Mark Twain

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Mark Twain

Mark Twain is one of the greatest American writers. His books are full of American places, everyday language that Americans speak, memorable American characters, and a hatred of injustice. Most of all they’re full of humor.

TALL TALES AND LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI

Twain’s real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and he was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri. His childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, a port on the Mississippi River, influenced his writing. Before Twain became a writer, he tried being a newspaper printer, a steamboat pilot, and a miner of silver. During the California Gold Rush, he failed to find anything of value.

He found success in words, once he began writing down his experiences. With a story called “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” he became a national sensation. The story was based on a tall tale. Tall tales form the basis of much of Twain’s humor. By this time, he was signing his stories with the name Mark Twain. This Mississippi River riverboat phrase means “two fathoms deep.” (Fathom is a measure of water depth.)

Twain married Olivia Langdon in 1870. They had three daughters and lived with their children in Hartford, Connecticut.

Twain’s books brought him fame. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain wrote about some of his own childhood adventures. Both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn take risks in order to help others. Huckleberry Finn is considered Twain's masterpiece. Huck is a boy who flees his cruel father by rafting down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave, Jim. The book shows what life was like along the Mississippi before the Civil War. The story is told through the eyes of Huck.

In later life, Twain was a frequent speaker on issues of the day. He was probably the most famous American by the time he died in 1910.

TWAIN’S IMPORTANCE

Twain helped create a truly American literature. His language was humorous yet poetic. His books helped American writers break away from the influence of European culture. His use of American themes and settings had a powerful effect on later writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and many, many others.

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