Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain

The “Father of American Literature” Samuel Langhorne Clemens, more commonly known as Mark Twain, is not just a name most people know. It is a man of history who is said to be the Father of American Literature. Although there are other great authors of this time, Mark Twain used many different styles of writing within his work that helped to create the mastermind of a writer he once was and so that it would live on to be talked about today. Twain used a very relaxed style of writing that hadn’t been used by any other author during this point in time. With his writing of amazing stories about Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, the mighty Mississippi River, and many more Mark Twain created adventure for the average American with his humor, attention to details, and the realism he used.

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.

“Have no fear of perfection - you 'll never reach it,” said famous Spanish painter, Salvador Dali. Dali seems to be implying that no matter the effort, perfection is unattainable and something that should not be feared by anyone. Famous Puritan authors Jonathan Edwards and Nathaniel Hawthorne in their works give the same impression as Dali, they both believe that the strive for perfection is both unrealistic and unattainable. In regard to the unattainably of perfection Hawthorne and Edwards’ opinions differ greatly, Edwards believes that even though perfection is unrealistic, one can and should still strive for it, while Hawthorne on the other hand believes that because perfection will never be reached, it would be unnecessary for one to strive for it.

Samuel L. Clemens, better known for his novelist title Mark Twain, wrote an intuitive short story in 1905 as a response to the Spanish-American and Philippine-American War. He began his writing career at the age of eighteen until the commence of the Civil War; in which he then volunteered to join the war. Within two weeks he quit and set off for a new conquest much in which resembled soul searching. Expediting to move across the country he crossed paths with natives and became a familiar writer moving to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). Twain’s form of writing cultivated into a fervent style during his life in Hartford yet took an aberrant turn reaching the nineteen hundred. He began to pivot around dark writings that focused on the inner workings

Some of the most riveting books in not just American literature but in all of history, was written by this famous author. Twain, an American writer, is one of the major authors of American fiction. Also, he is considered the greatest humorist in American literature (Alan Gribben, np). Mark Twain was influenced by the society’s conditions he lived in, hence the incorporation of much of it in his writing.

Mark Twain’s use of irony to express a better sense humor is displayed in many of his short stories. Such as “Luck”, in this story a clergyman explains how the “hero” was able to make mistakes and receive commendations and medals because acts of stupidity turned into acts of military intelligence. “He was appointed an officer, a captain of all things” (Twain, “Luck”), the clergyman said for the reason that the stupid “hero” that had barely made it through basic training was appointed a captain. “He continued to climb up, over the dead bodies of his superiors” (Twain, “Luck”), the hero continued to make mistakes and was promoted only due to the death of his superiors and his “so called” acts of military intelligence. Twains

Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has caused controversy over whether it should be taught in schools due to the racist content of the novel. These racist aspects of the novel are not meant to be racist but in fact the opposite, they are used by twain to convey messages about the time period in which the novel was written. Samuel Clemens or his pen name Mark Twain was born and grew up in Hannibal, Missouri which is where his novel takes place. Most of Twain’s works are works of satire, mostly criticizing Society. Satire is using humor to criticize or expose problems within the area that is being satirized.

Samuel L. Clemens, more commonly known as Mark Twain, has numerous facets in his legacy seared into American Literature: humor, blunt hypocrisy, satire, suspense, and tragedy comprised with a rare darkness. His writing in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and targeted authority, civilized stipulations, politics, social flaws and Christianity. Twain was even referred to as a traitor because of the harsh, yet necessary criticism in his works. Because of his defiance, many scholars refer to him as the “Lincoln of Literature.”

Samuel Clemens propensity to draw on his own experiences started early in writing when he adopted the name Mark Twain presumably to connect back one of his most positive first experiences in life when he was a riverboat captain; “mark twain” of course signifying a safe depth for riverboat operation on the river. Twain was well traveled and encountered diverse and unique people in various parts of the country. He was also exposed to many of the issues that were facing society at the time. America was being transformed and a lot of this change came

Mark Twain was a celebrated writer during his lifetime and is still today long past his death. One of Twain’s famous works titled, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is a prime example of local color writing done during the 19th century. Twain’s novel shows the average person what life and the people in rural America are like. The story takes place in a gold mining camp in Calaveras County, California during the 1850s. Out west was still very rural and full of many different types of characters. Additionally, most people who lived out there had an accent and verbage similar to that of the modern day southern United States. The characters themselves show the type of place Calaveras county was, with the main character Smiley being

Mark Twain is a prominent american author and humorist. In his novel, Twain correctly displays life in the north and south of the United States, during a difficult time

Samuel L. Clemens grew up along the Mississippi River with a dysfunctional family life that exposed him to the real world of southern culture. As a young boy, Clemens was always roughing around down by the river and was uncovered to the problem of slavery. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” states, that at the age of 12, Clemens was forced to work for his older brother because his father died. When he was a typesetter at his brother 's newspaper, Clemens found a talent that he never knew he had, writing (3). As “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” explains, Clemens went out west after being a Confederate soldier for two weeks. There he

Samuel Clemens or Mark Twain was a famous realism writer. Clemens grew up in Missouri along the Mississippi River. At the time, Missouri was a slave state and his uncle, who he spent most of his summers with, owned many slaves. It was during this time Clemens was able to speak and gain an understanding of what slaves went through. His feelings for slaves were made stronger when he moved to New York for schooling, an abolitionist state ("A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World”). He applied his experience into his writing, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The book describes in detail the life and personality of a slave. He expresses his views he gained on his uncle’s farm about slaves through Huck Finn and how he “[believed Jim] cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n” because of how Huck had been able to observe Jim up close just as Clemens was able to (Twain 117). The book takes place near his childhood home on the Mississippi river and he used his personal experiences to provide a vivid recreation of the events and scenery he experienced. By writing about the life he lived, he is able to offer a realistic look at what he experienced during his life. The realism era brought a more real approach to literature and had a focus of depicting what really

In the mid 19th century, America was viewed as a hotspot for freedom and wealth. When the noise of the gold rush flooded the world, immigrants started to see America more appetizing than ever. The Chinese saw America as a place to have a fresh start and as a place of refuge because of it’s generosity, so they immigrated to the west in great numbers. There was a large Chinese population in Virginia and all along the Pacific coast. Writers Mark Twain and Maxine Hong Kingston both wrote in great detail about the Chinese Immigrants. They went into detail about the immigrants and how they came over and why. Although Twain and Kingston both wrote about the immigrants in a positive light, Twain was sympathetic of the immigrants and Kingston focused more on their image and her ancestors.

In the biography Mark Twain: The Divided Mind of America's Best-Loved Writer by David W. Levy it was made clear that Mark Twain was very involved with all the society changes in his time period. Many of his novels have a theme circulating around the different changes and problems in society including slavery and racism. Mark Twain has been through the years preceding the Civil War, the Gilded Age and industrialization, this book explores his attitude and actions during the time period. This book is very good with explaining and going into detail about what happened in Mark Twain’s life in the 18th and 19th century.