1. Mark Twain & Huckleberry Finn
By Änna Williams

2. 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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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”

8. 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