Samuel Clemens based his works on things that occurred throughout

his personal

life. He gained many interests and talents while on the Mississippi

River that contributed

to his writings.

     Samuel Clemens was born on November

30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He was

two months premature. AT the time

of his birth, Haley's comet was in the sky. Four

years after Clemens was

born, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. He grew up there

on the Mississippi

River. The river supported some of the happiest moments in his life.

     Clemens

was the fifth child in the family of John and Jane Clemens. The first seven

years

of his life, he was under the supervision of his mother and the family physician,

Dr.

Hugh, because of being sick. At age nine, though, Clemens was known to

be grown up.

In 1847, his father died. He began to carry our adult responsibilities

now at age 12. He

began working and running errands to contribute to the

family. After his father died, the

family began to have bad financial problems.

When Clemens turned seventeen, he was

ready to be on his own, He began to

write stories and sketches for newspapers. He

supported himself for the next

two years. He also decided to go east ward from Hannibal

to work on printing

jobs. (Miller, Dwyer, Wood, 259)

     He enrolled in school at age four. He

was well-behaved and disciplined in school.

Learning was a privilege to Clemens.

he was interested in knowing facts, information, and

figures. He had a strong

knowledge of math, language, vocabulary, and correct

composition. He learned

much about Botany. At age 12, he quit school and became a

printer's apprentice.

In 1901, he received his Lit. D. degree from Yale, 1902. his Lit. D.

degree

from the University of Missouri, and in 1907 his Lit. D. degree from Oxford.

     In

1857, Clemens started down the Mississippi River. He made important

decisions

with important consequences in his life. Clemens persuaded Horace Bixby to

teach

him piloting skills. In 1859, he became a licensed riverboat pilot. During

the 1850's

while he piloted steamboats, he adopted the name Mark Twain in

Virginia City. Mark

Twain was a name meaning two fathoms deep, used on a

Mississippi River steamboat.

(Discovering Authors) Twain first began to

publish under his pen name on February 3,

1863. During the summer, he was

working with the staff of the Virginia City, Nevada,

Territorial Enterprise.

his career progressed. He removed himself from a humorous

image to express

the view that all motives are selfish. When he became a steamboat pilot

he

had to learn to be forward with his offers and not polite like his mother raised

him to

be.

     During his nights of piloting he discovered his love for astronomy.

In 1861, Twain

served briefly in the Missouri, Militia. His piloting years

ended when the river was closed

down by the war in 1861. He also served in

a Confederate volunteer company for two

weeks. he decided not to be involved

with the war. His brother Orion and he traveled to

Carson City, Nevada in

1861. Through the years of 1861-1862, he was a prospector for

gold in Nevada.

     Twain

found spiritual uplifting and inspiration through memories on the

Mississippi.

On the Mississippi, he learned of the different types of human nature that

could

be found. (Albert Paine, 82) Twain was skeptical about human society. He

had a

serious view of life, causing him to be viewed as serious and pessimistic.

He was known

as a humorist. Although there was a lot of tragedy in his life

through the poverty and

death of his father, loss of a daughter, and bankruptcy.

Twain was a master of irony,

urging people to see the things they could change

if they tried. He was a very generous

person, but seldom liked to show it.

He had musical talents that were not known by many

people. He could play

the piano, guitar, organ, and could sing. Even though Twain was

always into

trouble and liked adventure, he had good luck at being where interesting

things

were happening at the right time. He had a skill for quickly observing things.

     One

of Twain's later works was Life on the Mississippi. It tells of the Mississippi

River

region and things such as the history, sights, people, and legends of the towns

and

steamboats. Throughout chapters 4 and 17, he recalled his piloting days

very vividly. The

Atlantic Monthly originally contained these chapters as

"Old Times on the Mississippi."

     In 1852, Twain did not want to be a writer.

He did not know what he wanted to

do in life, but he found writing to be

easy. He began to write to support his family and to

make a living. He was

good at describing details. Twain could interest the reader by

telling his

own ideas and reactions. His imagination is limited with freedom. His desire

for

freedom and adventure exists in his works. (Henry Smist, 35) By using things

from

his past that he remembered, he could interpret reality well. Twain

can find a deeper

meaning beneath appearances, and show the environment of

each character well. he was

unsure of the Bible and could not find a firm

conception of God. He grew up Presbyterian

and his works reflect his doubt

on religion. Also he had a belief that life was

predetermined and free will

is an illusion. (John Gerber, 3)

     In November of 1865, Twain published his

first important sketch, "Jim Smiley and

His Jumping Frog" in the New York

Saturday Press. His first book was The Celebrated

Jumping Frog at Calvaras

County. In 1867, he traveled to Spain, Italy, France, and

Palestine. Stories

were published and known as the book, The Innocents Abroad. (1869)

Throughout

this book, Twain ridiculed the countries he visited, along with the sights

of

American tourists traveling about. In 1874, his first novel, The Guilded

Age was

published. it was co-written with Charles Dudley Warner. The title

comes from the

decades following the Civil War. Twain wrote of his youth

in a more pleasant way of life

than it was based on. The short story, " The

Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" is an

indication of his dark side.

     In 1876,

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published. In this book, the

character Aunt

Polly was based on his mother. The family had a better financial condition



like it was at his Aunt Patsy's. The story was about a mischievous boy in

a Mississippi

River town. Tom Sawyer was a backward step. It was addressed

to adults, but appealed

to young people. (Ronald Gottesman, 1163) Tom Sawyer

was a predecessor of Huck

Finn. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was

published in 1885, was the sequel to

Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain was not Tom Sawyer

or Huckleberry Finn, although they were

boys that he wished he was. Twain's

childhood was the basis for the story of boys being

raised on the frontier

in Huckleberry Finn. During his years as a steamboat pilot on the

Mississippi,

he met many people to help characterize his novels. He seldom used the name

of

a friend or relative in anything he wrote. Huckleberry Finn was written by

Twain in

eight years. It is a novel which demonstrates the difference between

appearance and

reality without creating feelings of disdain about humanity.

Throughout Huckleberry Finn,

he brings out the power of nature to develop

an understanding of values such as common

sense, honesty, and courage.

     During

Twain's life he enjoyed listening to yarnspinners. Wile on the Mississippi,

he

found it entertaining to listen to fellow pilots or passengers spin yarns.

One day a yarn

was told by Ben Coon and Twain and a friend listened. Later

he told the story to a

famous humorist named Artemus Ward. He urged Twain

to write the story so that it

could be printed. In 1865, "The Celebrated

Frog of Calaveras County" was published. It

was published and read in newspapers

all over the United States. From there after, he

used his personal life-experiences

and his humorous side to combine the best way of

writing he knew. His talent

of yarnspinning was very helpful during his writing career.

(Miller, 143)



     In February of 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon. They were engaged for

one

year. She changed his writings, sometimes weakening them, and making

them more

readable. His marriage life was always happy, considering they

came from totally different

backgrounds. When they were married, Olivia's

parents said that Twain was not a

Christian. They were married for 33 years

and had four children during that time. His son

died at 18 months in June

of 1872. Twain's favorite daughter, Susy, died at meningitis in

1896. She

died peacefully and was laid to rest by her brother. After Susy's death, the

family

secluded themselves in London. His other two daughters, Clara and Jean, moved

away

from Twain. Clara married a pianist and lived in Europe. Jean spent most

of her

adult life in nursing homes. Jean had the worst relationship with

her father out of the

Clemens children. The last few months of her life,

though, she grew closer to her father

while living with him. In December

of 1909, she died. (Miller,17)

     Twain was not known as an easy man to live

with. He had a bad temper, but he

tried to keep it under control. In 1904

his wife, Olivia, died in Italy. On April 24, 1910

Twain died at Stormfield

of angia pectoris at age 74. Haley's comet was once again in the

sky at this

time. He was buried in Elmira, New York.

     After his death, he was known as

a hero. Schools, parks, and museums have been

named after him. His works

have become known as the first and finest literary expression.

According

to Ernest Hemingway, Twain was the father of all Literature. He is "the poet

of

a unique phase of American experience." (Smist, 38)