Mark-Twin

MarkTwain------MirrorofAmerica•MarkTwainwasbornSamuelLanghorneClemens（马克吐温的原名）inthetownofFlorida,Missouri,in1835.HewasoneofliterarygiantsinhumanhistorywhoseworksoftenrevealmoretruththanmanypoliticalessaysandthereforehislifeandworksareamirrorofAmerica.MarkTwain’sMasterpiecesBoyhoodAsFather’sbusinessfailed,thefamilyhadtomovetoHannibalwhenSamuelwas4,wherehespenthisboyhood,enchantedbytheromanceandawedbytheviolenceofriverlifeandalsothehumanflotsamwashedupbytheriver.EarlylifeSamhadrelativelylittleschooling.Afterhisfather’sdeath,hehadtohelpthefamilybytakingupoddjobs.Heleftschoolat13andbecameafull-timeapprenticetoaprinter.At18,hebecameatrampprinter.ExperiencesontheMississippiRiverOnhiswaydowntheMississippi,heranoutoffundsandwaspersuadedbyasteamboatpilottobecomehisapprentice.Hefoundhislifeduringthisperiodbothinstructiveandinteresting.Laterhewastosay,”Igotpersonallyandfamiliarlyacquaintedwithaboutallthedifferenttypesofhumannature……”JourneyWestandthebirthof“MarkTwain”•In1865,TheCelebratedJumpingFrogofCalaverasCountywaspublishedandbecameanimmediatesuccess.CareerasajournalistHetookthetriptoHonoluluasacorrespondentin1866.In1869,histravelsketcheswerepublishedunderthetitleTheInnocentsAbroad.HismostproductiveyearsHemarriedin1870,andmovedtoHartford,Conn.,wherehelivedhismostproductiveyears(till1891).Themovewasaturningpointinhislife.TomSawyerwaswrittenin1876;HuckleberryFinnin1884.TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn•Hemingwayoncewrote:AllmodernAmericanliteraturecomesfromonebookbyMarkTwaincalledHuckleberryFinn...it'sthebestbookwe'vehad...Therewasnothingbefore.Therehasbeennothingsogoodsince.•ThebookisnotedforitscolorfuldescriptionofpeopleandplacesalongtheMississippiRiver.SatirizingaSouthernantebellumsocietythathadceasedtoexistabouttwentyyearsbeforetheworkwaspublished,AdventuresofHuckleberryFinnisanoftenscathinglookatentrenchedattitudes,particularlyracism.MajorthemesTwainwroteanovelthatembodiesthesearchforfreedom.Hewroteduringthepost-CivilWarperiodwhentherewasanintensewhitereactionagainstblacks.Twaintookaimsquarelyagainstracialprejudice,risingsegregation,lynchings,andthegenerallyacceptedbeliefthatblacksweresub-human.HemadeitclearthatJimwasgood,deeplyloving,human,andanxiousforfreedom.However,othershavecriticizedthenovelasracist,citingtheuseofthewordniggerandJim'sSambo-likecharacter.Throughoutthestory,Huckisinmoralconflictwiththereceivedvaluesofthesocietyinwhichhelives,andwhileheisunabletoconsciouslyrefutethosevalueseveninhisthoughts,hemakesamoralchoicebasedonhisownvaluationofJim'sfriendshipandhumanworth,adecisionindirectoppositiontothethingshehasbeentaught.MarkTwaininhislecturenotesproposesthatasoundheartisasurerguidethananill-trainedconscience,andgoesontodescribethenovelas...abookofminewhereasoundheartandadeformedconsciencecomeintocollisionandconsciencesuffersdefeat.THANKYOU