Life of Mark Twain

Mark Twain can be describle as more than a remarkale man; Among being a reporter, a publisher, and a riverboat pilot, He traveled through the Mississippi River, and used his own expierences to create classic literaly books. His determination and incredible books made him a living national treasery by having his works being taught, quotes, and reprinted more than any writer except Shakesphere. (Powers)

Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 as Samuel Langhorn Clemens,in Florida, Missouri and was the sixth of seven children. His father John Marshall Clemens was a southerner from Virginia who seeked riches, knowing he could never achieve his goals in Florida, John Clemens moved Samuel and Jane Clemens to the banks of the MIssissippi River to join John Quarles in a general store business, ( that later failed for John). When Clemens was four, he and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal‚ Missouri‚ on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Hanibal, Missouri was a big part of Twains life; It opened up new adventures and new friends in which he later would put in his stories as the main characters, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As well as a new adventure, the Mississippi River became to him a source of fascination and inspiration.

Samuel attended several private schools: His further education included honoraly degrees from the University of Mississippi, Yale University, and Oxford University in England.In 1847, Clemens father died, and shortly left school to work as a printer's apprentice for a local newspaper. His job was to arrange the type for each of the newspaper's stories. He did not recieve any money for his work, however his editor provided him with little food and clothing. This job allowed Samuel to read the news of the world while completing his work, and eventually led him to think about the wonders of writing. He set goals to write his books and set many goals to write magazine articles, newspaper articles and other types of articles.Eventually in 1862, he created his pen name, Mark Twain.

Mark Twain is best known for his evocations of pre-Civil War life along the Mississippi in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Life on the Mississippi (1883), and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). These three books will be discussed on what ultimately inspired Mark Twain to write these and explore the meanings behind them.