2. BACKGROUND
Also known as: Moved to Hannibal, Missouri in
1839, on the Mississippi River
Samuel Langhorne Clemens:
His father passed when he was just
Born: November 30, 1835 in 12 years old and soon after begin
Florida, Missouri. writing for his brother Orion’s
Parents: John Marshall and Jane newspaper. “Hannibal Journal”
Moffit Clemens and was the sixth Twain contributed reports, poems,
child. and humorous sketches to the Journal
for several years.
Since Samuel was born 2 months
premature and therefore he
suffered for the first 10 years with
his health.
3. MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Twain persuaded a riverboat pilot
by the name of Horace Bixby to
teach him the skills of piloting.
In April of 1859, Twain had
become a licensed riverboat pilot.
Mark Twain was established on
February 3, 1863. “The phrase,
meaning two fathoms deep, was
called in making soundings from
Mississippi Riverboats”.
4. BACKGROUND
Married: Olivia L. Langdon on
February 2, 1870.
They had four children. One son
Langdon and three daughters:
Susy, Clara, and Jean.
In 1872, Langdon their infant son
died.
In 1874, Mark Twain and his
family moved into a 19- room
house in Hartford, Connecticut.
5. MARK TWAIN
Tw a i n w r o t e t h e m a j o r i t y o f h i s
Twain’s Quote: major works at home
To us, our house…had
heart, and a soul, and
eyes to see us with; and
approvals and
solicitudes and deep
sympathies; it was of
us, and we were in its
confidence and lived in
its grace and the peace
of its benediction.
6. A FEW OF TWAIN’S SHORT
STORIES AND NOVELS
1873: 1st Novel: Roughing It. The Adventures of Huckleberry
title refers to the decades Finn was considered to be
succeeding the Civil War. Twain’s greatest work.
1876: The Adventures of Tom 1889: A Connecticut Yankee in
Sawyer. Twain’s first major use of
King Arthur’s Court.
memories of his childhood.
1880: A Tramp Abroad. 1892: The American Claimant.
1882: The Prince and the Pauper. 1894: The Tragedy of Pudd’n
1883: Life on the Mississippi.
head Wilson.
1884 in the United Kingdom and 1889: The Man That Corrupted
1885 in the United States: Hadleyburg.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
8. AS THE HUMOR
UNFOLDS
Twain was best known as a
humorist.
“He was a great fictionist and a
rough-hewn stylist” (Garland)
“His verbal mannerism became a
trademark: impassive, diffident,
drawling, even bumbling” (Perkins)
Twain was constantly the binary
man, speaking with a dual voice.
His nom de plume, expressed this
split personality.
“Twain was an improviser, an oral
performer depending on an
audience for his best effects”.
(Perkins)
9. WHAT OTHER AUTHORS
SAID ABOUT TWAIN:
He is “A gifted raconteur,
distinctive humorist, and irascible
moralist, he transcended the
apparent limitations of his origins
to become a popular public figure
and one of America's best and
most beloved writers”. (Author
Unknown)
“He was, at the very least, already
a double creature. He wanted to
belong but he also wanted to
laugh from the outside”. (Kaplan)
10. MARK TWAIN
With each book Twain focused on a multitude of things here’s
a few examples.
Huckleberry Finn: was written in the aftermath of
Reconstruction after the Civil War. He used realistic language
in this novel.
Life on the Mississippi: describes the history, sights, people,
and legends of the steamboats and towns of the Mississippi
River region.
The Tragedy of Pudd’n Head Wilson: Twain focused on racial
prejudice as the most critical issue facing American society.
11. HIS FINAL CHAPTER
As his career cultivated, he
seemed to become more and
more removed from the
humorous, cocky image of his
younger days.
Twain Died: April 21, 1910 in
Redding, Connecticut of a heart
disease
He left behind numerous
unpublished manuscripts,
including his large but incomplete
autobiography.
12. WORKS CITED:
Craven, Jackie. The Mark Twain House. About.com. 2007. New York Times Co.
http://architecture.about.com/od/housetours/ig/Mark-Twain-
House/Mark-Twain-House.-0ia.htm
Garland, Hamlin. NAR. June 1910. p. 833
Kaplan, Justin. Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain (Simon). 1966. p.18
Leninger, Phillip., Perkins, Barbara., Perkins, George. Benet’s Readers Encyclopedia of American
Literature. 1991. Harper Collins Publisher.
Mark Twain. 2011. A & E Television Networks., http://www.history.com/topics/mark-twain
