The early year

Mark Twain’s real name is Samuel Langhome Clements ( 1835- 1910) and was born on
November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri , pen name is Mark twain means to two fathoms
deep which indicates safe water as a boy living his childhood along with Missisippi River.

When Mark Twain was four, the family moved to Hannibal, a town on the Mississippi River.
Samuel loved to watch the riverboats and dreamed of being a riverboat pilot. Many of his
stories were inspired by his adventures in Hannibal in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and
exspecially in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
In 1847,his father died .The following year, to support his familyTwain left school after the
fifth grade to become a printer's apprentice at the Missouri Courier. He learnt a lot about
writing and used public libraries in the evenings to educate himself.
Twain’s Young Adult Life
In 1851, Mark Twain worked as a typesetter for the Western Union, his brother Orion’s
newspaper. he created articles and sketches for the paper, and became known for his humour.

When he was 18, he left Hannibal and worked as a printer in New York City,joining the
newly formed International Typographical Union, the printers trade union.
By 1857‚ he had returned home to embark on a new career as a riverboat pilot on the
Mississippi River. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861‚ however‚ all traffic along the
river came to a halt‚ as did Mark Twain’s pilot career. Inspired by the times‚ he joined up
with a volunteer Confederate unit called the Marion Rangers‚ but he quit after just two
weeks.
In search of a new career, in July 1861 Mark Twain traveled across the open frontier from
Missouri to Nevada by stagecoach. Along the journey Mark Twain encountered Native
American tribes for the first time, along with a variety of unique characters‚ mishaps, and
disappointments. These events would find a way into his short stories and
books‚ particularly  Roughing It.
In 1865 Mark Twain’s first “big break” came with the publication of his short story “Jim
Smiley and His Jumping Frog ” in papers across the country. His writings were so popular
that‚ upon his return‚ he embarked upon his first lecture tour‚ which established him as a
successful stage performer.
In 1873 Sam’s focus turned toward social criticism. He and Hartford Courant publisher
Charles Dudley Warner co-wrote The Gilded Age‚ a novel that attacked political corruption‚
big business, and the American obsession with getting rich that seemed to dominate the era
From 1891 until 1900‚ Sam and his family traveled throughout the world. During those years
he witnessed the increasing exploitation of weaker governments by European powers‚ which
he described in his book Following the Equator (1897).
When he returned to the United States in 1900‚ his finances restored‚ Mark Twain readily
declared himself an anti-imperialist and‚ from 1901 until his death‚ served as the vice
president of the Anti-Imperialist League
THE MOST FAMOUS BOOKS
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County( 1865). Innocents Abroad( 1869)
Roughing It( 1872), Life on the Mississippi( 1883)
Despite the fame of a brilliant humorist, Mark Twain made an important contribution to
American literature as a social critic. His social Criticism can be found in his best works:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer( 1876), The Prince and the Pauper( 1881), the Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn( 1884), ….
During 1890 Twain’s working are marked by growing pessimism and bitterness, the result of
his business reserves, and later, the death of his wife and two: Pudd’nhead Wilson( 1894),
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1895) and others
Both adults and children enjoy Mark Twain’s Books. His mocking humor is based on the
common sense of common people living around him who always describes with warmth of
human understanding and sympathy.