Essay about Advice to Youth and Mark Twain

Twain mentions on how we as teenagers and smaller kids should consider on hearing and thinking more when adults try to give us advice, because most of them have already been through what we are living now. On the lesson he gives us an advice on how becoming a better liar can make you a much smarter person in a very humorous and entertaining way.

1. The issue Twain is satirizing is that youths are being told how to live and how to act when they get older.

These paragraphs mention a couple of immoral aspects of Twain’s life. When he buries his grandmother under the grapevine, he justifies his reasoning through common sense. “The vine needed fertilizing, my aunt had to be buried, and I dedicated her to this high purpose.” This justification is ironic because his deceased grandmother is providing life for the vines. He also refers to the Constitution in support of his actions. “Does that unfit me for the President? The Constitution of our country does not say so.” Irony also occurs when Twain admits that he dislikes the poor. “I regard the poor man, in his present condition, as so much wasted raw material.” This statement is ironic because the office of the presidency swears on oath to support and serve the entire population of the United States. Because of this, the ironies placed in these two paragraphs further bring out the humor of this

“The age at which a boy is willing to endure all things, suffer all things short of death by fire if thereby he may be conspicuous and show off before the public”. This excerpt provides evidence that Twain was in it for the thrill of getting a rise out of people. He honestly admits that he acts out because of his age, meaning that he must be but an actor of course young or old.

Mark Twain is satirizing the advice young people are given by authoritative figures on different issues in life. The words of wisdom used to guide youth usually promote the same ideals and are repeated so often that in some sense they lose their strength. That does not mean though that the issues they touch upon are not important. Twain uses humor to actually make young people go beyond the banality and conformity and ask questions of importance.

Mark Twain, one of the most famous and influential American writers, was born in Hannibal, Missouri on November 30, 1835 and died April 21, 1910. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, he eventually adopted his famous pseudonym in 1863. Shortly after his father's death in 1847, when Clemens was twelve, his father passed away. After his father death, he applied for an apprenticeship at the local-printing shop. While working in the printing shop, Twain learned the skills required to be a printer and developed an aptitude for witty short essays and responses. Mark Twain was enthralled by his opportunity to develop his skills as a printer, and later he realized that he had a unique talent for writing. By working as an apprentice printer, he

“The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter- ‘tis the difference between the lightning bug and lightning.”(Mark Twain). Mark Twain, the author of an extraordinary yet controversial novel; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn had a great way of capturing moments in time and bringing them to life through the use of meaningful and direct diction. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a vexed novel for it 's a use of the “N-word”. However, many scholars and associations have devised a “solution” for this problem such as, completely banning the book, creating sanitized versions, or even replacing the book for another American literature novel. “What is so wrong

the person, Huck can not stand to see anyone go through pain. Later, in the

Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is based on a young boy's coming of age in Missouri in the mid-1800s. The adventures Huck Finn gets into while floating down the Mississippi River depict many serious issues that occur on the shores of civilization, better known as society. As these events following the Civil War are told through the young eyes of Huckleberry Finn, he unknowingly develops morally from the influences surrounding him on his journey to freedom and in the end, becomes a mature individual.

Most people think of education as only happening in a school but there are many different ways to get an education. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, a young boy named Huckleberry Finn finds adventure and learns lessons along the Mississippi river with A runaway slave, Jim. Huck's unorthodox education is given to Huck by four different people: Pap, the King and the Duke, and Jim.

People always say that laughter alleviates tension. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the use of humor when discussing uncomfortable topics can make the conversation easier and more light-hearted. One of Mark Twain’s most frequently used devices in works such as “Advice to Youth”, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is satire, which can provide society a method to bond over uncomfortable topics, and facilitate the ability to sustain that bond through an easier way to create discussion.

Mark Twain, in his writing of “Advice to Youth,” reveals what he believes to be relevant instruction to guide the youth to success. These statements in regard to who he’s speaking to is are as pertinent today as it was in 1882 when the speech was given. This didactic oratory, as it was written to the young, is expressed in the vernacular which allows for a sense of relation from Twain to those he’s speaking to. In addressing this advice, Twain uses several literary techniques including satire, diction, and hyperbole among several others. Specifically used by Twain is Juvenalian satire which bitterly and ironically criticizes society, in this case how children are raised to think and act.

Mark Twain is important to American literature because of his novels and how they portray the American experience. Some of his best selling novels were Innocents Abroad, Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In these books, Mark Twain recalls his own adventures of steamboating on the Mississippi River.

The character development of Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain’s piece, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” reflects the transition from boyhood to manhood of the main protagonist who is challenged by society to either maintain his own unique perspective and attitude or assimilate into a civilized community that upholds traditional White-American beliefs. Similarly, Kate Chopin in her novel “The Awakening,” utilizes fictional storytelling to articulate the internal struggle of Edna Pontellier on her quest to part from her conventional role as a woman and for the first time since youth, pursue her self interests. Chopin’s work targets current social understanding of morality and ethics, removing the notion that you have to abide by what society demands from you based on predetermined unjustified reason. The development of the characters’ identity in these texts reciprocate the complex nature of living life with society pushing down on you with standards and expectations, challenging your own thoughts and visions. This a persistent topic that Chopin and Twain, both engage in explaining through storytelling to highlight current social issues, where they indirectly reference the American Civil War and Women’s Rights Movement during the mid to late eighteen hundreds. The social conflict in Huckleberry Finn examines the nature of an individual’s process to gain consciousness about their role in life, which enables them to do what they consider morally just. This thinking is also

Mark Twain’s “Advice to Youth” is more than just a satirical speech. He is advising youth to prepare to join and be competent in adult life. Twain uses satire and sarcasm as an effective tool to be able to communicate and capture his youthful audience. Since conventional sermons about ethics and morals are often heard and overused during this time, Twain was brilliant enough to understand this and develop an effective technique. Without using this technique, his speech and many of his words may of fell on many of deaf ears. His cleverness cannot be argued with the effective method used to communicate and deliver his monumental speech. However, considering that the true purpose of this message is to bring about a positive message to the teenagers, some may consider his purpose more directed towards the adults mocking the old saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’ motto. Twain may have been more focused on tying to point out the errors of adult cynicism, with a view toward making society more honest, cooperative, and rational. The end result, although untraditional and sarcastic, his speech and advice was likely absorbed by the teens because it was delivered in a way those young minds would rather hear and listen to. His satirical and humorous word and phrase choices engaged his audience and strengthened