Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens(1835-1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(1885). , often referred to as "The great American novel". He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor.
Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835, in the tiny village of Florida, Missouri.
Mark Twain was a printers apprentice - he learnt how books were made. He then went on to be a journalist - where he worked for newspapers in St Louis, New York, and interviewed lots of people. Twain then went on to be a Riverboat Captain - where he stopped off at banks all the time, so he knew the river extremely well due to him stopping off at banks all the time so he also knew all the different types of people on the different banks. Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876 and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884. Mark Twain printed his own books and spoke about them all over the world. He then lost all his money through unsuccessful investments and went bankrupt, however after meeting Henry Huttleson Rogers who helped Twain get back on his feet financially again, Rogers made him start writing again. Unfortunately in 1896, Mark Twain's daughter Susie died of meningitis, which had a strong affect of Twain. Then in 1904, Mark Twain's wife died and later on in 1909, Twain's other daughter Jean died, which lead Twain to spiral into deep depression. Mark Twain then sadly passed away in 1910 from a heart attack.
"The father of all American literature" - William Faulkner
"All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn" - Ernest Hemmingway
Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835, in the tiny village of Florida, Missouri.
Mark Twain was a printers apprentice - he learnt how books were made. He then went on to be a journalist - where he worked for newspapers in St Louis, New York, and interviewed lots of people. Twain then went on to be a Riverboat Captain - where he stopped off at banks all the time, so he knew the river extremely well due to him stopping off at banks all the time so he also knew all the different types of people on the different banks. Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876 and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884. Mark Twain printed his own books and spoke about them all over the world. He then lost all his money through unsuccessful investments and went bankrupt, however after meeting Henry Huttleson Rogers who helped Twain get back on his feet financially again, Rogers made him start writing again. Unfortunately in 1896, Mark Twain's daughter Susie died of meningitis, which had a strong affect of Twain. Then in 1904, Mark Twain's wife died and later on in 1909, Twain's other daughter Jean died, which lead Twain to spiral into deep depression. Mark Twain then sadly passed away in 1910 from a heart attack.
"The father of all American literature" - William Faulkner
"All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn" - Ernest Hemmingway
Historical
The book is set before the Civil War, roughly 1835-1845 in the Mississippi River Town of St Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas. Although Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn two decades after the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War, America—and especially the South—was still struggling with racism, slavery and oppression. As in Huckleberry Finn, Twain writes about slavery and how aristocratic families owned slaves. People from Africa knew a variety of languages and had to speak whatever language their owner spoke. They communicated with each other in a new language which they invented called 'Piegon'. The book explores different accents. The Civil War(1861-1865) was between the North and South, and was fought over slavery as the North wanted to abolish slavery, however the South didn't as they were benefiting largely from this(cotton fields). Seven different dialects are used throughout the book, to make it more realistic.
Slavery was a huge part of American culture at the time - this is when white people were culturally the more dominant race and took over.
Literary
Literary Heritage - a term for literature which has been passed down to us from the best authors in the past. Mark Twain was not part of any literary movement at all. He wrote during the romantic and realist periods in American Literature, but his novels don't fall into either categories. Mark Twain was well known for his colloquial speech and social criticism,he is considered a realist/r eigonalist and he is held in high esteem by other writers("The father of all American - William Faulkner and "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn" - Ernest Hemmingway).
Huckleberry Finn was 'Great American Novel' - The great American novel recognises a writers ability to capture an Americans experience in a different period of time in American history. The book acknowledged Mark Twain's skills in regards to 'local colour regionalism which focused on specific feautures such as; Character dialect, Customs and Tradition, History and Landscape of a particular region. Mark Twain was a Southern regional writer, for example he wrote about African Americans who were victims of racism in the book. Huckleberry Finn was recognised as a Great American novel because Mark Twain was a Southerner himself which helped him to capture real themes which he had experienced first hand.
Type of work: Novel
Genre: The Adventures of a Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel (episodic, colorful story often in the form of a quest or journey); satire of popular adventure and romance novels.
Language: English - frequently makes use of Southern and black dialect at the time.
Geographical
Setting - The Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas. This is where Mark Twain was born, and this setting inspired many of Mark Twain's novels including the prequel to Huckleberry Finn - The adventures of Tom Sawyer. The imaginary river towns represents Sam Clemens boyhood experience. Mark Twain was a Riverboat Captain in 1859, therefore he knew the Mississippi River extremely well, as he stopped off on the banks all the time and knew all the types of people around the river. Mark Twain then worked in LA after being a pilot, as a writer he was learning lots from his books and went around the world speaking about his books, and charging money for it. He wrote about Mississippi before the Civil War, as he felt that life was simple before. By the time that Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn, he had lost his romantic belief about America in comparison to Tom Sawyer.
Socio-Economic
The book also expresses the attitude and living of Americans during that period of time in which the book was set, so they were expected to do work, and work in coal mines, in order to improve the economy.
Social Conditions
The 1950's socially was an exciting and eventful time to be alive. Throughout the 1950's both unemployment and inflation remained low because at this time the war was over and many women were allowed to keep their careers. This resulted in the total number of females employed to increase by 18%. The overall standard of living during the fifties also steadily rose. Most people invested in new cars and houses so their children would have a better future. Lastly in 1951, 1.5 million TV sets were sold in the United States, ten times what it is in 1950's. Any family that had a TV in the house was by far the most popular house on the block.
Economic Conditions
Economically speaking the 1950's were a relatively stale period of time compared to the 1930'2 and 1940's. The 1050's, being an eventful period, explains why the economy did not experience any major problems or breakthroughs.Inflation was an important issue during the 1950's because the conditions swept the country at this time. The first followed the end of World War 2 and the second at the onset of the Korean war in 1950. Post World War 2 America waited expectantly for the United states to suffer a post-war economic collapse. The recession came in the third quarter of 1948 and lasted until the second quarter of 1950. There were also a number of other developments in the business sector over the decade the housing supply increased by 27% and the overall quality level of aggregate US housing increased dramatically. By the end of the years America had pulled out of the previous year's recession and gross national product was growing at a rate of 7.6%.
Language(The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
- Written in first person - Direct and fluid - sounds like a speaking voice
- Helps create the characters through languages- gives Jim a dignity that wasn't there before
- With the observant eye
- The characters relieve themselves, and what they are about by the way in which they talk
- Use of humor - e.g: Malapropism
- This style is then taken up by others including The Catcher in the Rye.
*Huge debate of the language used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the states at the moment.
Huckleberry Finn Questions
1) Huck introduces himself. What affect does this have on the reader?
The book is written in first person, therefore it's very personal so it feels as if Huck is talking to us as if we're his peer,and we take an instant like to him.
Huck is also very friendly("but that aint no matter") -
2) How would you describe Huck's language?
Huck's idiolect creates a realism(verisimilitude). He uses simple,colloquial language and has his own idiolect - from the way that Huck speaks we can tell that he is uneducated, young(add's extra words to his sentences), and that he is a white boy from Mississippi. Huck also invents words of his own (for example Huck uses the word 'clumb' instead of climbed. He also uses the word 'knowed' instead of knew. - These are examples of fabricated words)
What do we learn about Huck's likes and dislikes?
Likes: Smoking- Shows that Huck is trying to be free,independent and rebel against Widow Douglas, Tom Sawyer.
Dislikes: Going to Church, Praying with Widow Douglas, Wearing the smart clothes that Widow Douglas dresses him in -wants freedom,
The Moses Story from the Bible- too unrealistic and is of no relevance to him, Christianity- Christians are big believers in 'turning the other cheek', whereas Huck finds this hypocritical as the institution of slavery is still about where he lives, and Huck has a very big dislike towards liars and hypocrites
What do you think the major themes of the novel will be?
- Racism & Slavery
- Intellectual & Moral Education
- Hypocrisy of “Civilized” Society
Why does Huck join Tom's gang?
Wants to be a part of the robbers group, however Tom is a fantasist - he does not really want to kill anybody, it's just pretend/a fantasy
3) How do Huck and Tom differ in their ideas?
Huck is thoughtful, intelligent (though formally uneducated), and willing to come to his own conclusions about important matters, even if these conclusions
contradict society’s norms. Tom is everything that Huck is not. Tom’s stubborn reliance on the “authorities” of romance novels leads him to acts of incredible stupidity and startling cruelty. Tom is also a liar and hypocrite in Hucks eyes which is something he can't stand considering Huck is a very truthful person himself - "i never seen anybody but lied".
4) When Huck's father returns what does Huck think he'll do? How does he stop this from happening?
Huck thinks that his father is going to take his money from him, so he gives it to Judge Thatcher to look after.
5) How would you describe Huck's father?
The town drunk, a wreck, disgustingly white, ghost-like skin, and tattered clothes.
How does he speak?
In an uneducated manner, like he's always drunk, and very aggressively.
What does Judge Thatcher do about Huck's father?
Judge Thatcher refuses to separate a father and son, when Widow Douglas tries to take Huck into custody.. Huck's father eventually lands in jail
after a drunken spree and the new judge takes Pap into his home and tries to reform him, but the judge and his wife prove to be very weepy and moralizing.
What does this say about the law?
This suggests that the law is not really legit, and taken seriously as Huck's father is allowed to keep custody of Huck,even though he is not able to provide Huck with the appropriate care that a boy of Huck's age needs, due to his drunken state. Judge Thatcher is looking at the situation from more of a personal, sympathetic view rather than a proffessional view.
6) Where does Old Finn take Huck?
Deep into the woods to a secluded cabin on the Illinois shore, and locks Huck inside all day while he rambles outside.
What does Huck think of the new arrangements?
Huck enjoyed being locked in the cabin - "I was used to being where I was, and liked it" "It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day, smoking and fishing, and no books nor study".
What does this say about the town?
The town must be boring if Huck enjoys being locked in a secluded cabin rather than being in town.
The book is set before the Civil War, roughly 1835-1845 in the Mississippi River Town of St Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas. Although Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn two decades after the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War, America—and especially the South—was still struggling with racism, slavery and oppression. As in Huckleberry Finn, Twain writes about slavery and how aristocratic families owned slaves. People from Africa knew a variety of languages and had to speak whatever language their owner spoke. They communicated with each other in a new language which they invented called 'Piegon'. The book explores different accents. The Civil War(1861-1865) was between the North and South, and was fought over slavery as the North wanted to abolish slavery, however the South didn't as they were benefiting largely from this(cotton fields). Seven different dialects are used throughout the book, to make it more realistic.
Slavery was a huge part of American culture at the time - this is when white people were culturally the more dominant race and took over.
Literary
Literary Heritage - a term for literature which has been passed down to us from the best authors in the past. Mark Twain was not part of any literary movement at all. He wrote during the romantic and realist periods in American Literature, but his novels don't fall into either categories. Mark Twain was well known for his colloquial speech and social criticism,he is considered a realist/r eigonalist and he is held in high esteem by other writers("The father of all American - William Faulkner and "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn" - Ernest Hemmingway).
Huckleberry Finn was 'Great American Novel' - The great American novel recognises a writers ability to capture an Americans experience in a different period of time in American history. The book acknowledged Mark Twain's skills in regards to 'local colour regionalism which focused on specific feautures such as; Character dialect, Customs and Tradition, History and Landscape of a particular region. Mark Twain was a Southern regional writer, for example he wrote about African Americans who were victims of racism in the book. Huckleberry Finn was recognised as a Great American novel because Mark Twain was a Southerner himself which helped him to capture real themes which he had experienced first hand.
Type of work: Novel
Genre: The Adventures of a Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel (episodic, colorful story often in the form of a quest or journey); satire of popular adventure and romance novels.
Language: English - frequently makes use of Southern and black dialect at the time.
Geographical
Setting - The Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas. This is where Mark Twain was born, and this setting inspired many of Mark Twain's novels including the prequel to Huckleberry Finn - The adventures of Tom Sawyer. The imaginary river towns represents Sam Clemens boyhood experience. Mark Twain was a Riverboat Captain in 1859, therefore he knew the Mississippi River extremely well, as he stopped off on the banks all the time and knew all the types of people around the river. Mark Twain then worked in LA after being a pilot, as a writer he was learning lots from his books and went around the world speaking about his books, and charging money for it. He wrote about Mississippi before the Civil War, as he felt that life was simple before. By the time that Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn, he had lost his romantic belief about America in comparison to Tom Sawyer.
Socio-Economic
The book also expresses the attitude and living of Americans during that period of time in which the book was set, so they were expected to do work, and work in coal mines, in order to improve the economy.
Social Conditions
The 1950's socially was an exciting and eventful time to be alive. Throughout the 1950's both unemployment and inflation remained low because at this time the war was over and many women were allowed to keep their careers. This resulted in the total number of females employed to increase by 18%. The overall standard of living during the fifties also steadily rose. Most people invested in new cars and houses so their children would have a better future. Lastly in 1951, 1.5 million TV sets were sold in the United States, ten times what it is in 1950's. Any family that had a TV in the house was by far the most popular house on the block.
Economic Conditions
Economically speaking the 1950's were a relatively stale period of time compared to the 1930'2 and 1940's. The 1050's, being an eventful period, explains why the economy did not experience any major problems or breakthroughs.Inflation was an important issue during the 1950's because the conditions swept the country at this time. The first followed the end of World War 2 and the second at the onset of the Korean war in 1950. Post World War 2 America waited expectantly for the United states to suffer a post-war economic collapse. The recession came in the third quarter of 1948 and lasted until the second quarter of 1950. There were also a number of other developments in the business sector over the decade the housing supply increased by 27% and the overall quality level of aggregate US housing increased dramatically. By the end of the years America had pulled out of the previous year's recession and gross national product was growing at a rate of 7.6%.
Language(The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
- Written in first person - Direct and fluid - sounds like a speaking voice
- Helps create the characters through languages- gives Jim a dignity that wasn't there before
- With the observant eye
- The characters relieve themselves, and what they are about by the way in which they talk
- Use of humor - e.g: Malapropism
- This style is then taken up by others including The Catcher in the Rye.
*Huge debate of the language used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the states at the moment.
Huckleberry Finn Questions
1) Huck introduces himself. What affect does this have on the reader?
The book is written in first person, therefore it's very personal so it feels as if Huck is talking to us as if we're his peer,and we take an instant like to him.
Huck is also very friendly("but that aint no matter") -
2) How would you describe Huck's language?
Huck's idiolect creates a realism(verisimilitude). He uses simple,colloquial language and has his own idiolect - from the way that Huck speaks we can tell that he is uneducated, young(add's extra words to his sentences), and that he is a white boy from Mississippi. Huck also invents words of his own (for example Huck uses the word 'clumb' instead of climbed. He also uses the word 'knowed' instead of knew. - These are examples of fabricated words)
What do we learn about Huck's likes and dislikes?
Likes: Smoking- Shows that Huck is trying to be free,independent and rebel against Widow Douglas, Tom Sawyer.
Dislikes: Going to Church, Praying with Widow Douglas, Wearing the smart clothes that Widow Douglas dresses him in -wants freedom,
The Moses Story from the Bible- too unrealistic and is of no relevance to him, Christianity- Christians are big believers in 'turning the other cheek', whereas Huck finds this hypocritical as the institution of slavery is still about where he lives, and Huck has a very big dislike towards liars and hypocrites
What do you think the major themes of the novel will be?
- Racism & Slavery
- Intellectual & Moral Education
- Hypocrisy of “Civilized” Society
Why does Huck join Tom's gang?
Wants to be a part of the robbers group, however Tom is a fantasist - he does not really want to kill anybody, it's just pretend/a fantasy
3) How do Huck and Tom differ in their ideas?
Huck is thoughtful, intelligent (though formally uneducated), and willing to come to his own conclusions about important matters, even if these conclusions
contradict society’s norms. Tom is everything that Huck is not. Tom’s stubborn reliance on the “authorities” of romance novels leads him to acts of incredible stupidity and startling cruelty. Tom is also a liar and hypocrite in Hucks eyes which is something he can't stand considering Huck is a very truthful person himself - "i never seen anybody but lied".
4) When Huck's father returns what does Huck think he'll do? How does he stop this from happening?
Huck thinks that his father is going to take his money from him, so he gives it to Judge Thatcher to look after.
5) How would you describe Huck's father?
The town drunk, a wreck, disgustingly white, ghost-like skin, and tattered clothes.
How does he speak?
In an uneducated manner, like he's always drunk, and very aggressively.
What does Judge Thatcher do about Huck's father?
Judge Thatcher refuses to separate a father and son, when Widow Douglas tries to take Huck into custody.. Huck's father eventually lands in jail
after a drunken spree and the new judge takes Pap into his home and tries to reform him, but the judge and his wife prove to be very weepy and moralizing.
What does this say about the law?
This suggests that the law is not really legit, and taken seriously as Huck's father is allowed to keep custody of Huck,even though he is not able to provide Huck with the appropriate care that a boy of Huck's age needs, due to his drunken state. Judge Thatcher is looking at the situation from more of a personal, sympathetic view rather than a proffessional view.
6) Where does Old Finn take Huck?
Deep into the woods to a secluded cabin on the Illinois shore, and locks Huck inside all day while he rambles outside.
What does Huck think of the new arrangements?
Huck enjoyed being locked in the cabin - "I was used to being where I was, and liked it" "It was kind of lazy and jolly, laying off comfortable all day, smoking and fishing, and no books nor study".
What does this say about the town?
The town must be boring if Huck enjoys being locked in a secluded cabin rather than being in town.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the Town of "St. Petersburg", inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived.
Genre: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer incorporates several different genres. It resembles a bildungsroman, a novel that follows the development of a hero from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. The novel also resembles novels of the picaresque genre, in that Tom moves from one adventurous episode to another. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer also fits the genres of satire, frontier literature, folk narrative, and comedy.
Time and Place Written · 1874–1875; Hartford, Connecticut
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the Town of "St. Petersburg", inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived.
Genre: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer incorporates several different genres. It resembles a bildungsroman, a novel that follows the development of a hero from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. The novel also resembles novels of the picaresque genre, in that Tom moves from one adventurous episode to another. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer also fits the genres of satire, frontier literature, folk narrative, and comedy.
Time and Place Written · 1874–1875; Hartford, Connecticut