...Mark Twain’s widely known and appreciated novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follow countless boyhood adventures between the rambunctious young boys, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. While Twain’s novels depict long playful summer days spent in the sun, his work is far from children’s literature. Twain’s novels include dark adult themes such as death, ignorance, physical punishment, deceit and most prominently, racism. Twain modeled both novels based on his own life experiences growing up along the Mississippi River (Frost), hoping to mirror how one's surroundings influence their character development, furthermore shaping who they will become. To do so, Twain creates a world of struggle for his protagonists,...
Words: 1536 - Pages: 7
...Clemens: Mark Twain (pen name) Mark Twain"—steamboat slang for twelve feet of water. I. Personal Background 1. When was the author born? Where was the place he grew up? Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, U.S. but grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. 2. Describe the childhood and educational experiences of the author. In his youth, Twain was a mischievous boy, the prototype of his character, Tom Sawyer. Though he was plagued by poor health in his early years, by age nine he had already learned to smoke, led a small band of pranksters, and had developed an aversion to school. Twain's formal schooling ended after age 12, because his father passed away in March of that year. He became an apprentice in a printer's shop and then worked under his brother, Orion, at the Hannibal Journal, where he quickly became saturated in the newspaper trade. Rising to the role of sub-editor, Twain indulged in the frontier humor that flourished in journalism at the time: tall tales, satirical pranks, and jokes. II. Influences of the Writer The following were the persons, things, places and events that influenced Mark Twain. -his connection to the mississippi river as a boy and the fact that he became a riberboat pilot -time spent traveling the world -the nice life he led shortly after he married -tragedies in his family -financial problems -problems he saw in the south during reconstruction Hannibal inspired several of Mark Twain's fictional...
Words: 1738 - Pages: 7
...Mark Twain left his printing career and settled at Mississippi to work on the river boats. His career as a river boat pilot has influenced him and his sweet remembrances on the Mississippi river are recollected by him through his work The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His life as a river boat pilot has given him the pen name Mark Twain. He continued his work as a river boat pilot until 1861. He was not permitted to work there any more after the Civil War in the United States of America. The Mississippi was closed and people were prevented from entering the river for travel and shipping. Though he worked for some time in the Cavalry division as Confederate, he turned his attention towards journalism after the call from his brother Orion. Mark Twain’s articles, stories, memoirs and novels illustrated his exploded and irrepressible wit and elegance. He rendered no ear to the polished and refined language but has used the colloquial and familiar slang of the people which allured everyone to read his work. His works has made...
Words: 2164 - Pages: 9
...Mark Twain Samuel L. Clemens, commonly known as Mark Twain, is often referred to as the father of literature in America. He is the author of so many classics that are being read today in several high schools in America or most likely the world. Books like: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper and so many others, are still amusing to this day. Mark Twain is considered one of America’s greatest novelist and one of the world’s greatest writers of juvenile and comic literature. In all of his works he utilizes similar techniques, like, satiric irony, which are currently still being studied today. Mark Twain had a very weird and unique writing technique...
Words: 1091 - Pages: 5
...Thomas Nast known as The Father of American Caricature influenced the world with his humorous way to address serious situations. Known for his famous campaign against New York City’s political boss William Maegear Tweed, he devised the Tammany tiger, popularized the donkey as the symbol for the Democratic party, and popularized the elephant for the Republican party. He also crated the “modern” image of Santa Claus. He was even known to have re-elected Lincoln in 1864, and Lincoln himself commented that Nast was his best recruiting sergeant. Likewise, many people are influenced by comedy, more than any other type of style. With great fame, Mark Twain, much like Thomas Nast, portrayed a comedic writing style to draw in the attention of his audience. Influenced by himself, and many areas of his life, such as his home, jobs, and experiences, Mark Twain greatly impacted American literature with his humorous commentaries on reality. Twains early life transformed him into the man we know today, was born November 30, 1835, in the small town of Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child of John and Jane Lampton Clemens, who originally named him Samuel Langhorne Clemens .When Samuel was only three, his parents' seventh and last child was born, a son named Henry. A year after that, the family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. In 1847, Twains father died when he was only 12(Twain 12). By this time, there were only four children of seven left in the Clemens’ household. As soon as they were old...
Words: 1719 - Pages: 7
...the value of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn if having been introduced to it too young and with a poor teacher is like a seed being able on to grow on concrete: improbable and disappointing. Similar to a student, a seed needs conducive and nurturing conditions in order to grow— that’s why only a small few end up reaching their full potential. Seeds need access to direct sunlight, water, and proper soil. Students need access to passionate teachers who are invested in educating their students properly—especially when it comes to challenging literature. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel that has immense value and meaning; however, it is also one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted stories of all time. Twain’s classic is continuously accused of supporting the prejudiced attitudes it is actually criticizing. This is especially apparent when these confusing passages are not properly explained and put in context by an inspirational teacher. Huck Finn has the ability to become detrimental when it is put in the hands of students who lack enough academic experience to understand the book’s purpose on their own and/or lack a teacher who can properly explain it to them. Educators need to be able to illustrate to students that through satire, Twain shares his beliefs about racism, religion, and other topics that plagued America at the time – all important subjects commonly misinterpreted if not setup and explained correctly. The Adventures of Huckleberry...
Words: 1756 - Pages: 8
...Pierre Smith English III 1A 11/10/12 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. When he was four he and his family moved to Hannibal a town on the Mississippi river. His family was very wealthy and own several slaves. In 1847 his father died leaving his family in a whole forcing Clemens to get a job as a printer, making him unable to finish school. He gave up his printing career to work on a riverboat eventually becoming a riverboat pilot. Being on the water influenced Clemens greatly. It was also the place that he gained the author name Mark Twain, which came from the riverboat leadsmen’s signal. “By mark, Twain” the water was deep enough to pass through safely. Life on the Mississippi river also inspired material for several books including Huckleberry Finn. He later went off with his brother and became a silver miner, then finally found his calling as a journalist and signed several articles with the name Mark Twain. Mark Twain creates Huckleberry Finn by heavily using theme, motifs, and symbols. Mark Twain pushes theme throughout this writing piece which is racism and slavery. In huckleberry Finn Mark Twain exposes the hypocrisy of slavery; “I wouldn’t shake my nigger, would I? The only nigger I had in the world, and the only property.” (196). he shows racism twists the mind of the punisher just as much as the punished. This causes people to be pulled away from their moral beliefs. In Huckleberry Finn...
Words: 851 - Pages: 4
...Both Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye are bildungsroman novels about a young character’s growth into adulthood. Written 67 years apart, both novels feature unusual protagonists who are somewhat innocent, naïve and desperate to reject the process of maturity and being ‘sivilized’. Twain focuses on a key moment in American history to ask readers to reassess the definition of “civilisation”, freedom, justice and social responsibility. Published in 1884, the novel relates to the pre-civil war years when the controversy over slavery corrupted America. Twain set his novel in 1860 prior to the abolition of slavery in order to criticise racist attitudes and uses the Mississippi River as the centre point of his novel. It symbolises the route toward freedom and escape for Huck and Jim providing the setting for the growth of both a young boy and a country struggling to understand definitions of freedom, individualism and civilisation. Salinger, however, uses his protagonist Holden to explore the materialistic, conformist society he saw developing after WW2. The first extract I chose is from chapter 22 of Catcher in the Rye where Phoebe accuses Holden of hating everything and everyone. Holden reveals here his fantasy of becoming ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ protecting children from falling into the adult world. This links with chapter 31 of Huckleberry Finn where Huck decides to write a letter to Tom Sawyer to tell Miss Watson where Jim...
Words: 1956 - Pages: 8
...The main character Huckleberry “Huck” Finn. Huck is rudimentary American. He encapsulates our trademark resistance, our anxiousness with power and tradition, our unwillingness to be “sivilized” without wanting to. Its vigorous casual voice has a particular diction from the onset of the novel, Huck states, “You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth” (Twain 1). Twain's native Missouri dialectic and tone, a virtual presentation of freedom from the formal English is presented from the first to the last page of his novel. Huck is an unlikely hero for a book. Huck is inherently kindhearted, but finds himself stifled and corrupted by society’s restraints throughout the novel. Huck acknowledges that he does not consider himself “sivilized,” despite the widow’s many attempts, but does not realize that in his shortcoming lies his greatest strength: he is free from societal conformities and prejudices, free from the popular acceptance of...
Words: 2418 - Pages: 10
...Megan Naylor Dr. DiCicco English 3664 March 29, 2011 Gender Roles in The Scarlet Letter and The Awakening During the Victorian era, the life a woman was immensely difficult. They were considered the property of their husband, and treated as such. Women were forbidden from owning their own property, even if they were given the property from their father. In such a case, the land would be transferred in ownership to her husband. A woman’s place was in the home, to dutifully care for her husband and children. Her job was to cook, clean, and bear children. Interestingly, a wife was treated similarly to her children. Obedience toward the man of the home was necessary from both the children and the mother. In contradiction to all of the restriction and repression, the nineteenth century produced two of literatures strongest women. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Kate Chopin gave American society two women who actively defied their husbands and who possessed their own strong moral codes. With The Scarlet Letter published in 1850 and set in the seventeenth century, Nathaniel Hawthorne was taking a large risk in creating a novel detailing a woman’s adultery with the town’s minister and producing an illegitimate child in the process. Despite the treatment she receives, Hester does not waver in her promise to keep her lover secret, proving that she is a strong willful woman. As the century is coming to a close, Kate Chopin produced a work that sent shock waves through American society. The...
Words: 2680 - Pages: 11
...1. Literature of the 17th century. John Milton. “Paradise Lost”. John Bunyan. “Pilgrim’s Progress”. The peculiarities of the English literature of the 17th century are determined by the events of the Engl. Bourgeois Revolution, which took place in 1640-60. King Charles I was beheaded in 1649& General Oliver Cromwell became the leader of the new government. In 1660, shortly after Cro-ll’s death, the dynasty of the Stuarts was restored. The establishment of new social&eco-ic relations, the change from feudal to bourgeois ownership, escalating class-struggle, liberation movement and contradictions of the bourgeois society found their reflection in lit-re. The main representatives of this period is: John Milton: was born in London&educated at Christ’s College. He lived a pure life believing that he had a great purpose to complete. At college he was known as the The Lady of Christ’s. he Got master’s degree at Cambridge. It’s convenient to consider his works in 3 divisions. At first he wrote his short poems at Horton. (The Passion, Song on May Morning, L’Allegro). Then he wrote mainly prose. His 3 greatest poems belong to his last group. At the age of 23 he had still done little in life&he admits this in one of his sonnets. (On his 23d B-day) In his another sonnet he wrote on his own blindness. (On his Blindness) Milton wrote diff. kinds of works. His prose works were mainly concerned with church, affairs, divorce & freedom. The English civil war between Charles...
Words: 10397 - Pages: 42
...4141- 4141--- Cherished and Cursed:Towarda Social History of The Catcher in the Rye STEPHEN J. WHITFIELD THE plot is brief:in 1949 or perhaps 1950, over the course of three days during the Christmas season, a sixteen-yearold takes a picaresque journey to his New YorkCity home from the third private school to expel him. The narratorrecounts his experiences and opinions from a sanitarium in California. A heavy smoker, Holden Caulfield claims to be already six feet, two inches tall and to have wisps of grey hair; and he wonders what happens to the ducks when the ponds freeze in winter. The novel was published on 16 July 1951, sold for $3.00, and was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Within two weeks, it had been reprinted five times, the next month three more times-though by the third edition the jacket photographof the author had quietly disappeared. His book stayed on the bestseller list for thirty weeks, though never above fourth place.' Costing 75?, the Bantam paperback edition appeared in 1964. By 1981, when the same edition went for $2.50, sales still held steady, between twenty and thirty thousand copies per month, about a quarter of a million copies annually. In paperback the novel sold over three million copies between 1953 and 1964, climbed even higher by the 1980s, and continues to attract about as many buyers as it did in 1951. The durabilityof The author appreciates the invitationof Professors Marc Lee Raphaeland Robert A. Gross to present an early version...
Words: 12326 - Pages: 50
...6 Build Your Vocabulary ■ ■ ■ ■ The SAT High-Frequency Word List The SAT Hot Prospects Word List The 3,500 Basic Word List Basic Word Parts be facing on the test. First, look over the words on our SAT High-Frequency Word List, which you’ll find on the following pages. Each of these words has appeared (as answer choices or as question words) from eight to forty times on SATs published in the past two decades. Next, look over the words on our Hot Prospects List, which appears immediately after the High-Frequency List. Though these words don’t appear as often as the high-frequency words do, when they do appear, the odds are that they’re key words in questions. As such, they deserve your special attention. Now you’re ready to master the words on the High-Frequency and Hot Prospects Word Lists. First, check off those words you think you know. Then, look up all the words and their definitions in our 3,500 Basic Word List. Pay particular attention to the words you thought you knew. See whether any of them are defined in an unexpected way. If they are, make a special note of them. As you know from the preceding chapters, SAT often stumps students with questions based on unfamiliar meanings of familiar-looking words. Use the flash cards in the back of this book and create others for the words you want to master. Work up memory tricks to help yourself remember them. Try using them on your parents and friends. Not only will going over these high-frequency words reassure you that you...
Words: 92038 - Pages: 369
...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...
Words: 239932 - Pages: 960
