Essay on The Importance of Mark Twain in American Literature

The Importance of Mark Twain in American Literature 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. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in a small village of Florida, Missouri. His parents names were John Marshall Clemens and Jan Lampton Clemens, descendants of slaves in Virginia. They had been married in Kentucky and move to Tennessee and then Missouri. When Sam was four, his father, who was full of the†¦show more content†¦During those ten years Sam also engaged in another skill. He was piloting steamboats on the Mississippi River. He might have remained a pilot had not the Civil War intruded (Encyclopedia Americana 192A). When the war closed the river and after two hectic weeks in the Confederate Army, he went to Nevada with his brother, an abolitionist whom President Lincoln had appointed secretary to the territorial governor. And so, while the Civil War raged in the East, Samuel Clemens found himself searching the Wet for silver, and, soon his father, dreaming of a fortune (American Writers 193). Since Samuels career as a prospector and a minor was a failure, he went back solely on journalism as a profession. In 1862, he got a secured job with the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. This demonstrated his ability as a reporter and a humorist. A year later, in February 1863, he adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain a river phrase meaning two fathoms deep (Encyclopedia Americana 291A). He started to use the pen name Mark Twain while he was on the Enterprise. Changing names during this time was common for writers. When readers saw that name they looked for a unique perspective upon people and events, and usually a comic one. It signified an invented personality, a mask. He mostly signed humorous journalism and other personal writings by Mark Twain. For his political reporting, he signed himself Samuel L. Clemens. SamuelShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Mark Twain s Works Made A Huge Impact On Readers And Literary Critics1288 Words   |  6 Pages2/26/17 P:2 Outline Mark Twain’s works made a huge impact on readers and literary critics. His writing occurred during both the romantic and realist time eras in American Literature. He has simple, seemingly artless narrators and an understated style leads readers to arrive at the social commentary of his narratives on their own. Mark Twain’s writing influenced society because he created a new perspective on life with the views pointed out in his books. The distinctive trait of Twain s was his senseRead More Mark Twain Essay1449 Words   |  6 Pages Mark Twain was a pilot, a comic lecturer, a humorist, a short story writer, and a novelist, to name a few of his many accomplishments. On November 30, 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain, became the first man of any importance ever to be born west of the Mississippi River. He has become an icon as the American writer. This is because his way of writing cannot be simulated by Europeans or anyone else, due to the fact that the western setting of America creates aRead MoreMark Twains Humorous Satire in Running for Governor1692 Words   |  7 PagesÃ¥ ¹ ´ 02 æÅ"ˆ Tel:+86-551-5690811 5690812 ISSN 1009-5039 Overseas English æ µ · Ã¥ ¤â€" è‹ ± è ¯ ­ Overseas English æ µ · Ã¥ ¤â€" è‹ ± è ¯ ­ Mark Twains Humorous Satire in Running for Governor ç” °Ã¥â‚¬ © ï ¼Ë†Ã¥ ® Ã¥ ¤ Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦ Ã¥ ¤â€"å› ½Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã©â„¢ ¢Ã¯ ¼Å' Ã¥ ® Ã¥ ¤  é“ ¶Ã¥ ·  750021ï ¼â€° Abstract: Mark Twain, a mastermind of humor and realism, is seen as a giant in world literature. His humorous satire had great impact on the following men of letters; critics also attached significant importance to it and put forward various interpretations. Noticeably, his humor⠁Æ' ous satire finds full expressionRead More Samuel Langhorne Clemens Essay1140 Words   |  5 PagesSamuel Langhorne Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens or commonly known as Mark Twain was an American writer and humorist. Twain’s writing is also known for realism of place and language, memorable characters, and hatred of bad faith and oppression. Clemens was born in Florida and then later on moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a Mississippi river port, when he was four years old. There he received a public school education. After his father died in 1847, Clemens was assisted to two Hannibal printersRead More Biography of Mark Twain Essay1429 Words   |  6 PagesBiography of Mark Twain Mark Twain was a writer whose works revolved around his childhood experiences growing up on the Mississippi River. The main source of his writing was the time he spent in Hannibal, Missouri as a young boy. He also used his childhood friends in many of his work, such as modeling the character Sid in Huck Finn after his brother Henry. Twain also used the happy times in his life to express his feeling in his writings. Twain used the trials of his life to make his works humorousRead MoreEssay about Influences that Have Shaped American Literature1001 Words   |  5 PagesInfluences that Have Shaped American Literature There have been a number of influences that have shaped American literature. From the time that Western Europeans founded the country to the inclusion of Native American lore to the contributions of such literary giants as Mark Twain and Carol Sandburg, the composition of American Literature has been both constant and ever changing. In deed as much as America, itself, is a melting pot of diversity within a cultural concern, so too is this considerableRead MoreExamples Of Hypocrisy In The Adventures Of Huck Finn1542 Words   |  7 Pageshumans throughout history. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huck Finn is an example of him using satire to reach his readers denouncing slavery and religious hypocrisy giving examples of man’s inhumanity towards man. His main objective in using satire in Huck Finn was to protest the evil practices that were so frequent in the Frontier. By using satire this made it more appealing and enjoyable for readers and hopefully more effective in his attempt to change society. Twain depicted it under differentRead MoreThe Importance Of Twain s Literary Career1071 Words   |  5 PagesThe many points that Twain made throughout his life surrounded the flaws found in the 19th century society. Early in Twain’s childhood, he witnessed the foul nature of slavery. When Twain was ten years old, he watched as a white man crushed a slave with a chunk of iron ore. The man’s reason for killing the slave was simply because the slave was working in an awkward manner. To Twain’s astonishment, the only sympathy from the incident was directed toward the slave’s owner who was never reimbursedRead MoreAnalysis Of Mark Twain s The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn752 Words   |  4 Pageseverything in it. In the 1880s classic American novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain urges individuals to release themselves from the current bonds of society to achieve a greater level of happiness. In order to reach the greater level of happiness unreachable in the current circumstances of society, individuals must learn from and mimic nature’s methods which nature utilizes to better itself. Analysis of Literature Critics generally agree Mark Twain intentionally uses nature, more specificallyRead MoreNaturalism and Regionalism Defining through American Literature1470 Words   |  6 PagesRegionalism and naturalism are two different types of American literature. Naturalism focuses on the philosophical or scientific ideas whereas regionalism is about he characteristics of a specific region. Bret Harte and Willa Cather are regionalist authors who use the setting to put emphasis in their stories. Furthermore, Mark Twain is a naturalist writer. Twain attempts to use lower class citizens to get across a bigger point. Harte also uses minorities. However, he focuses on how the region