The Life and Legacy of Mark
Twain
By:
David Wolfson
Early Life
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1835: Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, MO. Haley’s Comet visible
from Earth
1839: Moves to Hannibal, MO
1847: Clemens’s father dies
– Drops out of school to become printer’s apprentice
1857: Becomes cub steamboat pilot, described in Life on the Mississippi
1858: Brother Henry dies in a steamboat accident on the Pennsylvania
1861: Civil War begins. Clemens serves 2 weeks with Confederate Army, then
deserts.
1861: Brother Orion appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory. Clemens
goes along as an aide, described in Roughing It
1862: Became a newspaper reporter in California.
1868: Meets Livy in Elmira, NY, and falls in love.
1869: Publishes first novel The Innocents Abroad which was his best seller.
1870: Marries Livy; son Langdon is born.
1872: Moves to Hartford, CT; publishes Roughing It; daughter Susie is born.
Twain’s Style
• Mark Twain was the most
celebrated writer of his time. He
was a writer, humorist,
adventurer and prankster.
• Twain’s style captured the
conscience of America by writing
about his own history, political
corruption, greed, slavery and the
Reconstruction era.
Famous Works of Mark Twain
• “The Innocents Abroad”,
1869
• “Roughing It”, 1872
• “The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer”, 1876
• “A Tramp Abroad”,1880
• “The Prince and the
Pauper”, 1882
• “Life on the Mississippi”,
1883
• “The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn”, 1885
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
•
•
The setting in this novel takes place in a small Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri.
CharactersTom Sawyer- The Novels Main character, he is a typical young boy who’s mischievous attitude
tends to always land him in some sort of trouble. But throughout the novel the reader will see
his goodhearted ways and leadership.
Huckleberry Finn- Son of the town drunk and shunned by the town. He tends to be very
superstitious and adored by all the boys in the town whom envy his freedom from society.
Aunt Polly- Aunt Polly is Tom’s Guardian, she is your typical kind hearted mom whom tries to
juggle around the chores at home and also maintain a keen eye on her nephew Tom.
Sid- Toms younger half brother; he is the complete opposite of Tom in that he enjoys being
“good” and getting Tom into trouble.
Becky Thatcher- The Judges pretty daughter who is able to catch the attention of Tom and stir
up his romantic side. The two end up going to great lengths to try and make the other jealous.
Joe Harper- Joe is introduced as Tom’s best friend and the two tend to be always side by side.
But through out the novel the two seem to split apart as Huckleberry Finn takes his place.
Injun Joe- A violent evil man who throughout the book commits crimes such as murder and
theft. He is the villain in the novel.
Widow Douglas- Kind hearted old woman who is beloved by all the children of the town and is
looked at as a friend by all. Tom saves her life in the novel.
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• This novel is the follow-up and sequel to “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.
Not long before the novel begins, Huck has been taken to live with the
Widow Douglas and her sister. But Huck thinks life with the two sisters is
too civilized.
• In the novel that proceeded this, Tom and Huck were able to find a large
stash of gold in a cave when they had there bout with Injun Joe. This led
Huck to become quite a bit more wealthy in which he had put the gold
into a trust fund at the bank.
• Huck’s drunken father soon returned to town to kidnapped his boy to get
his money from the trust fund. After a miserable time with his father, Huck
escapes. While he is running away, he meets Jim—a slave of Widow
Douglas’s sister—who has escaped too. The two set off together on a raft
on the Mississippi River—and on one of the most famous journeys in
American literature.