Mark Twain's Life
Written by: Camden Lyne
Mark Twain was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. His birth name was Samuel Clemens and later changed his name to Mark Twain later in life. During Clemens’ early years he and his family moved around quite a bit but when he was 11 tragedy struck when his dad died. Clemens left school after his dad died and picked up a job as a printer apprentice to help his mom and six siblings. When Clemens was a child he became acquainted with a boy named Tom Blankenship. Clemens would eventually reveal that Tom was his inspiration for the character Huckleberry Finn. It was during Samuel’s childhood when he developed his sense of mischief and humor so much so where his mom was afraid he would live “‘Afraid I wouldn’t live?’ ‘No,’ she said, ‘afraid you would’” (Quirk 2). During the summers Clemens would spend time at his uncle’s house and listen to the stories of the slaves, some of which would end up as a basis for Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Clemens would also spend his summers fishing, picnicking, and swimming in the Mississippi River. Clemens would swim or canoe to Glasscock’s Island or visit McDowell’s Cave which would become Jackson’s Island in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and McDougal’s Cave in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Another part of Clemens’ childhood life that would eventually end up in his books would be growing up on the Mississippi river and all of the trade that would travel along the river. However Samuel Clemens’ childhood life wasn’t all adventure and fun, there were many hardships that Samuel Clemens faced in his youth. For example in January of 1845 Clemens watched someone die in the streets by getting shot. This would become inspiration for Boggs shooting in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Tom Blankenship’s older brother was smuggling food to a runaway slave but the slave was eventually found and killed causing Clemens to have Huck Finn help Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
When Clemens was 17 years old he decided to travel to St. Louis, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. working for different printing shops. It was at this time that Clemens started to write a little, sometimes having a publication in the newspaper. When Samuel turned twenty-one he pursued one of his dreams of learning how to pilot a steamboat. He became a licensed steamboat pilot in 1859 and he loved his job. Clemens would later describe the job of a riverboat captain as “‘A pilot, in those days, was the only unfettered and entirely independent human being that lived in the earth,’ he wrote” (Quirk 10). Clemens would learn discipline while working as a pilot causing him to have a determined, set out life instead of a knockabout life. Clemens would hear stories from the different people that rode the riverboat of tales about gunfights, treasure hunts, etc.
However, in 1861 the Civil War broke out and all traffic along the river came to a halt. Clemens out of fear quit his job as a steamboat captain two years after getting his license due to fear of being considered a Union steamboat captain. After Clemens quit his steamboat job he went back to Hannibal and joined a group consisting of twelve others that would fight against the Union soldiers. Only two weeks later the group fell apart. Clemens would later write about this experience in his book The Private History of the Campaign That Failed detailing that his group would mostly retreat at the rumor of Union fighters. Clemens ended up buying land in the Nevada territory which would return when Huck Finn wanted to buy land in Oklahoma. When Clemens went to Nevada he found out his alliance with Orin (his partner helping with the Nevada territory) wouldn’t give him the life he wanted. So Clemens traveled around to a few different jobs including a prospector and finally settling with a job as a reporter for a local newspaper. Clemens would write later “‘It was no place for a Presbyterian,’ he said. Then, after a thoughtful pause, he added, ‘And I did not remain one very long’” (Quirk 14).
It was in February of 1863 when Clemens would write three papers for the Enterprise and he would sign them with Mark Twain, Clemens wouldn’t use the name formally for a while but would occasionally sign his work with Mark Twain. Clemens’ work was starting to gain attention in different parts of the country even to the lengths of appearing in New York papers. A few years passed and Clemens would move to San Francisco working for different publishers. In November 1865 Clemens would write a story called Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog that was published in New York’s Saturday Pass written by Mark Twain. Many years passed, Twain would travel the world, get married, become a full time writer, and in 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published, and in 1884 published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which would become his best selling novels. Twain would continue to write more novels and short stories up until his later years. Twain would die on April 21, 1910 from a heart attack. His legacy would live on for decades and his books are still a top hit for people all over the world.
​
​
​
​
​
​
Sources:
Canfield, Gregg. “Mark Twain’s Biography.” Northern Illinois University Digital Library, 2016, digital.lib.niu.edu/twain/biography.
House, Mark Twain. “Biography - Mark Twain House.” Mark Twain House - Museum, 26 Oct. 2017, marktwainhouse.org/about/mark-twain/biography/.
Media, Hearst Digital. “Mark Twain - Quotes, Books & Real Name - Biography.” Mark Twain, 2021, www.biography.com/authors-writers/mark-twain.
Quirk, Thomas. “Mark Twain.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Twain/Literary-maturity.