Mark Twain

1
Mark TwainHis Life and Times

• Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, November 30,
  1835
• Family moved to Hannibal, Missouri when Samuel
  was four
• Apprenticed to a printer when twelve years-old,
  thus his profession
• Twains body of work includes The Adventures of
  Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, Puddnhead
  Wilson, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs
  Court, The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

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• Young Clemens spent much of his time traveling
  across the country, working for local newspapers,
  and honing his craft as a writer
• Much of his early writings were satires,
  burlesques, and hoaxes
• He spent considerable time in California during
  the Gold Rush, befriending such notables as Bret
  Hartethough he never made his fortune panning
  for gold. Just one bucket short
• It was while he was in California that he began
  signing his articles Mark Twain, a river term
  used in making soundings
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published
  in January 1885
• Huck Finn was originally pre-published in part
  serially in The Century Magazine, a relatively
  bold marketing tactic for those times

3

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was banned in
  March 1855 by the Concord (Massachusetts) Library
  Committee
• The Concord (Mass.) Public Library committee has
  decided to exclude Mark Twain's latest book from
  the library. One member of the committee says
  that, while he does not wish to call it immoral,
  he thinks it contains but little humor, and that
  of a very coarse type. He regards it as the
  veriest trash. The library and the other members
  of the committee entertain similar views.
  characterizing it as rough, coarse, and
  inelegant, dealing with a series of experiences
  not elevating, the whole book being more suited
  to the slums than to intelligent, respectable
  people
• Interracial Friendship and Domestic Abuse
• as rough, coarse and inelegant, dealing with a
  series of experiences not elevating, the whole
  book being more suited to the slums that to
  intelligent, respectable people.
• Twains use of slang to describe people of color
• The notion of rubbing Americas collective nose
  in our racist attitudes
• "if we'd eradicated the problem of racism in
  our society, Huckleberry Finn would be the
  easiest book in the world to teach." (David
  Bradley)
• Colloquially, the truth hurtsthus Mark Twain
  became a legend because he was never afraid to
  tell the truth.

4
Huck Symbols, Motifs

• Themes
• Racism / Slavery
• Education Intellectual and Moral
• Civilization
• Motifs
• Childhood
• Lies and Cons
• Superstition
• Influence of outside literature
• Dialect and colloquialisms

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• Symbolism
• The Mississippi River