Mark Twain (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910), formerly known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American writer, The orator, "Mark Twain" was his pen name, originally a term used by Mississippi River sailors to indicate the depth of water measured on the waterway.
When he was 12 years old, his father died, so he had to drop out of school and work as a factory worker. He worked as a Mississippi River pilot, miner and journalist. Gradually, I started writing some interesting sketches by hand and started my writing career. [1] Representative works include the novels "One Million Pounds", "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", etc.
Mark Twain is the founder of American critical realism literature. Mark Twain wrote a large number of works throughout his life, covering novels, scripts, essays, poetry and other genres. In terms of content, his works criticize irrational phenomena or the ugliness of human nature, expressing the writer's strong sense of justice and concern for ordinary people who had been a typesetter and sailor; in terms of style, experts And general readers agree that humor and irony are the characteristics of his writing. He experienced the development process of the United States from early capitalism to imperialism, and his thoughts and creations also showed a development stage from light ridicule to bitter irony to pessimism and world-weariness. In the early stage, he was famous for bitter irony, but in the later period, his language became more explicit and violent. .
In 2006, Mark Twain was ranked 16th among the 100 most influential people in the United States by the authoritative American journal "The Atlantic Monthly"[2].
Chinese name
Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Foreign name
Mark Twain（Samuel Langhorne Clemens）< /p>
Alias
Mark Twain
Nationality
United States
Birthplace
Rural Florida, Missouri, USA
Character Experience
On November 30, 1835, Mark Twain was born into a poor lawyer's family in rural Florida, Missouri, USA. He is the 6th of 7 children in his family. His father was a local lawyer with a meager income and financial difficulties. Little Mark Twain had to work while he was in school. His father died when he was eleven years old. From then on, he began an independent working life, first as an apprentice in a printing shop, as a newspaper delivery boy and typesetter, and later as a sailor and helmsman on the Mississippi River. [3]
Signature.
In the autumn of 1839, Mark Twain and his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a port city on the Mississippi River, which became the basis for his later book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and the inspiration for the city of St. Petersburg in "The Wanderer." At that time, Missouri was a slave state in the Confederacy, and the young Twain began to learn about slavery, which would become a later theme in his adventure novels. Mark Twain was colorblind, which inspired his witty banter in social circles. [3]
Photograph of Mark Twain in 1850
On March 24, 1847, Mark Twain’s father, John Clemens, died of pneumonia. In 1847, Mark Twain, who came from a humble family, began to work as a printing office apprentice, newsboy, typesetter, sailor, gold digger, reporter and other jobs. [3]
In 1851, Mark Twain became a typesetter, also contributed articles, and began to write drafts for the "Hannibal Journal" founded by his brother Olean. [3]
On May 1, 1852, his debut novel "The Colonist's Surprised Dandy" was published in the Boston humor weekly "Handbag". [3]
Mark Twain around 1855
In 1858, Mark Twain returned to Missouri. During the trip down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, the ship's pilot "Bixby" asked Twain to become a ship pilot for life. [3]
In 1861, Olaith was sent by President Lincoln to serve as secretary to the Western Nevada Territory government. He went with him and tried to make a fortune in the timber industry and mining, but failed, so he turned to Write articles for a living. In 1862, he worked in a newspaper office in Virginia City, Nevada.
In 1863, he began to use the pen name "Mark Twain".
In 1864, he met humorist Al Ward and novelist B. Hart in San Francisco. With their encouragement and help, he improved his writing skills.
In 1865, he published the humorous story "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in a New York magazine, which made him famous nationwide. Since then, he often wrote humorous articles for newspapers and periodicals. [3]
Mark Twain in 1867.
In 1866, he went to Hawaii Island for an interview.
In 1867, a local newspaper offered a steamship trip to the Mediterranean. During his journeys to Europe and the Middle East, he wrote his famous 1869 collection of travel letters, The Idiot's Travels.
During this period, he met Charles Langdon and saw a photo of Langdon's sister Olivia Langdon. Twain fell in love with her at first sight. [3]
In 1870, Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a capitalist in New York State. After getting married, he lived in Buffalo and edited and published the "Express" by himself. He sold it out a year later due to excessive financial losses.
The book "Hard Times" was published in 1872, which reflected his life experience in the newly developed areas of the West. It recorded some anecdotes, especially humorous stories with the characteristics of the American West.
The Gilded Age, which he co-wrote with Charles Warner in 1873, was his first novel. [3]
In 1871, Mark Twain moved his family to Hartford, Connecticut, in the east. By this time, he had become a famous writer and humorous speaker. The following years were a fruitful period for his creation.
Mark Twain in 1871
In 1875, Mark Twain wrote an article for "The Atlantic Monthly" at the invitation of William Dean Howells. He wrote seven articles based on his early life as a helmsman on the Mississippi River, which were later compiled into a book called "History of the Mississippi River." Eight years later, he returned to his hometown and expanded the book into "On the Mississippi" (1883). [3]
In 1876, the novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" was published. Although it is a juvenile book set in a small town on the Mississippi River, it is loved by readers of any age. The book tells many stories about naughty Tom and his partner Huckleberry Finn and Tom's girlfriend Becky Thatcher. Many of them are based on the author's personal experience, and there are many interesting plots that are in line with children's psychology. [3]
Mark Twain started writing another important novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1876 and published it in 1884. The novel was highly praised by critics and popular with readers at home and abroad, but it was also constantly banned. [3]
Mark Twain
In 1889, Mark Twain published "Connecticut Americans at the Court of King Arthur", which is the same as "The Prince and the Pauper" (1881) They are all novels that satirize the feudal system and religion with the British background.
In 1894, Mark Twain wrote "Idiot Wilson", creating an image of a fighting female slave named Roxy. Before and after this, his family suffered misfortunes: one of his two daughters fell ill and died, and his wife's health also deteriorated; his investment in manufacturing automatic typesetters failed and he went bankrupt. In order to pay off his debts, he traveled to give lectures and visited places such as Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, India and South America. [3]
The Life of Joan of Arc was published in 1896, which describes the life of Joan of Arc, the French national heroine in the 15th century.
He wrote "A Journey to the Equator" in 1897, which satirized and condemned the oppression of colonial people by imperialism. Opposition to imperialism became the central idea of ??his subsequent creations.
In 1898, Mark Twain paid off all his debts.
Mark Twain in Nikola Tesla's laboratory.
In October 1900, after leaving the United States and living in Europe for nearly ten years, he and his family returned to the United States. They were warmly welcomed and became a leader in the literary and artistic circles.
Many contemporary works published after 1900 have not lost their edge. [3]
In 1904, his wife died in Italy. Mark Twain entered the final stage of his career. The pessimism towards "humanity" (actually towards the propertied class), which had already been expressed in his early works such as "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", became the main theme of some of his works at this time. The novella "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" (1900), the essay "What's the Matter with Man?" "(1906), the story "The Mysterious Visitor" (1916), etc. are all reflected. The most important work in his later years was his Autobiography, dictated by him and transcribed by his secretary. [3]
On April 21, 1910, Mark Twain died of angina and was buried in Aymara, New York.
[3]
Character works
List of works
Chinese name Genre Year of publication
"A Fool's Travels Abroad" 1869
"Running for Governor" Short Story 1870
"The Hard Course" 1872
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References[6]
Works Collection