| Mark Twain is the pen name of a 19th century American novelist. He writes
satirical commentary on his society and his witty sense of humor and use of local dialects have
made his works American folklore. Many of his books have become children's favorites for their
storybook charm and adventure tales. However, with a more mature perspective, one can find
serious social agendas in his works. |
Forgive the cliche, but to me Mark Twain is the very picture of an American literary icon. It's interesting that, having said that, Twain wasn't real, but merely a brilliant creation of Samuel Clemens. Perhaps that's why Twain has been vaulted to this pedestal of perpetuality and transcendence. Because of the American fascination with the unknown and the mysterious. Or perhaps it's a comment, rather cynical, that an individual with undying relevance and importance is merely the figment of a man's imagination. So does that not make Clemens a genius? Regardless, Twain is eternal. |
To me, Mark Twain represents the simple days of our American past. He wrote about everyday people in everyday situations. His characters, although at times living with affluent families, sought the simple pleasures in life: the outdoors, tobacco pipes, straw-hats. The cultures he chose to describe encapsulated this common-life tendency and his books are set in the nineteenth-century South -- the days of steamboats, farms, and general stores. Even the language he uses mirrors the same cultural sphere. He is a master at adapting the dialect of the people. |
Mark Twain was the pseudonym of Sam Clemens, an American writer of the late 19th century. The name "Mark Twain" carries with it, to me, the image of a clever story-teller, someone who could enthrall crowds by reading passages from his stories. He was a riverboat pilot before becoming a writer, and, having grown up around the Mississippi River, many of his works center around that river. Many of Twain's writings are accessible both to children and adults, they're adventure stories balanced by a measure of social criticism. Twain loved technology and was avidly interested in the cutting-edge gadgets of his time. His fame became worldwide as his career progressed, and he became an icon -- the riverboat pilot who could regale listeners of all kinds with hilarious but intricate tales. |
Mark Twain is the alias of Samuel Clemens, who wrote many novels, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and others. He is well-known for novels about country life, the river, slave and race relations, and he caters to the common fellow for literary enjoyment. His books are fiction and tell the stories of common life, and they have become classics for their literary merit and their widespread appeal. Mark Twain's novels are read in different languages, and many of his themes are universal in nature. The use of the river in his novels suggests rebirth, adventure, and even death. He explores friendships and familial relationships. Mark Twain's novels are rich in spirit, and they truly capture American country and cultural life. |
I've only read Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, but to me, Mark Twain creates great characters in a simple way that allows readers to understand his work better than they would understand, say, Emerson or Joyce. I just like the direct way he has of writing. When I say simple, I mean "straightforward," and not "simplistic." I really don't know very much history or background of Mark Twain but I enjoyed the books of his that I read, and want to learn more about him, as well as get a chance to read more of his work. How did you like my run-on sentence? Some English major I am. |
I haven't studied Mark Twain extensively in the past, and have only read 2 of his works before, but when I think of American literature one of the first authors that pops into my mind is him. The conception that I have of him (based on my brief acquaintance with his works) is that he would've been/is a clever, witty man, maybe a practical joker. At the same time, I see him as an individual tolerant of and striving to achieve positive change in society, an ethical man and a compassionate person. One of my favorite quotations by Twain is from Innocents Abroad -- roughly, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, nararow-mindedness," etc. |
Mark Twain: an American persona, a humorist and cultural philosopher -- somewhat akin to Matt Groening (the Simpsons) or Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) in terms of having an astute and imaginative way of capturing, criticizing, and laughing at America and other cultures. A performer with onstage/offstage masks, who was probably not as happy or lively offstage as he was on. |
Mark Twain had white hair and a white moustache. He also wore a white suit in all of the pictures I saw of him. I think of him as a retired traveller, resting on a porch in Connecticut, inventing and embellishing what still lies in his memory from youth and early adulthood. Some things included here: steamboats, a river, frogs, drunks, missionaries, slaves, orphans, natural disasters, teetotalers, friends. He wrote big stories, often about little people, the young, down-trodden, less powerful. Most every time, they are somewhere interesting, or they're headed somewhere. Finally, I think Americans like Twain because he's what they want to be -- a smart, witty, yet compassionate and worldly figure. |
Mark Twain is a late nineteenth/early twentieth century American author who remains famous to this day. His work is often humorous and even sarcastic, and it simultaneously manages to touch on issues at the heart of America, including both race relations and class relations. He primarily uses the Mississipppi River and the American wilderness as backdrops, for example, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, where he tells the story of a young boy growing up in America. In that novel he examines both race and society, questioning the role of aristocracy in America. |
The first image that pops to mind is a white-haired Southern gentleman who wrote "boys' books." Next, I think of the characters Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and all of the trouble they caused. I would also tell of how Samuel Clemens adopted the name from the boatsmen of the Mississippi who would call out the depth of the river (Twain = 2 feet?). Also, when I think of Mark Twain I think of a satirist. I have been told that towards the end of his career his work was very critical of society and scathing to the extreme. Twain also was one of the first authors to write in dialect. For example, Huck Finn is written as if Huck was actually speaking to the audience. Also would think of him as one of the founders of American literature. |
Satirist. Wild-haired. Witty. Riverboats. -- American writer who used the color and common characters of his time and place to comment on race and politics. Used humor and invented dialects that appealed to the average reader. |
Having not read any Twain since the 10th grade in high school, my conception of him is rather limited. I picture him largely as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. However, I do see him as an author rooted firmly in America and what its social problems were of the day. I suppose I see him as a social critic of sorts -- an observer of the follies of a nation. I think many remember him for his wit and sarcasm. |
Mark Twain conjures up: Mississippi River. Huck and Jim on the raft. Middle America. Black/white race relations. Highly controversial. Anti-academic. Prankster. Haley's comet phenomenon. Social critic. Satirist, humorist. The banning of his books by high schools. |
Mark Twain. When this name is mentioned many wild and illustrated thoughts come to mind. Many of these are oxymoronic -- for M.T. was one who used his voice for social commentary -- but he did so in the most politically submissive way. He took commonplace situations (whether morally reprehensible or not), used them to tell fantastically childish and seemingly light-hearted tales while making vehement political statements. Twain got away with these strong commentaries by disguising them in overly-simplified, usual characters and plots. In Huck Finn, for example, Twain disparaged the use of slavery through the relationship between Huck and Jim. |
Mark Twain is a figure I associate with American literary humor, witticism and satire -- may I add irony? Though the works penned under his name often find their way into middle school (maybe even elementary) English classes, his novels and short stories are often deceptively simple. Twain's stories have layers of social commentary built within the plot. For that reason, his tales offer a poignant reflection of American society at the turn of the 20th century. Within his humorous tales, for example, is a very keen assessment of the rise of segregation in America. |
Twain is an embodiment of American culture. He is a hero and icon of American ingenuity and inventiveness combining a sharp wit and a lust for life with a self-deprecating sense of the rural provincialism of American expansionism. He is an inventor and a traveller, an experimentor of life, and a critic of social hypocrisy. He is a humorist who can range from slapstick to social sarcasm. His works have become a part of the canon of American literature and the ideas they speak about have become a part of the American psyche -- from Huck's wanderlust to Tom's trickery. |