Mark Twain & Huckleberry Finn By Änna Williams

Mark Twain - Biography Born – Nov. 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri Real name – Samuel Langhorne Clemens America’s most famous literary icon Father - a judge Samuel (as a child) was of poor health Father died of pneumonia when Samuel was 12 yrs. old

Twain’s occupational career Printer's apprentice River pilot's apprentice River pilot Newspaper reporter Lecturer Author

Some Fun Facts Clemens' pseudonym, Mark Twain, comes from his days as a river pilot "Mark twain" means that it is safe to navigate No direct descendants of Samuel Clemens Married & had 4 kids but three died Surviving child, Clara, died at the age of 88 w/o ever having children Wrote 28 books & numerous short stories, letters & sketches Fame= short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County“ His first book - "The Innocents Abroad“ Passed away on April 21, 1910

Huckleberry Finn Remained unfinished for several years Finally published in 1884 in England & 1885 in the U.S. Takes place in the Mississippi Valley - St. Petersburg, Missouri

The story Huck is a realist Tolerates caretakers, the Widow Douglas & Miss Watson, efforts to “sivilize” him Prefers to live barefoot in rags, smoking his pipe & fishing in the river Huck’s “Pap” - abusive drunk, inciting incident Prompting Huck to fake his own death and escape down the river

two main plot lines revolve around Huck’s friendship w/ runaway slave named Jim, & his adventures w/ 2 con men who attach themselves to Huck & Jim Plot #1: Huck struggles w/ his conscience over whether he should turn Jim in or help him escape like “a low down Ablitionist” Plot #2: the greedy exploits of the con men disgust Huck making him feel “ashamed of the human race”

What does Twain do? Lets Huck tell his own story Allowing Twain to satirize certain social customs Highlights ironies Huck overlooks Makes the story funny humor is largely expressed through irony & sarcasm portraying people w/ realism & shunning sentimentality, Twain makes a strong statement about human foibles & societal hypocrisy