Mark Twain

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, an American writer and humorist. He is best known for the novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which are regarded as classics of American literature.

Early Life

Clemens was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and grew up in the town of Hannibal on the Mississippi River. The town and the river provided the setting for his most famous works.

His father died when he was eleven, and he left school to work as a printer's apprentice. He later worked as a typesetter and wrote sketches for newspapers.

He became a licensed riverboat pilot on the Mississippi, a profession that he loved and that he described in Life on the Mississippi. The pen name Mark Twain is a riverboat term meaning two fathoms deep.

The Western Years

Clemens went to Nevada and California during the Civil War and tried his hand at mining. He failed and turned to journalism.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, published in 1865, made him famous. The story is a humorous tall tale in the frontier tradition.

He travelled to Europe and the Holy Land and wrote The Innocents Abroad, a travel book that satirised American tourists and European customs. The book was a bestseller.

The Major Novels

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published in 1876. The novel describes the boyhood adventures of Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn in a town on the Mississippi.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884 in Britain and in 1885 in the United States. It is narrated by Huck and treats the journey down the river and the friendship with the runaway slave Jim.

The novel is celebrated for its use of vernacular speech and for its treatment of race and of freedom. It is often called the great American novel.

Later Works and Views

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court satirises feudalism and romantic notions of the past. The Prince and the Pauper treats the theme of identity.

The later works, including Pudd'nhead Wilson and The Mysterious Stranger, are darker and more pessimistic. Clemens was critical of imperialism, of racism, and of organised religion.

He was a friend of many writers and public figures, including William Dean Howells and Helen Keller. He was a celebrated public speaker and a wit.

Later Life and Death

Clemens invested heavily in a typesetting machine and in a publishing house, and both ventures failed. He was forced to undertake a world lecture tour to repay his debts.

He was awarded honorary degrees from Oxford and from other universities. He died in 1910 at his home in Redding, Connecticut.

His autobiography was published a century after his death, in accordance with his instructions. It is a frank and unconventional account of his life.

Legacy

Twain is regarded as the father of American literature. His use of the vernacular and his satirical humour shaped the development of the American novel.

Huckleberry Finn has been both celebrated and challenged, and it remains a central text in the debate about race and literature. His writings on imperialism and on democracy remain relevant.

His name is associated with the American West and with the river. He is remembered as a humourist and as a moralist.

The Mississippi River

Clemens trained as a riverboat pilot and worked on the Mississippi from 1857 to 1861. The experience gave him a knowledge of the river and of the people who lived along it.

He used the river as a setting and as a metaphor in his fiction. The river represents freedom and the flow of life.

The pen name Mark Twain comes from the cry of the leadsman. It means that the water is two fathoms deep and safe for navigation.

The Travel Books

The Innocents Abroad, published in 1869, describes a voyage to Europe and the Holy Land. The book satirises the pretensions of American tourists and the corruption of the Old World.

Roughing It, published in 1872, describes his experiences in the West. The book is a humorous account of mining, of journalism, and of the frontier.

A Tramp Abroad and Life on the Mississippi are further travel books. The latter combines autobiography with history and with social observation.

The Later Years

Clemens's business ventures failed, and he was forced to undertake a lecture tour to repay his creditors. The tour took him around the world.

He was a celebrated public figure and a friend of presidents and of writers. He was awarded honorary degrees from Oxford and from Yale.

He was a critic of imperialism and of the conduct of the United States in the Philippines. He was a member of the Anti-Imperialist League.

The Autobiography

Clemens dictated his autobiography and left instructions that it should be published a century after his death. The first volume appeared in 2010.

The autobiography is unconventional and digressive. It contains anecdotes, reflections, and portraits of his contemporaries.

The work has been studied for its frankness and for its treatment of the themes of his fiction. It is a major document of American literary history.

See also

• American literature
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn