Three Novels of Mark Twain

One of the most influential writers in history, Mark Twain, used his lifelong experiences to write three of the most prized and controversial novels ever.

Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born in Monroe County, Florida on November 30, 1835 to a Tennessee merchant, John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens. He was the sixth child in a family of nine. Yet only three of his siblings survived childhood. When he was four, he moved to Hanninal, Missouri. He received his poor education in the village school at Hannibal. In March of 1847, his father died from pneumonia. A year later, when he was thirteen, he became an apprentice to a printer, working his trade in Cincinnati, St. Louis, New York, and Philadelphia. When he was sixteen attempted to make his fortune by journeying to New Orleans in an attempt to start a new life, but instead became a Mississippi river pilot. His alias, Mark Twain, was actually the river call for a water depth of two fathoms. In 1861, he became a private secretary to his brother who had previously been appointed secretary of the territory. After his time as a pilot he attempted gold mining but soon failed and went onto journalism. He wrote stories such as, "The Celebrated Jumping From of Calaveras County," which grew extremely popular and obtained countrywide attention. Unintentionally he stumbled upon his calling, writing. He grew very popular as a writer and a speaker, however he didn't have financial support to continue to follow his passion, yet he didn't give up. He eventually overcame his financial issues by making a great deal of money from his lectures, writings, and with the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers, who was a United States capitalist, industrialist, financier, businessman, and philanthropist.

Most authors novels' are conservative and either one hundred percent fictional or non fictional. But Twain broke the norm. One of the most esteemed, controversial, and unique novels in history, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was arguably Twain's best book. This book is about a boy by the name of Tom Sawyer and his life growing up along the bank of the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri. Tom wasn't the average southern boy, he was sneaky, manipulative, rude, and mischievous boy who only looked out for himself. It all started one Friday when he decided to play hooky from school. As punishment he was forced to whitewash a fence, but being the sneaky devil he was, he persuaded one of his friends to give him goods to get the opportunity to do his work. Although this doesn't sound like a fair deal, Tom presented it in the sneaky way to make it look appealing. Some critics argue that Mark Twain bases Tom Sawyer off of himself. He also grew up in Hannibal Missouri and was a mischievous and manipulative child. In the book, Tom falls in love with a new girl in his town named Becky Thatcher and he convinces her to get engaged to him. This is