A Brief History of Mark Twain

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There are many quotes to describe a classical American author, but Ulysses S. Grant describes one particular true American author as “. . . the simple soldier, who, all untaught of the silken phrase markers, linked words together with an art surpassing the art of schools and into them put a something which will bring American ears, as long as America shall last, the roll of his vanished drums and the thread of his marching hosts.” (American Experience, Grant’s Memoirs) Mark Twain is this simple soldier who is a true American author who expressed America with his writings. He fought for America in his writings as he did when he fought in the Civil War; the realistic literary time period. And his travels around the nation and life-changing experiences influenced him to write for the American readers to imagine what he viewed. Twain is a true American author due to his life events that influenced him to share with his beloved readers.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (or Mark Twain if one can correct) had dreams as a boy, just like any other young boy. After the death of his father, he set off to Hannibal, Missouri to work with his brother, Orion, for a newspaper called the Hannibal Gazette. He was only thirteen at the time. This, of course, was not his dream. Yet it’s how he began writing. He wrote short, funny stories about American tales in the newspapers he was obligated to publish. Clemens then became influenced by his own imagination to become a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river. He did become a pilot, and this gave rise to his story Life on the Mississippi. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 he was drafted as a Confederate soldier and served for two years. After the
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...wain, “Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.”

Works Cited

PBS, “Biography: Samuel Langhorne Clemens” American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series. PBS.. Web. 09 May 2014. .
PBS. “1890s - 1920s Naturalism” The American Novel. Web. 10 May 2014. .
PBS. “Mark Twain: Chronology” R. Kent Rasmussen’s Mark Twain A to Z. Web. 09 May 2014. .
"Mark Twain Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 15 May 2014. .
Howells, William Dean. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company. Web. 13 May 2014. .

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