Mark Twain's Life

1608 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Twain's Life and Works

Mark Twain was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30th, 1835 in the small town of Florida, Missouri. Samuel had been born into a family of six children, with the parents John Marshall and Jane Clemens. Little did his parents know that they were about to raise one of the most famous writers to ever be known in this world.
At the age of four, Mark Twain’s parents decided to move from Florida Missouri, to Hannibal, Missouri in hopes that they would be able to improve their living conditions.
While living in Hannibal, Samuel developed a very strong bond with the Mississippi River. He had always imagined being a steamboat captain. Although he had always wanted to that, his first job was actually being a Printer’s Apprentice. He took this job in 1848 which was a year after his father had died. Once 1851 hit, he started to submit sketches to his brother’s journal “Hannibal.” Soon, he became the editor of the journal in place of Orion.
At the age of twenty one, Clemens decided that he wanted to start doing something different with his life. Something more exciting and adventurous—So he headed to the New Orleans where he was to get on a ship to South America. While he was on this ship he was able to get his steamboat pilots license. He got his license by persuading Horace Bixby to train him with a fee of five hundred dollars. He spent two years as a cub pilot and eventually got his license in 1859. Because of the Civil War starting in 1861, Samuel didn’t get to live his dream of being a steamboat pilot for very long. The war caused all of the traffic on the river to come to a standstill.
In 1861, Samuel’s brother, Orion, was named secretary of Nevada by President Abraham Lincoln. Once he was secretary, he titled Samuel as his ...

... middle of paper ...

...ritten about how great of an influence Mark Twain has been on American Literature.
Twain’s childhood home is now open as a public museum in Hannibal, Missouri. Visitors can also go and explore the Mark Twain Cave and take a riverboat ride down the Mississippi River. There is even a whitewashed painted fence, like the one painted by Tom Sawyer, lining the property.
Also, in Calavaras County in California, they hold a Calavaras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee every third weekend in May. Whenever it is near his birthday, there are also walking tours that are offered to people of places that he visited in New York City.
Mark Twain was considered by far the greatest writer of all time. He had a lot of obstacles to overcome in his lifetime. Many deaths and many large debts, but he overcame them and was eventually announced one of the best writers of all time.

Show More
Related

  • Tom Sawyer essay

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Twain the author of "Adventure of Tom sawyer" was born in Missouri in 1835. He wrote about Tom Sawyer originally back in 1876, with the setting for the story, his home town of Hannibal Missouri, by the Mississippi River. Mark Twain reflection of women in society during his era can be conflicting at times. On thee one hand, He pictures some woman to be an "object" and also extremely dependent on men. Shown as weak, naïve, jealous, damsel in distress and can be seen as second class citizens at times. On the other hand, Mark Twain shows some women as 1st class citizens, an example of a model to society in manners, kindness, generosity and strong will.

    Read More

  • Realism In Daisy Miller And The Turn Of The Screw

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    Perhaps it was the romantic visionary in him that caused Clemens to recall his youth in Hannibal with such fondness. As 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, until the arrival of a riverboat suddenly made it a hive of activity. The gamblers, stevedores, and pilots, the boisterous rafts men and elegant travelers, all bound for somewhere surely glamorous and exciting, would have impressed a young boy and stimulated his already active imagination. And the lives he might imagine for these living people could easily be embroidered by the romantic exploits he read in the works of James Fennimore Cooper, Sir Walter Scott, and others. Those same adventures could be reenacted with his companions as well, and Clemens and his friends did play at being pirates, Robin Hood, and other fabled adventurers. Among those companions was Tom Blankenship, an affable but impoverished boy whom twain later identified as the model for the character Huckleberry Finn. There were local diversions as well fishing, picnicking, and swimming. A boy might swim or canoe to and explore Glasscock’s Island, in the middle of the Mississippi River, or he might visit the labyrinthine McDowell’s Cave, about 2 miles (3 km) south of town. The first site evidently became Jackson’s Island in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; the second became McDougal’s Cave in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In the summers, Clemens visited his Uncle John Quarles’s farm, near Florida, where he played with his cousins and listened to stories told by the slave Uncle Daniel, who served, in part, as a model for Jim in Huckleberry

    Read More

  • Literary Legends: Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...nfortunate events, Mark Twain became very bitter, cynical and reclusive from the outside world. Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic style of writing and Mark Twain’s humorous and realism tone of writing have played a large role in the reasons of why literature is the way it is today.

    Read More

  • Mark Twain Research Paper

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Twain was born shortly after a visit by Halley's Comet, and he had predicted that he would go out with it on its next visit too. He then later on died the day following the comet's following return. Twain was born in the small town of Florida, Missouri. He lived in a small, two-bedroom house, and was the fourth of five children, it was obviously very crowded in their house. Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri when he was at the age of 4 right next to the Mississippi river, which gave him the settings and inspiration for some of the books he wrote "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer".

    Read More

  • Mark Twain: The Pessimist

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    “One is obliged to concede that in true loftiness of character, Man cannot claim to approach even the meanest of the Higher Animals.” Mark Twain makes it clear to his audience that he has pessimistic views towards the human race. After seeing several works influenced or directly written by this talented author, one can gather that Twain’s negative take on humanity is warranted. “The Damned Human Race” teaches the reader that man is war-like and greedy, the film and novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn prove that society’s idea of what is right is not always moral, and current events and real life experiences solidify the ideas that man is evil. Mark Twain allows the reader to hear his views through the voices of others, such as Jim in the novel and a scientist in the essay. These mediums, that reveal Twain’s attitude towards humanity, prove that his negative take on the human race is justified.

    Read More

  • The Mark Twain Thesis

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mississippi Twain tells us of a man with a dream. As imperfection has it this

    Read More

  • Mark Twain

    329 Words  | 1 Pages

    Samuel Langhorne Clemen, was a very famous writer throughout his years. His pen name, which he is known by today is Mark Twain. He was known for his briliant and clever i deas in writing his stories. He was born in almost an "invisable" village of Florida on novemer 30, 1835. In 1839 the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. Soon after that his dad, John marcial Clemens died in the year 1847. Mark wrote book that are famous to this day. He started writing in his early years around 1864-1866. In 1865 he publishged his first story in the paper. This was the start of Twains big career. Mark twain himself was not only a publisher. through his years he was aldso a printer, pilot , soldier, miner, reporter, lecturer, editor, humorist, author, and business man. A majority of these careers helped lead him to be such a great publisher. A good career and life does not develope over night. It takes a lot of hard work and determination. Mark Twain did not only work hard and have determination, but he followed his dream. early in 1848 to 1858, 12 year old Twain became a printer apprentance for Joseph Ament, owner of the Hannibal Courier, which was the start of his life long career. During the years of 1853 to 1857 while he was still woking for Joseph Ament: Mark worked as a printer in St. Louis, New York, Philidelphia, Muscatine, Iowa, and Cinncinati. Working his way up from being a printer Twain became a prospector in Nevada during the years of 1861 to 1862. Then during the years of 1862 to 1864 Mark worked as a reporter and correspondent for Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.

    Read More

  • The Life Of Mark Twain

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    The child was puny, and did not make a very sturdy fight for life. Still he weathered along, season after season, and survived two stronger children, Margaret and Benjamin. By 1839 Judge Clemens had lost faith in Florida. He removed his family to Hannibal, and in this Mississippi River town the little lad whom the world was to know as Mark Twain spent his early life. In Tom Sawyer we have a picture of the Hannibal of those days and the atmosphere of his boyhood there.

    Read More

  • Samuel Clemens

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Life of Samuel Clemens A.K.A. Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better known as Mark Twain, the distinguished novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and literary critic who ranks among the great figures of American Literature. Twain was born in Florida Missouri, in 1835, To John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton. As a new born Twain already had moved four times westward. In 1839 the family moved again, this time eastward to Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal was a frontier town of less than 500 residents. As small as the town was it offered valuable materials and opportunities for a young writer. Most of the residents knew Samuel well, considering they were on the lower half of the social scale, such as poor whites and slaves. The town of Hannibal was mostly used for farmers coming in from the countryside. It was also a river town, swamped with travelers moving up stream and down stream. Some of the travelers were steamboat men, circus performers, minstrel companies, and showboat actors. Since all this action was going on all the time, that opened a big door to the beginning of Samuel’s stories. It provided a huge source of literary material. Shortly after the death of his father in 1847, he ended the brief period of his schooling to become a printer’s apprentice. Like many nineteenth century authors, he was preparing for his writing career later in life. Working as a Printer’s apprentice he got practice as a typesetter and miscellaneous reading. The first thing Samuel wrote as a used piece was a few skits for his brothers Orion’s Hannibal newspaper and a sketch, for The Dandy Frightening The Squatter, published in Boston in 1852. The first real book ever published by Mark Twain was Life on the Mississippi River. Between 1853 and 1857 Clemens worked a journeyman printer in seven different places. During this trip of making sketches and writing stories, he began eastward by boat. Twain started writing letters telling about his visits to New York and the Middle West in 1867. On his trip he seemed to have gotten him self in a lot a trouble such as disorderly conduct. After time passed Mark kept writing short stories here and there and a few sketches also. However, in 1869 he became part owner of the Buffalo Express. In 1870 Mark met the girl of his dreams and Olivia Langdon and

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn Book Report

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN AUTHOR’S SKETCH Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. When Samuel Clemens was four years old, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where he spent his childhood. Clemens first approach to literature was through typesetting for a newspaper in 1851. At the time Orion, his brother, was a newspaper publisher in Hannibal. From 1857 until 1861, he served as the pilot of a riverboat on the Mississippi River.

    Read More

  • Mark Twain's Influence on American Literature

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

    Read More

  • Mark Twain's Use Of Satire In Letters From The Earth

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    On Nov. 30, 1835, in the small town of Florida, Mo one of Americas most famous literary icons was born. He was the sixth child John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens and was named Samuel Langhorne Clemens. In 1839, the Clemens family moved 35 miles east to the town of Hannibal; MI. Hannibal was a port city that was along the banks of the Mississippi.

    Read More

  • Mark Twain Research Paper Outline

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain was a well know writer, riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor. He was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri and died on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut. His two most well known books are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and

    Read More

  • Analysis of an Excerpt from Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi"

    328 Words  | 1 Pages

    In "Two Views of the River," an excerpt from Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, Twain comes to the realization of the realities of the river. After a life along the river and knowing "every trifling feature that bordered the great river as" well as he knew his alphabet, (Twain 1) Twain sees the reality behind the "beauty" (1) and "poetry" (1) of the river. A comprehensive analysis reveals Twain's argument questions the value of learning a trade, as his images of "the majestic river" (1) and the peril it may cause for the steamboat, show the comparisons of the beauty and the reality of the river.

    Read More

  • A Brief History of Mark Twain

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Mark Twain's Life

Open Document