Samuel Clemens
(Mark Twain)
Biography
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 to
John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens
By 13 Clemens’ father had died of pneumonia and he left school to
become a printer’s apprentice
At 15 he joined is brother’s newspaper as a printer and editorial
assistant.
Clemens moved to St. Louis for a printer’s job at the age of 17
In 1858 he became a licensed river pilot
In 1863 he found his pen name, a term he learned while working
as a river pilot
“Mark Twain” means a ship could safely pass through a river
because the water wasn’t too shallow
During the Civil War Clemens worked as a newspaper
reporter for several papers
Twain gained fame with the short story “The Notorious
Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
Twain’s first book, “The Innocents Abroad” was published
in 1869
He wrote 28 novels, many short stories and letters
Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910
Famous Works
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
The Prince and the Pauper (1881)
Baker's Bluejay Yarn (1875)
Notorious Jumping Frog (1869)
Style
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Humor
In Notorious Jumping Frog:
It is humorous that a man would bet on anything,
that a man would teach a frog to jump and catch
flies, and that you could stop a frog from jumping
by feeding it quail shots.
Bakers Bluejay Yarn:
The bluejay tries to fill up the knothole full of
acorns, and later in the story the birds figure out
the acorns are landing in the house. They are
trying to fill up a house full of acorns!
Style
Social Satire
In Notorious Jumping Frog:
Smiley named his frog Dan'l Webster after the
congressman, U.S senator, statesman and the most
famous orator of his time.
In Bakers Bluejay Yarn:
The miner supposably can understand animal language
and the bluejays have more good and bad grammar like
humans.
creativity
Typical Themes
dreams
genteel culture
humor
identity
race
romance
satire
social
Theme
Notorious Jumping
Frog
Cunning and cleverness, competition, and lies
and deceit.
The lesson to be learned from this story is: Don't
brag or you'll regret it. (In the story, Smiley brags
about his frog and the stranger wins by
sabotaging the competition.)
Themes
Baker's Bluejay Yarn
The lesson learned from this story is humans aren't
much smarter than animals.
The author says, "They [all the jays] examined the
hole, they all made the sufferer tell it over again, then
they all discussed it, and got off as many leatherheaded opinions about it as an average crowd of
humans could have done."
The author also says, "They roosted around here on
the housetop and the trees for an hour, and giftware
over that thing like human beings."
Issues
Social Justice
Believed everyone is equal. He wrote many articles
and letters about slavery, women’s rights and unions.
Example in story: “I found Simon Wheeler dozing
comfortably by the barrroom stove of the dilapidated
tavern in the decayed mining camp of Angel’s.” (From
The Notorious Jumping Frog)
“He was a middle-aged man, simple hearted minor who
lived in a lonely corner of California” (from Baker’s
Bluejay Yarn)
Issues
Animal Rights
Twain did not believe in vivisection, or using living
animals for experimental surgeries.
Examples in story: “Animals can talk to each other, of
course. There can be no question about that; but I
suppose there are very few people who can understand
them.” (From Baker’s Bluejay Yarn)
“And turned him upside down and he belched out a
double handful of shot. And then he saw how it was,
and he was the maddest man – he set the frog down
and took out after that feller, but he never ketched him.”
(From The Notorious Jumping Frog)
Short Story Series, Revised Edition." ENotes - Literature Study
Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/jim-bakers-bluejay-yarn-salem/jim-bakersbluejay-yarn>.
Bibliography
"Mark Twain - Bibliography and List of Works." Biblio.com: Search
Used Books, Textbooks, Rare Books, & Out of Print Books from
Independent Booksellers. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.biblio.com/mark-twain~97662~author>.
"Mark Twain." The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Web.
15 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/18661913/lit/twain.
htm>.
"Mark Twain and Social Justice." The Progress Report -Independent Daily News. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.progress.org/sol23.htm>.
"The Official Web Site of Mark Twain." The Official Web Site of
Mark Twain. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.