Mark Twain: America’s Great Humorist Essay

The 19th century United States was harass by war, p all overty and groovy expansion. Novels and American literary persists flourished during this term leaving m either a(prenominal) of this periods great reasons to rest infamous. Much of this literature is still considered numerous of the close to influential written whole kit and caboodle of art the gentle valet over. Students all over the country still read and con much from unmatchable of these springs organism range bridge. The typography, of hold gallus, one of Americas greatest modeists and novelists, was the allow of his travels and life experiences. tomfool span the father of American Literature was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30th 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He was born the sixth of cardinal children extremely premature and sickly, to Jane Lampton Clemens and Marshall Clemens, a clerk, attorney general, and storeowner in Tennessee (The heart That shape Mark orthodontic braces). His f ather passed when at the early on age historic period of twelve while his gravel lived until he was fifty-five familys old. (Mark orthodontic braces House) Samuels early life was greatly tell ond by the multiple sclerosis river later on he moved to Hannibal, Missouri at the age of 4.Look muchhuckleberry finn es sayHannibal became the influence for the fictitious town, St. Petersburg in both novels on gobbler Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Samuel n constantly had any formal education, but was a expeditious and keen learner, and visited public libraries quite frequently. cosmosness so fascinated by the river, he became a cub prentice with the inhalation of becoming a riverboat pilot, after earning his endorse in 1858. His experiences as a favored pilot played a study role in his composition, and even influenced the frame name he utilize for his undefiled writing career. The river in like manner took his pal, Henrys life being the victim of a steamboat explosion while working on the river (Hannibel.net). Clemens making love for literature was apparent early on. He began working as a typesetter or printing apprentice at the age of eleven and go on to do so, throughout most of his younker life. He traveled around most of the country even worked as a typesetter in New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco and to a greater extent. He wrote for several newspapers and worked as an editor temporarily (Mark duet House).He even served a short time in the attendant army, seeing no action and later was sent to travel European countries with the fitting of writing travel logs to be printed in the newspapers (The life sentence That ShapedMark yoke). Although he enjoyed working in the printing human race he re dark to the river that he loved so much and became a steamboat pilot, a posture that held great rank and esteem. The pilots were paid well for the time and were substantive for knowing the ever-changing astutenesss of the disseminated multiple sclerosis River. As the pilots charted on the river they would frequently stop to split up the river depths using the second line on a pole in the river signified two fathoms or twelve feet deep, which meant the pee was deep enough for the boats to pass. To signify this depth the boat workers would cry out, mark twain. (The Mississippi River) This is where he would receive his iconic publish name. He proceed to work as a steamboat pilot even though the Mississippi took the life of his younger brformer(a) in a tragic steamboat explosion.If it werent for the outbreak of American Civil War, in 1865 ceasing travel on the Mississippi, he may ingest washed-out the rest of his days on that river (Mark Twain House). With no work as a steamboat pilot, he go forth the river to follow his older brother Orion, to the west. During this time he traveled the western grammatical constituent of the US, through the Rocky Mountains, visited Mormon towns and halt in Vir ginia City, Nevada where it was that he first utilise the pen name, Mark Twain. Upon returning habitation from his travels he settled down and espouse Olivia Livy Langdon in 1870 and had 4 children together. Their marriage was plagued with heartache. Of the one-third daughters that they had together, Susy, Clara and Jean only Clara lived past her twenties. They also had one son together who died of Diphtheria at nineteen months old. Some historians suggest that many of his workings were influenced by the accessible elite he came into contact with as a result of his marriage.From his marriage to Olivia, who came from a large-minded yet educated family, this huge man was exposed to much more. He met buckle downholding supporters, abolitionists, womens rights activists (including Harriett Beecher Stowe) and Frederick Douglas a utopian penr. His views grow and in the coming years he wrote most of his triumphful works at his sister-in-laws house during summer holidays (Mar k Twain House). Oliver and Samuel settled down in a home that he built for the fit in Hartford, computerized tomography where he matte the family would be properly sheltered. The great works of Mark Twain included The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, animateness on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs beg, and A Tramp Abroad were greatly influenced by his earlylife, experiences on the Mississippi river and his origination travels (Mark Twain House). In writing, A Connecticut Yankee, he opened the world to a new genre of writing, being science fiction.The novel tells the story of Hank a Connecticut blacksmith whom was knocked out in a fight and wakes up back in time in King Arthurs Court (A Connecticut Yankee). This increased intimacy in time travel and more and a recent motion visualise film entitled, The dim Knight, starring Martin Lawrence was a loose adaption of this 1889 classic (The Black Knight). The author included his fe elings on many debatable topics into his work. He wrote of political issues, issues between the jointure and south, bondage, and poked fun at political and social norms. He held a great stamp in mystic connections and included this symbology in many of his pieces of writing. Many contribute this to his kind coinciding with Halleys Comet (Mark Twain House). In the Adventures of Tom Sawyer hard workerry was still mentioned by Twain, and African Americans were referred as Negros, alternatively of more colorful terms used at that time.Then in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain portrays Huckleberry Finn as being adamantly against slavery even attempting to prevent Jim, the, negro, from being found. Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn, during a time that ex-slaves were subject mattered to economic exploitation, disenfranchisement, and promiscuous lynchings. Huckleberry Finn, is a satire not nigh slavery but of the racism that overtook American society as Twain wrote the carry in the late 1870s and early 1880s, which continues to grade America today (Mark Twain House). The authors views on slavery in the US, during the 1800s, was greatly influenced by his early raising in the state of Missouri, a slave state. Later he related to those experiences in his novels when expressing his own views on the practice of slavery. being a grayer he was taught to be pro-slavery, and was boost to keep slaves, but he authentically shared mixed views on the subject that comprised of southern, western and, Yankee beliefs.The author highly-developed this mixed view thru his experiences as a wanderer, living in hundreds of places around the world. This broad experience allowed him the freedom to choose views on slavery that werent innate to southern living. This was a difficult position as anti-slavery beliefs, were against the beliefs of his family. Conversations with abolitionists, his father in law, and former slaves, compel Twain, to re-examine the world and the moral s that were deep-rooted in him as a resultof his southern upbringing (Mark Twain House). ace of Samuels earliest memories of slaves came from an old slave couple who worked on his uncles farm. He spent time there in the summer with his siblings and would often be entertain by the story- relation of slave, Danl and Aunt Hannah. They were nigh of the first slaves that he knew and cared for before he, ever knew it was, defile. (The Life That Shaped Mark Twain)In one of his many autobiographies, he explained that one of his first memories of seeing slaves haunted him. It was a memory of ten or more slaves chained together waiting to be shipped downriver to the slave market. He remarked on how sad their faces were (Hannibal.net). He later would make his first writing appearance in Atlantic Monthly by telling the true and sad account of a slave named, Mary Ann Cord whose economise and seven children were taken from her and sold to other slaveholders. Mark Twain felt this was wrong a nd decided to share it with the world (The Life That Shaped Mark Twain). In Huckleberry Finn, Samuel writes that after Huck dished slave Jim get to freedom, his advised started to eat at him, causing him to write a letter to Jims owner, explaining where Jim was. He thought to himself about how close, I came to being lost and going to hell. (Twain, 214)After writing the letter he hesitates while idea to himself on the rivers edge, about how level-headed Jim was and about their great time together and then he said to himself, all(prenominal) right, then, Ill go to hell, tearing up the letter and changing his mind (Twain, 214). This purview most definitely symbolizes the internal spit out Samuel felt, when dealing with the act of slavery. Samuel met great success with his many works of fiction, but his love for science ate through his pocket. Samuel do more than todays 8 million dollars and spent it all on trying to help new inventions take off which turned out to be great fail ures. all of his savings were dumped into science due to the feature that it intrigued him so much that he precious to be apart of something new. Many say that Twain passed away from a low-spirited heart, the summer before the death of his wear daughter his best friend H.H. Rogers also passed away.It is said that the sadness from the combination of great losses created his broken heart. He died on April 21, 1910 at the age of 75 along with the reappearance on Haleys comet. He evermore joked that came into this world with Haley and would also entrust with her. In his later life Samuel move having a publishing company and continued on writing. (MarkTwain House) His last writing included an autobiography that was written in a jumble chronological order, always sticking to his humorist roots. Many scholars and historians have attempted to reorganize the work as to make it more understandable without success. With his hush-hush autobiography he left American Literature forever ch anged. The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC even gives the Mark Twain accolade for American Humor, every year to an artist who displays a great meet on American society standardised to the ways that Mark Twain did in the 19th century (Kennedy Center). Samuel left tooshie a legacy of great humor and satire all of which can be attributed to his life on the Mississippi River his experiences and his world travels.Works Cited2013 Mark Twain Prize Recipient Carol Burnett. The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Humor. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.The Black Knight. IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court Novel Summary. Novelguide. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.A Life Lived in a Rapidly ever-changing World Samuel L. Clemens 1835-1910. Welcome to the Mark Twain House & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Hannibal.net The Hannibal Courier-Post. Hannibal.net The Hannibal Courier-Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.The Life That Shaped Mark Twain s Anti-Slavery Views. AFT. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.The Mississippi River. Mark Twain at Large. University of California, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.Twain, Mark, and Harriet Elinor. Smith. autobiography of Mark Twain (vol. 1) Authoritative version from the Mark Twain Project. Readers ed. Vol. 1. Berkeley, CA U of California, 2010. Print. Mark Twain Papers.