Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Mark Twain

Satisfactory Essays
435 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mark Twain
It all began on November 30, 1835, in which one of the greatest American authors would be born; Samuel Longhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Writing over 12 novels and about 30 short stories Mark Twain is considered by many a strong figure and icon of American Literature; William Faulkner, another very good American Author titled Twain as “The father of American Literature”
Twains writing career would begin in 1864, when he moved to San Francisco and began to write for various newspapers; during that time he made a short story called “Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog” which was very well received by the public, this short story eventually became his first great success as a writer, bringing him national attention, by 1865 Mark Twain became a national known humorist. By 1866 Twain decided to go on a type of work tour, in which he would give lectures on his writings and this way he would make money promoting all his very talented works; Twain had a very unique talent when it came to lecture his stories, this was one of his best talents which led him to be one of the best writers. Twain continued with a few more short stories such as “Autobiography and First Romance” and travel writings such as “The Innocent Abroad” until 1873 when his first novel was published. “The Gilded Age: A tale of today” would be the first of twelve Mark Twain novels to be published, this novel was co-written by Charles Dudley Warner. Three years later in 1876, one of Twains best and most famous novels would be published, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” which talks about the growing of an imaginative young boy named Tom Sawyer in the fictional town of St. Petersburg. Following Tom Sawyer, Twains next big novel would be “The Prince and the Pauper” published 1881, which talks about the classic confusion between look alike people, one being a refined and rich prince, and the other being a poor and simple pauper. Mark Twain´s most famous and most recognized work would be published in 1884 as “ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” which is a sort of sequel of “The adventures of Tom Sawyer” in which both the main characters are friends. Mark Twain continued to write novels, travel writings, essays and short stories until his death in 1910; his last attempted novel would be “The mysterious stranger” which unfortunately he was unable to finish.
Mark Twain had a very unique style of writing, a type of satire which made him very famous, all his novels especially the adventures of both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are now American Literature classics and must reads.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The story of Huckleberry Finn was placed in the 1830’s and was wrapped around the thought of slavery and Freedom. Mark Twain began writing the story of Huckleberry Finn in the year 1880 but as times got harder in the battle of slavery in the south, Twain stopped working on his story for another 2 years. After finishing two other works of literature, Mark Twain once again picked up the story of Huck Finn to complete their adventure.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apush Culture Unit 2

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1820 a British critic sneered, “Who reads an American book?” He was right at the time because there was no american literature. All of the books had to be imported from England or other european countries. This does not mean Americans had not been writing, they just did not write novels. They wrote political papers and pamphlets just not novels. American literature received got a kickstart from the surge of nationalism following the war of 1812. Washington Irving was the first American writer to get national recognition but he followed themes of old world countries so his work cannot be considered true American Literature. James Fenimore Cooper was the first American novilist. He wrote novels based on American themes. His books sold well in Europe and he became the first true American novelist.…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Huck Finn Criticized

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The book I read was Huckleberry Finn, which was written by Samuel Langhorne Clemens whom is also known as Mark Twain. Twain was born on "November 30, 1835, in Florida or Missouri, his exact birthplace is not known" (Powers, 11). He was born to "John and Jane Clemens" (Powers, 11). At the age of only "twelve years old Twain worked as a printer 's apprentice and typesetter in Hannibal" (Powers, 11). It was "at this age that Twain became interested in writing and as he got older he got more serious into his career" (Powers, 11). By the time he died he had received many awards and honors which include "Honorary M.A., 1888, Litt.D., 1901, both Yale University; LL.D., University of Missouri, 1902; named to American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1904; D.Litt., Oxford University, 1907" (Powers, 26). Mark Twain wrote many other "Novels, Humor/Satire, Short Stories, Plays, Essays, and Letters" (Wagenknecht, 31), therefore, making him more than qualified to write this book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered one of his greatest works. It is so good that "Ernest Hemingway said it "was one of the great masterpieces of the world" (Wagenknecht, 34). The purpose for Huck Finn was to express ideas in the late 1800 's, which was dominantly slavery. The character of Jim as the slave as well as other minor characters in the story helps to fulfill this idea. This book is a good piece of literature that took "Twain over seven years…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Samule Clemens

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sam Clemens was recognized for his fiction as well as for his humor. It has been said that”… next to sunshine and fresh air Mark Twain’s humor has done more for the welfare of mankind than any other agency” (Railton, “Your Mark Twain,” 2003). By cleverly weaving fiction and humor, he developed many literary masterpieces. Some say his greatest masterpiece was “Mark Twain,” a pen name (pseudonym) Clemens first used in the Nevada Territory in 1863. This fictions name became a kind of mythic hero to the American public (Railton, “Same Clemens as Mark Twain,” 2003). Some of his masterpieces that are among his most widely read books are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A muckraker is someone who exposes the unpleasant truths that society likes to pretend don’t exist. Mark Twain was a muckraker. In Twain’s book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, all the grime, racism, and vulgarity of the South in the mid 1800s, is depicted accurately and vividly. The story is set in St. Petersburg, Missouri, and follows a 13 year old boy, Huck, as he struggles against society internally to hold on to who he truly is, and externally to sneak a family slave up the Mississippi River and to the North. In this great American novel, Mark Twain utilizes his trademark sense of humor, and clever satirical writing style to pull readers in and show them the world from his realist point of view.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite having limited formal education, Mark Twain is one of the most phenomenal, highly respected American authors primarily known for writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. While he took on jobs in various fields such as being a journalist, entrepreneur, lecturer, or inventor, Twain’s greatest accomplishments undoubtedly arose from his literature.…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He wrote short stories for amusement and was a writer in his brother´s newspaper outlet. He was an apprentice for a steamboat captain but he still kept on his writing throughout and eventually released a few stories during the apprenticeship. His true writings have not occured until he went back home to Hannibal. The two primary ideas Twain drew from are the environment of his hometown and from his past experiences. According to History, ¨he remembered it in Old Times on the Mississippi (1875), the village was a “white town drowsing in the sunshine of a summer’s morning.” Twain remembered the times he had exploring Hannibal, and he mentioned the areas he wrote in his stories. As a boy, Twain was able to canoe to Glasscock´s Island, which became the setting for Jackson´s island in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Another area he had used in his story is McDowell's cave, which he named McDougal's Cave in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He also remembered the stories and the experiences that he had with people from his childhood, and he incorporated them into his own stories. The reenactments he had done with his friends were a burst of his imagination when he was a child. One of his friends, Tom Blankenship became the model for the character, Huckleberry. In the summer, he used to go to his uncle John Quarles´s farm, where he could play with his cousin. His uncle was a slaveholder, and his slave was named Uncle Daniel. Uncle…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Then in 1851 he got a job as a printer, but from time to time he would get to be the writer and editor at Hannibal Western Union. Hannibal Western Union was a company which was briefly owned by Orion ("Who's Mark Twain?...”). A few years later, Twain started learning how to pilot a steamboat, but the Civil War started and he went to join the Confederate Army. He served only for a couple of weeks, which was during June 1861 ("Mark Twain Biography”).…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain Controversy

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Everyone remembers reading the works of Mark Twain when they were in school. Freshman year of high school you’re sitting in your English class and the teacher is reading the story of Huckleberry Finn. As you go through the story, you start to think, “Wow, people actually treated other humans this way?” and you realize how cruel it really is. It teaches you that discrimination is not right and everyone deserves to be equal. Now just imagine never having read that book, never feeling the sympathy for the people that you felt, and never learning the lessons you learned from it.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn Research Paper

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The author Mark Twain created one of the world’s best children’s classic books in 1885. This novel is written in a realistic style, depicting how morals and actions of a child can clash concerning to society. Mark Twain displays realism through all his writing; Twain made sure the setting, characters, and speech screamed realistic. Not only were those important, Twain went a step farther by displaying education, religion, and romance using actual examples.…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain Thesis

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    has the newest car, and gets all the ladies. Or the person in art class who…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York: P.F. Collier and Sons, 1920. Print.…

    • 1928 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain first published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884 in the United Kingdom; it was published one year later in the United States. Taught in schools over 100 years later, Huckleberry Finn and his adventures have taught many lessons to youth around the world. Huck Finn is around 13 or 14 years old and runs off from his adoptive mother Widow Douglass because she wanted to “sivilise” him. After faking his death and running again, this time from his drunk and abusive father, Huck finds Miss Watsons’ runaway slave, Jim. Together, they travel down the Mississippi river in an attempt to get Jim to freedom. Through many problems and conflicts, one inner battle is prominent until the last few chapters when it is finally resolved. Huck…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain Research Paper

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Clemens, is a very well known author in American literature. He was a novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and literary critic. This renaissance man was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30th, 1835. However, he grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. He was the sixth child out of eleven. During his childhood, he was very sick and often confined to his bed. He was under the care of this mother, Jane. No one expected him to live (Powers, 39). Samuel's father, John M. Clemens, was a judge. He died when Samuel was twelve years old, leaving Samuel no other choice but to end his studies and search for a job. He began working for local newspapers as a typesetter. Eventually he worked for his older brother, Orion Clemens, who owned several newspapers. He married a wealthy woman named Olivia Langdon in 1870, and they had three daughters. Mark Twain became one of the most admired figures of his time and continued to earn honors until his death in 1910 (Magill, 2361). He died in Redding, Connecticut on April 21st.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am skeptical about speaker's assertion that the greatness of individuals can be only judged by those who live after them, not only by their contemporaries. Didn't Mark Twain become a famous novelist and a household name in his life time? Didn't Mozart's music gain people's appreciation in his short-lived 35 years? And didn't Albert Einstein obtain other scientists' identification when he created the theory of relativity?Admittedly, in the human history, there were many great persons didn't get his merited admiration in his contemporary era. But this phenomena is normal because sometimes the great man's achievement and theory totally exceed ordinary people's ability of understanding, even more some of them challenge the authority and tradition. Nicolaus Copernicus, the Poland astronomer and the father of modern astronomy, he didn't publish his theory of solar system until died, just because he was fear of inquisition's persecution. And Giordano Btuno who is the great Italy philosopher and ideologist, was executed by the inquisition…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays