Mark+Twain+--+Regionalism

Mark Twain

 Mark Twain, November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910, also known as America's first humorist writer, was a great author who wrote many books. He is most famous for his novels //The Adventures of Tom Sawyer// (1876), and //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn// (1885). He also won many awards throughout his life, and met many people including presidents. Mark Twain died of heart disease April 21, 1910.

**Biography**


 * Early Life **

Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born two months premature on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri to John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens. Mark Twain was the sixth of his parents. But they didn't know is that one day their son would be America's most famous literary icon.

 In 1839, when Mark Twain was four, the Clemens family moved to the city of Hannibal. In 1844, his father built a two-story frame house at 206 Hill Street. As a child, Mark was kept indoors because of his poor health. However, within a few years, he seemed to recover from his disabilities and played with the rest of the town's children outside. When Mark was 12, his father died of pneumonia. The death of his father was a very tragic event to his family. When Mark was 13, he left school to become a printer's apprentice. Shortly he joined his brother Orion's newspaper as a printer and editorial assistant. This is where Mark Twain realized that he enjoyed writing. When Mark Twain was 17, he left his home town Hannibal, and went on to pursue a printer's job in St. Louis. While in St. Louis, Clemens became a river pilot's apprentice; A few years later he became a licensed. River piloting is where he got his nickname, Mark Twain, which is a river term that means it is safe to navigate; Twain stands for two. He was against slavery or any kind of senseless violence, and he quoted, "I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudice nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse." He also acted as a vice-president for the American Anti-imperialist league for nine years. He also was a master in crafting humorous verses with sardonic wit. 


 * Writing Life **

In 1861, Mark began working for several different companies across the United States as a newspaper reporter. Mark Twain wrote many books and on November 18, 1865, Mark Twain's story, //The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County//, appeared in the New York Saturday Press. In 1869, //The Innocents Abroad//, his first book, was published. His next two books, //The Adventures of Tom Sawyer// published in 1876, and //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn// published in 1885, are probably the two of the most famous and most well known of any of his books all over the world. Mark has also written 28 other books including short stories, letters, and plays. //The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn//, is one of America's important piece of literature because of its obvious message against the wrong doings of society. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, America was still using slaves to their advantage. Mark Twain wrote this book in order to change racial views in society by using stories that happened to himself during childhood . One of his books, //Letters from the Earth//, which is a series of short stories written in a hard part in Mark Twain's life, is about God and Christianity. //Letters from the Earth// consist of eleven letters written by Satan himself to two of his archangels, Michael and Gabriel. In the letters, Satan w

rites about his views on earthly life and mankind's religion. He also had other stories including one about a group of cats. One of his many stories he wrote to his children, was about an anaconda and its capability and power over mankind. From the references in the reading of //Letters from the Earth//, you can infer that the letters were written not long before his death in 1910.


 * Marriage **

In 1870, Mark Twain met and married Olivia Langdon. They had four children. One whom died in infancy and two whom were twins and died in their twenties. Their other daughter, Clara, lived to be 88, and had one child of her own. But sadly she died without having any children.


 * Death **

As everybody does sometime in their life, Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut of angina pectoris. Upon hearing of the death of Mark Twain, President William Howard Taft said, "Mark Twain gave pleasure--real intellectural enjoyment--to millions, and his works will continue to give such pleasure to millions yet to come... His humor was American, but he was nearly as much appreciated by Englishmen and people of other countries as by his own countrymen. He has made an enduring part of American literature." Mark Twain's home is now open to the public as a museum in Hannibal.


 * References **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/twain/letearth.htm

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/bio.htm

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.marktwainhouse.org/man/biography_main.php

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/themes.html