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SIRS Discoverer ® : Document : Mark Twain
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AMERICA'S STORY FROM AMERICA'S LIBRARY (Library of Congress) Sept. 23, 2002, n.p.
Copyright © Library of Congress.
Mark Twain
Born: November 30, 1835 Died: April 1910
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri, and later moved with his family to Hannibal,
Missouri, where he grew up. Although he had a number of odd jobs early in his life, Clemens is best known as a
writer who took the pen name of Mark Twain about five years after he published his first major work. Twain was a
traveling journalist, humorist, writer, and lecturer whose most famous novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His childhood in Hannibal along the Mississippi River inspired colorful
tales of adventures on the waterway. Twain traveled around the world and he dazzled audiences far and wide
with lectures filled with the same humor and spirit found in his writings.
Samuel Clemens, Alias Mark Twain
Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Before Clemens became well known as a writer, he
held a variety of odd jobs including piloting a steamboat up and down the Mississippi River. He was licensed as a
steamboat pilot in 1859 and worked on the river until fighting there during the Civil War ended traffic traveling from
north to south. His experiences along the river helped him come up with his pen name. Do you know how he
chose his name?
In 1863, when Clemens was 27, he wrote a humorous travel story and decided to sign his name "Mark Twain."
This name comes from something shouted by crewmen on a boat. To test the depth of the water, a crewman
shouts "mark twain!" The crewman is calling for two fathoms, or a depth of 12 feet, which is barely enough for a
boat to navigate safely. "Twain" is an old­fashioned way of saying "two" and a fathom is six feet. "Mark Twain" is
a "pen name" in the same way that many people in show business use a "stage name." Do you know any famous
people who don't use their real name?
Samuel Clemens began his writing career as a reporter. He traveled all over the country recording stories he
heard along the way. He went out west and visited mining camps and he went to San Francisco, where he
sharpened his skill at ridiculing local officials for their incompetence, dishonesty and failure to help the citizens
who most needed assistance. This kind of writing, humor alternating with serious fact, became Mark Twain's
trademark style and made him and his pen name famous around the world.
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn
In every generation writers joke about writing the "great American novel." But Mark Twain really did. The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884, is considered by most to be Twain's masterpiece. The story
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SIRS Discoverer ® : Document : Mark Twain
follows Huck Finn as he helps Jim, a runaway slave, to escape along the Mississippi River. The novel is filled with
rich descriptions of the river and the colorful people who lived along it. He also employed humor to involve his
readers in issues of justice and morality. What else helped make this book so well loved?
Twain used accents and slang words to bring his characters to life. Huckleberry Finn was different from
anything most Americans had ever read. Twain wrote dialogue for his characters that made them sound like real
people. He didn't make all his characters sound the same; instead they each had a unique voice.
Here is how Chapter One of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn begins: "You don't know about me without
you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was
made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told
the truth...."
Can you see how this captures the way someone speaks? This style of writing greatly influenced American
literature, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is now considered a classic novel, a work of excellence that is
read long after it is written. Which classics have you read?
"America's Best Humorist"
In addition to writing articles and books, Mark Twain delighted audiences with his public lectures about the far­
flung locations he visited on his travels. People were eager to learn about his trips to then­exotic places, such as
the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), Egypt and the Holy Land. Twain often used the fees he earned with his
lectures to pay for additional adventures. His well­attended performances also served to bring attention to his
published work. At a time when the public lecture was a very popular form of entertainment, and audiences'
expectations ran high, Twain never failed to amuse.
Besides speaking on amusing subjects, Twain also wrote about them. In 1873, Twain released a book called
The Gilded Age. The book was a satire of the very wealthy people of the time ("gilded" means covered in gold). A
satire is a kind of work that makes fun of human vices, such as lavish spending. Twain made people laugh at the
excesses of the rich.
In 1889, Twain took on another establishment­­British royalty. He wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
Court, about a boy who travels back to the time of King Arthur. Twain made fun of those who were given
advantages not because they had earned them but because of their family connections. If you have never read
any of Mark Twain's works, try reading A Connecticut Yankee, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, or The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They will make you laugh.
To view a picture of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer's fence, and/or Mark Twain, please see related article
link(s).
Related Articles:
The City Mark Twain Made Famous: Hannibal, Missouri in the 1800s
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn
Citation : You can copy and paste this information into your own documents.
"Mark Twain." America's Story from America's Library (Library of Congress). Sept. 23 2002: n.p.
SIRS Discoverer. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
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