The Stories of Samuel Clemens

Have you ever hear of the author Samuel L. Clemens? If not you will probably recognize his pseudonym Mark Twain. Sam Clemens received his pen name when he was a “riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River where the cry ‘mark twain’ signaled the depth of water -- about 12 feet was required for the safe passage of riverboats (“Mark Twain” par. 1).” Twain’s literary style consisted mainly of humor. “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt,” is an example of Twain’s comical style. This critical humor made him an iconic american. He was a very talented speaker, writer, and humorist (“Mark Twain” par. 2). He also tended to use the same literary styles and the same personalities for the characters in his stories.

In Twain’s short story, “About Barbers,” he uses his sarcastic and comical tone. He shows this by calling the two barbers he is waiting on ‘No.1 and No. 2’ (All quotes from the short stories are from “Mark Twain”). He is implying that he is watching a race by comparing how quickly they are cutting hair. Twain says, “When I saw that Number 2 was gaining on Number 1 my interest grew to solicitude,” which is showing that he was hoping that No. 1 would finish first so that he did not have to have No. 2 cut his hair. It almost seems as if Twain was betting on a race since he was watching each of the barber’s movements closely to see which one of them would win. Twain was so upset when Number 1 “lost the race by a single instant” that he left the barbershop so that he did not have to have his hair cut by Number 2. When he reenters the barber shop fifteen minutes later he waits for a while and then he “surrenders” to Number 2. His wording here shows that he tried h...

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... dispel the myths but he only ends up amplifying the interest in the man. The man never intended for the story to be believable. He even tried to make it so farfetched that the people dismissed it on their own but they still believed. The character then must carry on with the story so that he does not look like a complete liar. The philosophical reasoning behind the story is that no one should lie in any sort of scenario because the results of the lie may end by blowing up in their face.

Anyone who has ever read any of Samuel Clemens’s works should be able to recognize or identify with his style because he does not try to hide or mask them. Most of the characters in his stories share the same personalities as well. So it is very obvious that Twain’s styles often include using a form of comedy and delivering the messages he wants to portray through his philosophies.