Samuel Clemens based his works on things that occurred throughout
his personal
life. He gained many interests and talents while on the Mississippi
River that contributed
to his writings. Samuel Clemens was born on November
30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He was
two months premature. AT the time
of his birth, Haley’s comet was in the sky. Four
years after Clemens was
born, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. He grew up there
on the Mississippi
River. The river supported some of the happiest moments in his life.
Clemens
was the fifth child in the family of John and Jane Clemens. The first seven
years
of his life, he was under the supervision of his mother and the family physician,
Dr.
Hugh, because of being sick. At age nine, though, Clemens was known to
be grown up.In 1847, his father died. He began to carry our adult responsibilities
now at age 12. He
began working and running errands to contribute to the
family. After his father died, thefamily began to have bad financial problems.
When Clemens turned seventeen, he was
ready to be on his own, He began to
write stories and sketches for newspapers. He
supported himself for the next
two years. He also decided to go east ward from Hannibal
to work on printing
jobs. (Miller, Dwyer, Wood, 259)
He enrolled in school at age four. He
was well-behaved and disciplined in school.Learning was a privilege to Clemens.
he was interested in knowing facts, information, and
figures. He had a strong
knowledge of math, language, vocabulary, and correct
composition. He learned
much about Botany. At age 12, he quit school and became a
printer’s apprentice.
In 1901, he received his Lit. D. degree from Yale, 1902. his Lit. D.
degree
from the University of Missouri, and in 1907 his Lit. D. degree from Oxford.
In
1857, Clemens started down the Mississippi River. He made important
decisions
with important consequences in his life. Clemens persuaded Horace Bixby to
teach
him piloting skills. In 1859, he became a licensed riverboat pilot. During
the 1850’s
while he piloted steamboats, he adopted the name Mark Twain in
Virginia City. Mark
Twain was a name meaning two fathoms deep, used on a
Mississippi River steamboat.(Discovering Authors) Twain first began to
publish under his…
…s in
1896. She
died peacefully and was laid to rest by her brother. After Susy’s death, the
family
secluded themselves in London. His other two daughters, Clara and Jean, moved
away
from Twain. Clara married a pianist and lived in Europe. Jean spent most
of her
adult life in nursing homes. Jean had the worst relationship with
her father out of the
Clemens children. The last few months of her life,
though, she grew closer to her father
while living with him. In December
of 1909, she died. (Miller,17)
Twain was not known as an easy man to live
with. He had a bad temper, but he
tried to keep it under control. In 1904
his wife, Olivia, died in Italy. On April 24, 1910
Twain died at Stormfield
of angia pectoris at age 74. Haley’s comet was once again in the
sky at this
time. He was buried in Elmira, New York.
After his death, he was known as
a hero. Schools, parks, and museums have been
named after him. His works
have become known as the first and finest literary expression.According
to Ernest Hemingway, Twain was the father of all Literature. He is “the poet
of
a unique phase of American experience.” (Smist, 38)