prove that his voice, storytelling techniques, subject matter, and antipathy towards the church and other institutions are clearly manifested in his early writings.

Twentieth-century science proves that heredity and environment function similarly in all named living species except one--Homo sapiens. Man alone, through his intellect, forms language and culture, thereby affecting his environment so that he participates in the process of his own creation. This participation so links humans that each man extends outside himself creating of the human race a single, whole fabric. C. P. Snow, aware of this communal reality, notes the present lack of communication between scientists and humanists. He contends that this lack, described as the two-cultures split, endangers both the practical survival of Western civilization and mankind's understanding of its own humanity. This study analyzes modern scientific reality and shows that Snow's articles, lectures, and novels articulate that reality and confirm the merit of Snow's observations.