Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an esteemed American writer of fiction and a renowned humorist. His literary repertoire included novels, travelogues, short stories, sketches, and essays. Contemporary readers especially cherish his depictions of the Mississippi River in books such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The writing of Mark Twain is heavily influenced by his life experiences. Twain particularly draws inspiration from his childhood dreams of the Mississippi River, as evident in his pen name’s allusion to its depth. In Roughing It, Twain chronicles his time in the western United States and Hawaii, using his own life as material for these autobiographical narratives. Through humor, he recounts his failed attempts at gold and silver prospecting during this period and eventually realizes that he must rely on newspaper journalism for a living. Consequently, Twain infuses these stories with the real-life lessons he has learned.
In Roughing It, Mark Twain recounts a severe case of stage fright that overwhelmed him before his initial professional appearance on the lecture platform. Twain explains how he developed an increasing fear that the audience would not comprehend his jokes. In order to address this fear, he strategically positioned his friends throughout the audience to loudly laugh at the jokes that people found unclear. Eventually, Twain became convinced that no one would attend his performance, and as a result, he arrived early and sat backstage consumed by dread. However, his anxiety was alleviated when he started hearing a murmuring sound that steadily grew louder and culminated in a crash accompanied by cheering.
Despite the intense and exhilarating encounter that caused my hair to stand on end and startled me with its closeness and loudness, there were brief breaks followed by more overpowering moments. Unbeknownst to me, I found myself in the center of the stage, surrounded by countless faces. I felt disoriented under the harsh glare of the lights and trembled in fear so intense it felt life-threatening. The theater was completely filled, even including the aisles. Although Mark Twain’s portrayal of this event is captivating to read, it seems unlikely that he was as unprepared for success as depicted. Nevertheless, many individuals can still relate to his writing and gain valuable insights from it.
Mark Twain, born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, moved with his family to Hannibal, Missouri in 1839. In Hannibal, he observed the lively activities of steamboats at the town wharf which attracted a diverse crowd including entertainers, gamblers, swindlers, slave traders and other travelers. Furthermore, it was in Hannibal where Twain had his first encounter with a print shop. He later utilized this experience when he began working for a newspaper and printing company in 1847 after the death of his father. This opportunity held great significance for Twain as he had received minimal formal education.
In 1853, Twain began his desire to travel by leaving Hannibal. Throughout his life, he had a strong longing to explore new places and temporarily resided in various cities such as St. Louis, New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. In these locations, he worked low-paying jobs in print shops. Eventually, he journeyed to Keokuk, Iowa to support his brother’s printing business.
In 1857, Mark Twain initially intended to journey to South America. However, he ultimately chose a different path and opted to acquire the expertise of piloting from Horace Bixby, a riverboat pilot. Twain embarked on a voyage along the Mississippi River towards New Orleans. This choice had profound implications for both his life and career.
Mark Twain became a licensed riverboat pilot in April 1859. He remained in this position until the South seceded from the Union and the river closed. In addition, Twain briefly served in the Marion Rangers, a militia company that disbanded before joining the Confederate service.
In the 1880’s, Mark Twain started his own publishing firm and got involved in different investments, including a sophisticated typesetting machine that caused him to lose nearly $200,000 from 1881 to 1894. Consequently, his publishing company filed for bankruptcy in April 1894.
Twain faced public humiliation in January 1895 when he couldn’t pay his debts. However, he was able to overcome his financial difficulties by writing and going on a successful lecture tour in 1895 and 1896. Despite recovering from his financial problems by 1898, Twain then suffered a personal tragedy when his oldest daughter, Susy, passed away from meningitis in 1896 while he and his wife Clara were overseas.
In 1903, Twain sold the house he cherished in Hartford because it was too closely associated with Susy’s death. Unfortunately, his wife Olivia passed away on June 5, 1904, due to a heart condition. Additionally, his youngest daughter, Jean, died on Dec. 24, 1909. Despite facing personal and business challenges, Twain managed to persist in his writing. However, as his career advanced, he appeared to distance himself from the humorous and confident image of his earlier years. His subsequent works increasingly conveyed a somber perspective that questioned the selflessness of human motives. Moreover, these works reflected Twain’s lifelong uncertainty regarding religion and his belief that predetermined actions render free will an illusion.
Mark Twain, who passed away on April 21, 1910 as a result of heart disease, left behind a collection of unpublished manuscripts. Many of his renowned works center around his affection for the Mississippi area and his childhood aspirations. Utilizing his experience as a pilot on the Mississippi River, Twain possessed a knack for capturing the inner child within each individual. He skillfully depicted his own upbringing in a small town along the Mississippi River, presenting an idealized image of pre-Civil War years. Twain’s writing career developed gradually; he commenced as a professional journalist at twenty-seven years old, began delivering lectures at thirty-one years old, and ultimately released his first significant book at thirty-four.
Twain’s newspaper work initially included feature writing, but he became disinterested in straight reporting unless it had a humorous element. The turning point for him was his Hawaiian tour in 1866, which exposed him to new experiences and allowed him to transition from an amateur to a professional writer. Prior to this, he primarily focused on writing about familiar people and scenes for his readers.
Hawaii presented Mark Twain with a completely new experience of diverse people and places, pushing him to effectively capture their contrast in writing. Building on this knowledge, Twain’s subsequent Quaker City tour expanded upon what he had learned in Hawaii. At this point, Twain had refined his writing style and successfully applied it to The Innocents Abroad. In fact, he incorporated large sections of his perfected style into the Alta letters with only minor changes. This established a consistent pattern that can be observed in many of his future works.
The pattern evident in this text is simply a journey in space. This pattern is portrayed through the itinerary of the excursion in the novel Innocents. Additionally, it can be seen in other works such as Roughing It (1872), A Tramp Abroad (1880), and Following the Equator (1896). Huckleberry Finn, of course, exemplifies the most notable use of this adventurous pattern. Twain cautiously ventured into fiction with his first attempt, The Gilded Age (1874), which he co-wrote with Charles Dudley Warner as a contemporary social satire. In the midst of this, a visit from his childhood friend Will Bowen reminded Twain of their youthful escapades in Hannibal. Despite a few unsuccessful attempts, Twain eventually found the right approach and worked on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer intermittently from 1874 to 1875.
While Tom Sawyer was not yet completed, Twain happened to discuss some of his experiences as a pilot with Rev. Joseph Twichell. Twichell urged him to write down these stories, which W.D. Howells promptly purchased for Atlantic Monthly. The piece initially appeared as “Old Times on the Mississippi” but was later incorporated as chapters 4 to 17 in Life on the Mississippi. Twain not only drew from his memories as a young boy but also included direct accounts of his own encounters.
As written in Roughing It (1872), Mark Twain humorously detailed his unsuccessful endeavors in searching for gold and silver during this period. He eventually realized that he needed to sustain himself by working as a newspaper journalist. In Following the Equator (1897), Twain shared his adventures while on an international lecture tour from 1895 to 1896. After completing Tom Sawyer, Twain proceeded to gradually finish writing Huck Finn. The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Twain’s initial venture into historical romance, took precedence over Huck Finn among the books he was working on.
Twain’s final major work, Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc, was his most serious attempt at historical fiction. During his struggles with bankruptcy, he tried to revive his greatest books, including Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894), Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894), and Tom Sawyer, Detective (1896), but failed to capture the same magic. However, despite his financial hardships, Twain persisted in writing. His later works included The American Claimant (1892), which featured an impractical character named Colonel Mulberry Sellers.
The novel is based on a play he wrote in 1883 with author-critic William Dean Howells, which was ultimately unsuccessful. The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894) takes place in the village of Dawson’s Landing, also known as Hannibal, and is a detective novel. In The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1899), he tells the story of a practical joke that reveals the avarice of the arrogant town leaders.
Twain, in his later years, released several short stories and his most remarkable satire. Being a fearless humorist, he skillfully transformed his life experiences into captivating and amusing tales. The authenticity of his stories is perhaps the key factor that captivates the attention of everyone.
