Why Mark Twain Is Famous

Why Mark Twain is Famous

Why was Mark Twain famous and well known throughout the world? But first what is the fame I am talking about. Many people become famous for mainly two reasons. One is being known or talked about by many people, and the second is achieving something notable that nobody else has done before. Now which category does Twain fall under now? He falls under the category of being known by people and what he does, so he falls under both. The important thing is the he didn’t try to be popular in the first place, but because of his personality of having a big heart and his humorous attributes he did. People just looked up to him, mainly for how close he follow his ideals without being told how he should live his life. As he traveled the world, he left a little impression on everyone that he met along his journey to get free from his debt. Some people believe that Mark Twain is mainly famous for his American literature. Like many know of the books “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Others say he is famous for his popular lectures that he gave all around the world. Always appeared elegantly clad in his trademark white suit that complemented his white mustache and his distinctive hair, along with his cigar. I believe that Mark Twain is famous because a lot of people like and know him for stuff he did in his life. Whenever you here about Mark Twain, the first thing that you think about is his books that he has written. I only knew about him through the books that I had read during my middle school years and high school years. His books spread joy and laughs to all the readers out there. He wrote light, humorous verse but evolved into grim, and almost profane chronicler of the vanities, hypocrisies and murderous acts of mankind. In his books, you could see insights into the human psyche and each word he wrote stirs both controversy and admiration. Some would say he might have been a racist for his work, that some books would be band. The reason being is that his books’ plot comes mainly from adventures he has experienced throughout his life. He traveled around a lot and began writing books about his travels. Later in his life when his two daughters died, critics thought that Twains works became more serious because of his sadness. Some of his works were translated into other languages for other around the world to read. For example one of Twain’s famous book “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was publish in at least sixty languages. Huck Finn was a pretty serious story that tells the social evils of slavery through the eyes of an innocent child. Huck the main character was hiding away with an African American named Jim, in hopes that Jim will finally have freedom from being a slave. So they befriend each other a live their days along side a river. Another one of his books called “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” really put his heart into what a child is like during that time. Mainly because it was about his youth in Hannibal. Around June 1867, Twain contributed regularly to Alta-California, by writing several letters for the New York Tribune. Each letter preached a new gospel of seeing with an overflowing honesty. He pointed out things that he thought to be shams and praised whatever wasn’t. This had made famous, in that publishers were ready with plans on making his letters in a book form. His books really pulled the heartstrings of readers all around the world, and cause him to be known. Public speaking also gave Twain his popularity and his wealth. Twain wasn’t getting much wealth from his stories that he wrote. After he had returned to California, a friend suggested he try his hand at lecturing. He was already known as an entertaining speaker, talking about various observations and stories that he made. The speeches he was giving were making him very wealth as he went from coast to coast. Not only did it affect in an economical way, the public speaking he gave, was giving him a load of attention that he had craved. In reality, his character while he was speaking was more of stand–up performer. He was a very humorous fellow, which led to more and more people liking him. These live performances were a major role in shaping the world’s perception of him. For example one of his speeches “Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands” was a very humorous speech of his. It was so good that many were too weak to leave their seats. It had raised his fame up quite a bit.

As you well know, that to be popular to people you must have a great personality to pull it off. Twain always liked being the center of attention, but he wasn’t doing to be popular in the first place. This humble of attitude of not striving to be popular impresses others to be more likely to give a little flattery to him. His humorous nature also gained him points in popularity. It is one of the most significant attributes that people truly appreciate in other. His ability to talk to others as if they already knew each other, made him easier to approach unlike other celebrities that are intimidating to approach. His outgoing nature made him a very cooperate person to be around. In fact just by reading his books, you could just feel what kind of character he was by reading his books. He really sketch his soul into his literature, and that made you feel that you were right with him along with the adventures he had as akid.

Mark was traveling a lot in his later years. All started out when he tried to be an entrepreneur to get rich fast. It was a very tricky matter, how much would be a safe bet for an investment though. He planned on publishing his own books since he didn’t like his publisher too much. Not only that, he also invested in a new typesetting technology that wasn’t perfected yet it would be soon. After running out of money to fund the machine and his publishing business open, he filed bankruptcy in 1894. It had put a huge burden on his family. They could no longer afford to live in Hartford, so he sold it and moved to Berlin, Germany. It was then that he set out on an around-the-world lecture tour in that year. He was determined to pay off his debt, even though he wasn’t under any legal obligation to do so. Meeting more and more people wherever he journeyed to give his speeches.

In conclusion, I believe that Mark Twain is famous celebrity known around the world. Since he is a well-known writer, this lead to some of his popularity. His lectures that he gave around the world also help gave him the notoriety he has today. Also his personality allowed people to warm their hearts up to him. Finally is all the traveling he did when he was in debt; help him become famous by meeting new people. Overall his life long habit of manuscripts he has written, are what has corresponded with people throughout the world and that has made him very famous.

Work cited
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"Mark Twain | Bankruptcy." Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney | Bankruptcy Lawyers | Sandberg Law Firm. Sandberg Law Firm. Web. 3 July 2011.
Smith, Rob. "Mark Twain Biography - A Complete Biography on Mark Twain." Mark Twain - Complete Works of Mark Twain, Biography, Quotes. 5 Apr. 2008. Web.
"What Are Some of the Most Famous Novels Written by Mark Twain?" Ask Questions, Find Answers - Askville. 10 Dec. 2008. Web. 28 June 2011. Web.