Unit 6 Mark Twain –Mirror of America Noel Grove

Teaching Objectives To know the knowledge about Mark Twain To comprehend the whole text To appreciate the style and rhetoric of the passage. To understand the structure of the text To learn and master the vocabulary and expressions To learn to paraphrase the difficult sentences

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Boyhood pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910 Born: Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, of a lawyer family. the sixth of seven children Only three of his siblings survived childhood

at 4: He was brought up in Hannibal, Missouri, in which he met Tom Blankenship, the village drunkard’s son, who was to be immortalized years later as Huck Finn.

Early life He had little schooling at 12: his father died of pneumonia. delivery boy, grocery clerk, blacksmith’s helper he was apprenticed to a printer and wrote for his brother's newspaper.

at 13: left school a full-time apprentice to a printer at 15: a typesetter at 18: left Hannibal worked as tramp printer in New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cincinnati.

He later worked as a licensed Mississippi river-boat pilot. (high pay) The Civil War put an end to the steamboat traffic. When the war began, Twain and his friends formed a Confederate militia which drilled for two weeks before disbanding Miner---Gold Rush He tried prospecting, mining, speculating, but failed

Reporting for local papers in 1862 Clemens moved to Virginia City, where he edited the Territorial Enterprise《企业报》. On February 3, 1863, ‘Mark Twain’ was born when Clemens signed a humorous travel Mark Twain—two fathoms deep（one fathom= six feet） account with that pseudonym.

In 1864 Twain left for California, and worked in San Francisco as a reporter. He set out on a world tour, traveling in France and Italy.

in 1870: the success as a writer gave Twain enough financial security to marry Olivia Langdon. Between 1876 and 1884 he published several masterpieces (productive) In the 1890s: He started his own printing shop, and bankrupted.

Making lecturing tour and paying all his debts, but ruined his own health. (the death of his son daughter and wife) Twain died on April 21, 1910.

quotations Have no emotion to kiss, be like to die pork in person. Tell the truth forever, such of words you need not recorded you to once say some what. Such of the characteristic can make the comity support life long-as long as don’t think the other party borrows money.

Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody Among all animals, the mankind are the most ruthlessness, is unique make the happiness on pain and sufferings of animal.

His works 1865 The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras 《加利维拉县有名的跳蛙 》 1869 Innocent Abroad 《傻子出国记》。 1872 Roughing It 《艰苦岁月》 1873 The Gilded Age 《镀金时代》 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 《汤姆·索亚历险记》

1876 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》 1889 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court 《亚瑟王朝上的康涅狄格美国人》 1894 The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson 《傻瓜威尔逊》 1900 The Man That Corrupted Hadleburg 《败坏了赫德莱堡的人》 1916 The Mysterious Stranger 《神秘的来客》

Mark Twain—Mirror of America Published by National Geographic Magazine, a monthly journal run by the National Geographic Society based in Washington DC, a non-profit scientific and educational organization

Type of literature Biography A biography is, by definition, an account of someone’s life that has been written by someone else, or a written history of someone's life. Generally, a biography is about sb. who enjoys certain reputation, who has acquired certain fame by his / her success in certain area. The protagonist can be a positive or negative character.

Title Mark Twain-Mirror of America Metaphor A mirror ---the truth mirror -----a person who gives a true representation or description of the country. Mark Twain was one of these giants, and his life and works are a mirror of the America of his time.

Main structure How is the passage arranged? In chronological order Para? introduction Para? before his writing career. Para? writing career Para? Twain’s later years

Main structure Para. 1 A general introduction to the passage Para. 2-7 Twain’s life experiences before his writing career. Para. 8-19 Twain’s writing career Para. 20-22 Twain’s later years – a bitter one

Part 2 (Para. 2-7) before his writing career Setting, background Para.4-5: cub pilot on a steamboat Para.6: confederate guerrilla Para.7: prospector

Part3 Para. 8-9 Para.10-11 the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Para.12-13 The Innocent Abroad Para.14-15 Tom Sawyer Para.16-18 Huck Finn Para. 19

1---3 ?

Assignment Pre-reading