preview

How Mark Twain Influenced American Literature

Better Essays

How Mark Twain Influenced American Literature When you think of the start of American Literature, what comes to your mind? Authors such as Walt Whitman, Ernest Hemmingway, Emily Dickinson, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain stick out in our minds. They were the face of post-civil war and social realism poetry. Today we will take a closer look at Mark Twain, who was also known as the “Father” of American Literature. His work has survived more than 100 years after his death.
Mark Twain was born in 1835, as Samuel Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. He was the youngest out of 6 children born to John and Jane Clemens. He grew up knowing the hardships of being poor. At times, his family struggled with being able to put food on the …show more content…

The Civil War in 1861 shattered his dream job. He was no longer allowed to be a pilot because of the war. Instead of flying, he joined the war. This was also short-lived for him. It lasted for about only 2 weeks. It seemed that his dreams were dying out fast. He next decided to travel out West. Where he worked for another local Newspaper. He developed the alter ego name “Mark Twain” during this time. In 1869, Mark Twain wrote and published his first book “The Innocents Abroad”. Sam married his soulmate, Olivia in 1870. They moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1871 and started a family. The story “Roughing It” was published in 1872 and the following year “The Gilded Age”, which was a story about politics and the corrupt people involved, was published. The money was fruitful from these books. His family and himself stayed in Hartford for the next 17 years. Well-known stories such as “The Adventures of Huck Finn”, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, “Life on the Mississippi”, “The Prince and the Pauper”, and “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” got their first start here. In 1891, they were forced to move to Europe due to bankruptcy from Samuel’s enjoyment of investing into failing inventions. Shortly after, one of their daughters died from illness, and Samuel once again witnessed more death. In the 1900’s, his writings became more depressing. They focused on failing humanity. Whether he started to

Get Access