1 / 14

Mark Twain

Mark Twain. Renowned Author and Humorist. Mark Twain (1835-1910). Regarded as one of the greatest American writers He said he would have preferred to spend his life as a Mississippi riverboat pilot. Twain as a Young Man.

Download Presentation

Mark Twain

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Mark Twain Renowned Author and Humorist

  2. Mark Twain (1835-1910) • Regarded as one of the greatest American writers • He said he would have preferred to spend his life as a Mississippi riverboat pilot.

  3. Twain as a Young Man • Grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri • Grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River and had a true love of its riverboats

  4. Twain as a Young Man cont. • His father died when Twain was 11, so he left school to become a printer’s apprentice. • He so loved life on the river that he left his printing job at age 21 and worked as a riverboat pilot for several years.

  5. Influence of the Mississippi • He was so infatuated with this river that it became the basis for many of his most famous works.

  6. Twain the Name • Twain was his pen name his real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. • Felt so close to the river that he chose this pen name because it’s actually a river man’s call meaning “2 fathoms deep”

  7. A Traveling Man • When the Civil War closed traffic on the Mississippi River, Twain went west to Nevada. • There he supported himself as a journalist and lecturer.

  8. Unique Style • It was in Nevada that Twain published “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” • This was his version of a tall tale he heard while working as a prospector in a mine in CA. • Story made him an international celebrity because of his unique writing style.

  9. Back East • In 1869, Twain moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he lived for the rest of his life. • He did continue to travel extensively, though, even living in Europe for several years, but he always returned to Hartford.

  10. Inspiration • He used his travels and past experiences as the basis for all of his novels. • His childhood on the Mississippi inspired “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” 2 of his most famous works.

  11. Writing Style • Twain was best known for his infusion of humor in his stories • He used a variety of techniques to make his stories humorous and, at times, almost ridiculous, but the readers LOVED them!

  12. The Final Years • After the death of Twain’s wife and 3 of his 4 children, he never really could reproduce the mix of pessimism and humor he was most famous for. • His later works showed an increasingly pessimistic view of society and human nature.

  13. Humor • Writing intended to evoke laughter • Humorists use a variety of techniques to make their writing amusing, including: • Exaggerating/embellishing incidents to build comedy • Using a narrator who takes a serious tone, adding humor by suggesting that the teller of the tale is unaware of its ridiculous qualities

  14. Regional Dialect • Language specific to a particular area of the country • This can also add to the humor of a story • Twain was a master at adding this dialect as colorful language to his stories

More Related