Mr. Samuel Clemens, The humorist and cynic.
Sam Marinelli
Mrs. Harder
English III CP
April 1st, 2003
The Humorist and Cynic
He is one of the greatest writers of all time and it has been said that with his writing, there is no comparison to anyone of his own time. "He was and is one authentic giant of our national literature." (Mencken 6). This man is without a doubt Mr. Samuel Clemens. His brutal honesty, sarcasm, and amazing talent for writing the truth in his stories are a few reasons why he has influenced and impacted modern day literature so immensely (Menken 4).
November 30th 1835 was the year Samuel Longhorne Clemens was born (American author and humorist 1). Little Samuel did have some education but not very much. The education he did have, however, was opened up to him by the newspaper offices and print shops he worked at growing up (American author and humorist 1). 1861 was the year that Clemens first wrote under his pen name 'Mark Twain' (American author and humorist 1). He got the name from being on Riverboats when he was a captain of one on the Mississippi River. When Captains need to know the depth of the water they say "mark" to mark where they are measuring and "twain" when it hit the bottom.
His career in a way all started when he worked at the newspaper offices in Hannibal, Missouri (Mark Twain 1). That is where he quickly picked up his grammar and simple writing skills. From then on out he acquired other skills as he went throughout his life. That was the beginning of the Saga that would be known years later as Mark Twains professional writing career. When Twain first started out the sarcastic author and humorist people came to know and love, had not yet made a 'debut' in the literary world (Jim Zwick).
Mark Twain's ...
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His career in a way all started when he worked at the newspaper offices in Hannibal, Missouri (Mark Twain 1). That is where he quickly picked up his grammar and simple writing skills. From then on out he acquired other skills as he went throughout his life. That was the beginning of the Saga that would be known years later as Mark Twains professional writing career. When Twain first started out the sarcastic author and humorist people came to know and love, had not yet made a 'debut' in the literary world (Jim Zwick).
Mark Twain's problems when he was an adolescent and also when he was an adult left him with an absolutely amazing talent for writing the truth. Which was apparent when he wrote some of his first essays from his trip to Hawaii (Addison 2). Twain had a talent to see what most people back then were oblivious to- the hilariousness of people's weaknesses. (Menken 2). That alone gave him very much to write about.
That sarcastic talent he is greatly known for was captured when he wrote his very first story, The Celebrated Jumping frog from Calaveras County. Which was a story he heard in the California Gold fields when he lived and worked there in California. (Dr. Anne Simpson 1). In this story he described honestly what his characters were, exactly what they were- fat, bald, ugly, stupid, no vertically challenged or somewhat thin, he was brutally honest (Chew 1). That was and is his mark on literature (Chew 1). His brutal honesty was what captured critic's attention and got it in the first place (Chew 1). It was hard and right to the point, a lot like Twain himself. This alone influences copycat writers today like Garrison Keillor, who writes in the same folk-style as Twain did (Literary Classics 1).
Another reason Mark Twain has impacted what we know as the literary world today, would have to be the distinct sarcastic way he writes. Examples of that could be found in almost every published or unpublished piece of writing Twain ever created. Including, The Innocents Abroad, Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, and most obviously The Mysterious Stranger. (Mark Twain 2). Which was a story that reveals the absurdity and the ridiculousness of the village of Eselddorf (Mark Twain 2). There are many distinct examples of when Twain is sarcastic in The Innocents Abroad and one is the way he made fun of European prejudices and religious traditions (Menken pg. 2).
While this ability to be so sarcastic and cynical in his writing made the critics marvel, it also made them criticize for the same reasons (Menken 2). It was so distinct however, that it not only captured attention from the literary world, but now but it would prove to be so influential that people such as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner looked to Twain for inspiration with their own writing. Two of the most popular and most read writers pointed to him for credit and inspiration (Addison 2). That in itself is a major example of exactly how profoundly Twain affected American Literature (Addison 2).
Lastly, Twain has influenced modern day literature by being able to laugh at human weaknesses, and then write them all down. (Menken 2). Because Twain constantly had to cope with deep, dark problems of his own, many say this is what led to his black humor and cynical piece of mind found later in his writings (Menken 2). As a result of his hard life, some say no one had a better sense or talent for finding the childish ways in what were widely accepted as 'adult' normalcy's like church, work, the government, and life in general that had nothing to do with that of a child. (Mark Twain 2). Such 'human weaknesses' to him were sadly that of tradition, religion, and different prejudices around the world (Menken 2). Another example of human weakness from The Innocents Abroad would be the fact that Twain poked fun at both American and European manners (Chew 1).
For that and many other reasons Mark Twain, better known as Samuel Longhorne Clemens might be considered the most influential writer when it comes to modern day literature (Tributek 1). His unique, one of a kind style of writing won him all kinds of successes. His legacy still continues today, well over a 100 years later. (Tributek 1). Because of that, Twain's writing continues to wow children and adults alike all over the world (Zwick 3). Twain died like many famous people in history, very tragically after the death of his daughter and wife. His legacy will outlive everyone who reads his books, and if not that for sure his literature, popularity and influence will. (Mark Twain 2). That much has become apparent, all you have to do is look to history. (Addison 1).
Marinelli 1