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I have recently finished reading Letters From Earth by Mark Twain.
It is Twain at his darkest and most bitter,
In essence he takes the view that Nature is so filled with irrational horror and pain that existence is hardly worth having. Humankind is not much better as its members thrive on stupid contradictions and cruelty. The Bible is filled with thousands of lies and Jesus Christ was himself a sadistic liar.
In such a cosmos God is incredibly stupid, evil, or non-existent. That last is the most comforting thought as it at least allows human beings to concentrate on their own survival without worrying about meaningless idiotic rituals.
There is no doubt but that Twain is deeply sensitive to the very real terrors and pain of life and these are challenges that everyone must face. Unfortunately, Twain thought that humans were merely complicated automatons. If that is the case, they haven't free will and their ability to freely change anything is questionable. So don't look for answers in this challenging piece. But then Twain wasn't trying to provide an answer; he wanted to force the reader to confront the ethical dilemma of existence.
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