Mark Twain
Mark Twain, an author made famous for his boyhood tales and gut wrenching novels, was nothing short of an incredible man, a brilliant writer, and a master at seeing his way into the hearts of children, adults, and critics around the world. Mark Twain’s personal history influenced his writing style and provided the motivation he needed to achieve literary success.
Twain was born on November 30, 1835, known then by his real name, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, in the small town of Florida, Missouri. His father, John Marshall Clemens, worked divergently as a lawyer, a storekeeper, and a judge; all jobs which did not pay well at all, while Jane Clemens worked simply as a stay-at-home mother. The couple had five other children, Pamela, Margaret, Orion, Benjamin, and Harry, Twain being the sixth in line. Twain grew up surrounded by libraries, circuses, and minstrel shows, but also saw a lot of death. After his sister Margaret died at age nine, his father decided to move the family to Hannibal, Missouri, a town near the Mississippi River that was later made famous by Twain in his book, Tom Sawyer (Frost). His parents owned many slaves, including a black woman named Jenny, who was an excellent story teller, and some feel, encouraged Twain’s love for stories (Baetzhold). When John Clemens died unexpectedly in 1847, biographer Everett Emerson said they became “almost destitute”, after his death, forcing Twain to leave school at age twelve and find a job to support his mother and siblings (Frost). In 1851 he became a printer and occasional writer and editor at Hannibal Western Union, a newspaper owned by his oldest brother Orion. In 1857, at age 21, Twain began learning to pilot steamboats in West Virginia. He soon began signing his papers “Mark Twain”, a phrase which in piloting meant “two fathoms (12 feet) deep.” From that time on, Samuel Clemens disappeared behind the pseudonym Mark Twain (Leone 73-116). In 1870, Twain married his first and only wife, Olivia Langdon,...
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