Item - Frank Merriwell's Thrust; or, Taming a Dangerous Foe

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Subjects / Tags:	Attempted murder Badger, Buck (Fictitious character) Birch, Fred (Fictitious character) Browning, Bruce (Fictitious character) Cambridge (Mass.) Chickering, Rupert (Fictitious character) College stories Defarge, Bertrand (Fictitious character) Diamond, Jack (Fictitious character) Dreyfus, Alfred, 1859-1935 Dueling Fencing Griswold, Danny (Fictitious character) Halliday, Ben (Fictitious character) Harvard University Hodge, Bart (Fictitious character) Hull, Tilton (Fictitious character) Interpersonal conflict Ives, Julian (Fictitious character) Jenks, Hyson, Professor (Fictitious character) Kelley, Buster (Fictitious character) Lee, Winnie (Fictitious character) Merriwell, Frank (Fictitious character) Mullen, Matt (Fictitious character) New Haven (Conn.) Parker, Puss (Fictitious character) Rattleton, Harry (Fictitious character) Skelding, Gene (Fictitious character) Stubbs, Bink (Fictitious character) Veazie, Lew (Fictitious character) Yale University
user_reviews's Thoughts:	“Frank Merriwell's Thrust, or, Taming A Dangerous Foe”, written by Burt L. Standish, is a remarkable little piece of fiction for its unremarkable quality. By that, it can be taken to mean that this story about school-aged young men having quarrels between themselves and competing for the attention and affection of a woman is something that may seem almost a mirror for today’s contemporary stories with much of the same elements. Where a lot of assumptions may be made concerning the strange distance that 100 years or more may have on American culture, especially given the last 50 years of change and cultural shifts within American culture, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that there are just some things that may never change. But is that the product of deep-rooted American identity, or is it more a manifestation of human nature at large? The story begins with a rival to the titular Frank Merriwell, Buck Badger, going to Miss Lee’s place in order to pursue his own interests with her, despite his despicable behavior previously concerning carriage races and attempts to force Lee’s carriage into a ditch. This reckless and dangerous act causes much hostility from Miss Lee, and understandably. Irrationally, Buck persists and is rebuked multiple times. Such behavior is not uncommon for men in any fiction these days, and it seemed to be just as common back in 1899, when this book was published on the 4th of November. Likewise, the intersection between a rivalry of young men and their own pursuits of love for Miss Lee is not something unfamiliar to someone living in the 21st Century, let alone the 19th. Not to mention the additional plot detail of competition between college schools in the sports category. There is even a duel that takes place at the climax of this story, in the form of the “French Duel”, a typical bout of fencing with all the masks, rapiers, and vests. In typical fashion, associates of Frank and Buck are present to bear witness to this climatic, if juvenile duel. The concept of challenging hated rivals to a duel is somewhat alien to our more modern sensibilities, even if there are other points of this story that will line up well with what may b every ordinary to the contemporary fiction-writer, especially when dealing with a setting as similar as this, except with cell phones, black cars, and the like. This story exists in a sweet spot between what would be completely ordinary in this day and age and a setting that is more far-removed from it as night and day. While there are many familiar elements to be seen with the seething machinations of Buck, the socio-economic status of the characters, and the struggles of youth in those days may connect the reader to these events, there is also the duel, and the other attitudes which these characters might share about men and women that would alienate the reader into a sense of uncanny valley, where they both recognize what they see, as well as not recognize it. Since the concept of the gentlemen's duel is something that has been inherited from a time of chivalry and more rigid social structures as enforced by the caste-system of feudalism, the duel is something that nobles and other high-ranking members of society would participate in in order to alleviate grudges and quarrels one with another. However, in this story, this seems to have been issued and accepted within the bounds of university; while still a very elite corps of people to have been issued to, is still less prominent than something like a king, his retinue, or the nobility of courts long passed. That they would fight with rapiers is also a reflection as to the ancient nature of this practice, even if the rapiers themselves are a newer construction of dueling weapons than what might have been more common back when duels would involve European royalty. Another remarkable simultaneous similarity and difference between this and more latter-day American literature is the speech patterns and dialogue of the characters. Often, some of what is said can be confusing , and others could have been so modern as to be mistaken for a trend that was popular around 15 years ago, IE a character saying, “Oh, you’ll make a great man someday—not!” Insults and turns of phrases aside, the characters were speaking Modern English… just not in ways that have been prevalent for a hundred years or so. While Frank does not duel Buck, he does have a sword fight with a French student, Defarge, who is ultimately “tamed” by Frank’s skill with a blade in the arena of dueling. Having the dueling student be French cannot be a coincidence, either. While this, in isolation, may not be a thrilling or eye-opening work, one need only to look beyond the pages into the world beyond to see both the similarities and differences between the world of 1899 and 2021. --Madison Allen, Senior BYUI Student, Enrolled in ENG 350R, Fall 2021. More reviews by user_reviews

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user_reviews's Thoughts:

“Frank Merriwell's Thrust, or, Taming A Dangerous Foe”, written by Burt L. Standish, is a remarkable little piece of fiction for its unremarkable quality. By that, it can be taken to mean that this story about school-aged young men having quarrels between themselves and competing for the attention and affection of a woman is something that may seem almost a mirror for today’s contemporary stories with much of the same elements. Where a lot of assumptions may be made concerning the strange distance that 100 years or more may have on American culture, especially given the last 50 years of change and cultural shifts within American culture, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that there are just some things that may never change. But is that the product of deep-rooted American identity, or is it more a manifestation of human nature at large? The story begins with a rival to the titular Frank Merriwell, Buck Badger, going to Miss Lee’s place in order to pursue his own interests with her, despite his despicable behavior previously concerning carriage races and attempts to force Lee’s carriage into a ditch. This reckless and dangerous act causes much hostility from Miss Lee, and understandably. Irrationally, Buck persists and is rebuked multiple times. Such behavior is not uncommon for men in any fiction these days, and it seemed to be just as common back in 1899, when this book was published on the 4th of November. Likewise, the intersection between a rivalry of young men and their own pursuits of love for Miss Lee is not something unfamiliar to someone living in the 21st Century, let alone the 19th. Not to mention the additional plot detail of competition between college schools in the sports category. There is even a duel that takes place at the climax of this story, in the form of the “French Duel”, a typical bout of fencing with all the masks, rapiers, and vests. In typical fashion, associates of Frank and Buck are present to bear witness to this climatic, if juvenile duel. The concept of challenging hated rivals to a duel is somewhat alien to our more modern sensibilities, even if there are other points of this story that will line up well with what may b every ordinary to the contemporary fiction-writer, especially when dealing with a setting as similar as this, except with cell phones, black cars, and the like. This story exists in a sweet spot between what would be completely ordinary in this day and age and a setting that is more far-removed from it as night and day. While there are many familiar elements to be seen with the seething machinations of Buck, the socio-economic status of the characters, and the struggles of youth in those days may connect the reader to these events, there is also the duel, and the other attitudes which these characters might share about men and women that would alienate the reader into a sense of uncanny valley, where they both recognize what they see, as well as not recognize it. Since the concept of the gentlemen's duel is something that has been inherited from a time of chivalry and more rigid social structures as enforced by the caste-system of feudalism, the duel is something that nobles and other high-ranking members of society would participate in in order to alleviate grudges and quarrels one with another. However, in this story, this seems to have been issued and accepted within the bounds of university; while still a very elite corps of people to have been issued to, is still less prominent than something like a king, his retinue, or the nobility of courts long passed. That they would fight with rapiers is also a reflection as to the ancient nature of this practice, even if the rapiers themselves are a newer construction of dueling weapons than what might have been more common back when duels would involve European royalty. Another remarkable simultaneous similarity and difference between this and more latter-day American literature is the speech patterns and dialogue of the characters. Often, some of what is said can be confusing , and others could have been so modern as to be mistaken for a trend that was popular around 15 years ago, IE a character saying, “Oh, you’ll make a great man someday—not!” Insults and turns of phrases aside, the characters were speaking Modern English… just not in ways that have been prevalent for a hundred years or so. While Frank does not duel Buck, he does have a sword fight with a French student, Defarge, who is ultimately “tamed” by Frank’s skill with a blade in the arena of dueling. Having the dueling student be French cannot be a coincidence, either. While this, in isolation, may not be a thrilling or eye-opening work, one need only to look beyond the pages into the world beyond to see both the similarities and differences between the world of 1899 and 2021. --Madison Allen, Senior BYUI Student, Enrolled in ENG 350R, Fall 2021.

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Tip Top Weekly edition

(source: NIU Libraries)

Online Full Text:	Bowling Green State University Northern Illinois University
Series:	Tip Top Weekly no. 186
Item:	Frank Merriwell's Thrust; or, Taming a Dangerous Foe
Author:	Standish, Burt L., 1866-1945 (pseudonym used by Patten, William G. (William Gilbert), 1866-1945)
Date:	November 4, 1899
Publisher:	Street & Smith (New York (N.Y.): 238 William St.) -- United States
OCLC Number:	07536387
Description:	Includes departments: Correspondence (page 27) -- Applause (pages 28-31).

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