Brief biography of Mark Twain. Mark Twain's Creative Journey: Best Writer Quotes Science & Other Interests

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Short biography of Mark Twain

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorn Clemens) is an outstanding American writer and public figure. Born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. In his work, Mark Twain used many genres, from satire to philosophical fiction. However, in all these genres, he invariably remained a humanist. At the height of his career, he was considered almost the most outstanding American, and his associates spoke of him as the first real writer in the country. Among Russian writers, Kuprin and Gorky spoke of him especially warmly. The most popular books by the writer are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Mark Twain was born to John and Jane Clemens in a small Missouri town. Then the family moved to the city of Hannibal, whose inhabitants he later described in his works. When the father of the family died, the eldest son took up the publication of the newspaper and Samuel made his unbearable contribution there. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the young man went to work as pilots on a steamer. In July 1861, he left the war farther west, where silver was being mined at that time. Not finding himself in the career of a prospector, he again took up journalism. He got a job at a newspaper in Virginia and began writing under the pseudonym Mark Twain.

Writing success came to him in the late 1860s, when, after a trip to Europe, he published the book "Simpletons Abroad". In 1870 Mark Twain married and moved to Hartford. During this period, he began lecturing and writing satire criticizing American society. In 1876, a novel was published about the adventures of a boy named Tom Sawyer. The sequel to this novel was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). The most famous historical novel by Mark Twain is The Prince and the Pauper (1881).

In addition to literature, Mark Twain was fascinated by science. He was friends with Nikola Tesla and often visited his laboratory. In the last years of his life, the writer was in a deep depression: literary successes gradually faded away, the financial situation worsened, three out of four children died, and his beloved wife Olivia Langdon also died. While depressed, he still tried to joke sometimes. Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910 from angina pectoris.

Samuel Lenghorn Clemens, known to readers all over the world under the name of Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835 in Missouri in the tiny village of Florida.

Later, his family moved to the town of Hannibal in the same state. Mark Twain became an employee of the newspaper because of the need that his family felt after the death of his father, a petty lawyer, an unsuccessful businessman who left behind many debts. Love for justice and a sense of humor Twain inherited from his mother Jane Clemens. Over which the townspeople once decided to play a trick, saying that she was able to pray for the devil himself, to which she replied that the devil is simply the greatest sinner and it’s okay if she prayed for the peace of his soul.

“Twain, by his own admission, grew up a sickly, lethargic child and for the first seven years of his life ate mainly drugs. Once he asked his mother, who was already eighty-eight years old:

You were probably worried about me all the time?

Yes, all the time.

Afraid that I would not survive?

Mrs. Clemens, on reflection, replied:

No, I was afraid you would survive. "

In 1853, at the age of eighteen, Twain left his native place, he began working as a traveling compositor. Without stopping anywhere for a long time, he wandered for four years and managed to see not only St. Louis, the capital of his state, but also the largest industrial and cultural centers of the United States of those years - New York, Philadelphia, Washington.

Returning from his wanderings, twenty-two-year-old Mark decided to fulfill the cherished dream of his boyhood - to become a pilot in the Mississippi. He sailed for four years, two years as a pilot's apprentice ("puppy") and another two years as a full-fledged driver of river steamers. According to Twain. If there was a civil war, he would have floated his life. So we can say thank you to the enmity between northerners and southerners for such a valuable gift.

The writer presents his short autobiography as follows: “I had to look for another job,” Twain recalled later, reviewing his early years. “I became a miner in the mines of Nevada, then a newspaper reporter; then a gold digger in California; then a newspaperman in San Francisco; then a special a correspondent in the Sandwich Islands; then a traveling correspondent in Europe and the East; then a bearer of the torch of enlightenment on the stage of lectures, and finally I became a book hack and an unshakable pillar among the other pillars of New England. "

Twain has worked for a variety of publications. One of the first was the "Territorial Enterprise" - the newspaper of Virginia City, where Twain had already sent humorous sketches from the life of miners, written in passing.

This is how Albert Payne, a biographer of the writer, described his first appearance in the Enterprise editorial office: “On a sultry August day, an exhausted, dusty traveler staggered into the Enterprise’s editorial office and, throwing a bale with a blanket off his shoulder, sank heavily into a chair, no jacket, a faded blue flannel shirt, a reddish wide-brimmed hat, a revolver at the waist, high boots with lapels. prospecting community Aurora from Virginia City ".

Twain was twenty-seven years old and began his literary career in earnest.

Twain quickly rose to prominence as the "Enterprise" feuilletonist. In 1864 he finally settled on the literary name Mark Twain. There are several versions regarding the appearance of an alias:

1. Clemens claimed that the pseudonym "Mark Twain" was taken by him in his youth from the terms of river navigation. Then he was an assistant pilot on the Mississippi, and the cry "mark twain" (literally - "mark two") meant that, according to the mark on the lotlin, the minimum depth was reached, suitable for the passage of river vessels - 2 fathoms (? 3.7 m).

2. There is a version about the literary origin of this pseudonym: in 1861, the Vanity Fair magazine published Artemus Ward's humorous story "The North Star" about three sailors, one of whom was named Mark Twain. And Samuel, as much as he loved the humor section of this magazine, read the works of Ward in his first stand-up speeches.

3. There is also an opinion that the pseudonym was taken from the time of Twain's happy days in the West: they said “Mark Twain!”

The first version seems to me the most plausible, since it was voiced by the writer himself, although the next two are also quite attractive with their humorous overtones.

The year 1865 was marked by major changes in the literary life of Mark Twain. The New York newspaper The Saturday Press published his short story, Jim Smiley and His Famous Jumping Frog from Calaveras, which was an extraordinarily talented treatment of California folk humor material. The story was an undeniable success. Twain quit daily journalism. In the spring of 1866, he was posted to Hawaii by the Sacramento Union newspaper. Along the way, Twain had to write letters about his adventures. Upon his return to San Francisco, these letters were a resounding success. Colonel John McComb, publisher of the Alta California newspaper, invited Twain to tour the state, giving fascinating lectures. The lectures immediately became wildly popular, and Twain traveled all over the state, entertaining the audience and collecting a dollar from each listener.

In June 1867, Twain sailed for Europe on the steamer Quaker City as a correspondent for the Alta California and the New York Tribune. In August he also visited Odessa, Yalta and Sevastopol. Letters written by Twain during his travels in Europe and Asia were sent to his editorial office and published in the newspaper, and later formed the basis of the book "Simpletons Abroad".

Thus, we see that from the beginning of his career, Twain did not sit in one place, he constantly traveled, trying to expand his horizons. And the heroes of his most famous novels (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper) do not sit still, based on their wanderings, during which the problems of interest to the writer unfold.

As a journalist, Mark Twain is most prominently featured in his stories “Journalism in Tennessee,” “How I Edited an Agricultural Newspaper,” and “The Wildness of Journalism.” All these works were written in the first period of the writer's work, represented mainly by satirical and humorous prose. The hero of the story "How I edited an agricultural newspaper" takes on the position of editor of a newspaper for farmers, he does not understand anything in agriculture, and does not think that this is necessary in his position: “I have been working as an editor for fourteen years and for the first time I hear that a person must know something in order to edit the newspaper. " Thus, the author portrays an ignoramus who drives the real editor, several farmers to despair, but nevertheless raises the circulation of the publication. Twain scoffs at the obvious nonsense: they write nonsense in the newspaper, and people read it, and even with increased interest. This is a satire not only on the editorial staff, but also on unintelligible readers. Twain also speaks of the latter in The Unbridled Press: "Public opinion, which should have kept it within the framework, the press has been able to reduce to its despicable level." This speech by Twain is not only an exposure of corrupt journalists and editors, but also of himself: "You shouldn't admit it, but I myself published malicious slanderous articles about different people and deserved to be hanged for this long ago." Thus, the writer, with the help of irony, which intensified and became noticeably embittered only towards the last example - "The Unbridled Press", reveals the sore sides of the American press of the second half of the 19th century.

Journalism in Tennessee.

The hero of the story goes on the recommendation of his doctor to the south, to Tennessee to improve his health. There he enlists in a newspaper with the alarming title "Morning Dawn and the War Cry of Johnson County." In the editorial office, he sees an eccentric editor in clothes half a century ago, the room itself is not very attractive: the chairs lack legs, the door by the stove falls off, and the head of all this splendor is a wooden box with sand strewn with cigarette butts. The editor assigns a newcomer the task of doing a survey entitled "The Spirit of the Tennessee Seal." When the hero shows the result of the work, the editor remains unhappy, since the text turns out to be too boring, not suitable for readers. After editing, the material was transformed beyond recognition: his language became vulgar, slang, ordinary news was deliberately sensational, and all the persons referred to in the texts were unattractively called "liars", "donkeys", "mindless crooks." We understand what kind of rag is in front of us, a sample of tabloid, yellow press. After that, visitors begin to come to the editorial office, but their reception is quite peculiar: “Then a brick flew into the window with a crash, fragments fell, and I was pretty much on my back. I stepped aside; I was beginning to feel that I was superfluous here.

The editor said:

It must be the colonel. I've been waiting for him for the third day. This very minute he will appear himself.

He was not wrong. A minute later the colonel appeared at the door with an army-grade revolver in his hand.

He said:

Sir, I seem to have the privilege of speaking to the despicable coward who edits this crappy newspaper? "

Then the editor leaves the newcomer in his place, gives him a new assignment: “- Jones will be here at three - lash him with a whip, Gillspie will probably come in earlier - throw him out of the window, Fergusson will drop by at four - shoot him. This seems to be all for today. If you have free time, write an article about the police more fun - pour it to the chief inspector, let him scratch it. There are whips under the table, weapons in a drawer, bullets and gunpowder over there in the corner, bandages and lint in the top drawers of the cabinet. "

This is what our hero gets from this: “He left. I shuddered. After that, only some three hours passed, but I had to endure so much that all calmness, all joy left me forever. Gillspie came in and threw me out of the window. Jones also showed up without delay, and as soon as I was ready to unfasten him, he grabbed the whip from me. In a fight with a stranger who was not on the schedule, I lost my scalp. Another stranger, by the name of Thompson, left one memory of me. "

When the editor returns, the hero announces to him that he does not intend to cooperate with the newspaper anymore, since "Journalism in Tennessee is too lively business."

During Twain's time, such "yellow" publications as the New York Sun, Bennett's New York Herald and Pulitzer's New York World were just emerging and reaching their heyday. The local press adopted the features of "giants": playing on the reader's instincts, such as self-preservation and sex, hence the sensationalism and scandalousness.

It is impossible not to notice the peculiar humor of the story. This is the so-called typical American humor, which originated from the folklore that flourished on the western outskirts of the United States. This folklore reflected the life and customs of an original and primitive, predominantly farming civilization, which was formed in the face of a severe struggle for existence. The humor born of that foundation was "rude" humor. In the middle of the 19th century, a young literary school in the West began to parody him, creating American humor, which had little in common with modern European tradition. One has only to say that in the poetics of American humor, murder was seen as a source of comic situations, which is unthinkable for European humor. The narrative technique of the American humorist was dominated by two popular techniques. First of all, this is a grotesque exaggeration, hyperbole tending to comic absurdity. In other cases, it is an egregious omission, again leading to a comically calculated incongruity.

Therefore, the usual swearing in the editorial office turns into mass murders and mutilations, which are designed not to scare the reader, but to make them laugh. And laughter is designed to help you think about the present, plight of affairs.

In my opinion, Twain was more of a writer than a journalist. What are the hoaxes “The Petrified Man” and “My Bloody Atrocity” created by him, deliberately false materials that, in the first case, ridicule the craze of the inhabitants of Nevada and California with all sorts of fossils, in the second case, the noise around the Dane Joint Stock Company, which “cooked up” dividends for raising their own shares. No matter how witty and obviously instructive these materials were (Twain wanted readers to strain their brains and notice the obvious absurd nature of the materials, and did not take the word of everything sensational that was presented on the newspaper page, but he did not succeed), they belonged to the pen not a journalist, but a writer who, with the help of a literary device - a hoax, is trying to achieve his goal. In The Unbridled Press, Twain admits his mistake: “From my own experience, I know that journalists tend to lie. Several years ago I myself introduced a special and very picturesque form of lies on the Pacific coast, and it still has not degenerated there.

When I read in the newspapers that there was a bloody rain in California and frogs were falling from the sky, when I come across a message about a sea snake found in the desert or about a cave studded with diamonds and emeralds (and must have been discovered by an Indian who died before he could tell where this cave is located), then I say to myself: "You gave birth to this brainchild, you are responsible for newspaper fables."

The famous writer Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorn Clemens) was born on November 30, 1835 into an American family with many children. His parents were John and Jane Clemens, both natives of Missouri. Samuel was the sixth child, besides him, there were four more boys and two girls in the family.

But not all children were able to survive the difficult years, three of them died at an early age. When Sam was four years old, the Clemens family moved in search of a better life to the city of Hannibal. Later, this city with its funny inhabitants and funny adventures of Samuel in it will be reflected in the famous work of the writer “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”.


From a young age, Mark Twain was attracted by the water element, he could sit on the river bank for a long time and look at the waves, even drowned several times, but he was safely rescued. He was especially interested in steamers, Sam dreamed that when he grew up, he would become a sailor and sail on his own ship. It was thanks to this predilection that the writer's pseudonym was chosen - mark twain, which means “deep water”, literally “measure two”.

In Hannibal, Samuel met Tom Blankenship, the son of an old vagabond and alcoholic living in a hut near the river. They became best friends, over time, a whole company of the same adventurers gathered. Tom became the prototype for Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist of many of the author's popular children's books.

When Sam was 12 years old, his father suddenly died of pneumonia. Shortly before his death, John Clemens took on the debts of a close friend, but was never able to pay them back in full. Samuel was forced to look for work to help the family. His elder brother Orion got him a job as a typist at a local newspaper. Sam tried to publish his own poems and articles in the newspaper, but at first this only irritated Orion.In addition to the local press, the young writer sent his first works to other editorial offices, where they were willingly published.

Youth and early career

In 1857, Mark Twain became a pilot's apprentice, and two years later he received the right to his own boat driving. However, in connection with the civil war unleashed in 1861, he was forced to leave his favorite business and look for a new job. In the same year, Mark Twain went with his brother Orion to the west, to the state of Nevada. There he worked for almost a year in the silver mines in a mining town, hoping to get rich, but luck was not on his side.

In 1862, Twain got a job at the editorial office of a local newspaper, in which he first used his creative pseudonym for a signature. Several years later, his works and articles were published in several print media. In 1865, Mark Twain became famous, his humoresque "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras" became popular throughout America, and many publishers published it several times.

At the height of his writing career, Mark Twain traveled a lot, visited England, Australia, Africa and even Odessa, traveled all over Europe. During these wanderings, he sent letters to his hometown, which were then published in the newspaper. Later, these letters will become the basis for the book "Simpletons Abroad", which was the first serious creation of the writer. It was published in 1869 and brought great success to Twain.

At the height of his fame from the publication of the first book, Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a successful entrepreneur. But first, the writer had to try hard to win over Olivia's parents. They got engaged in 1870. Mark Twain was madly in love with his wife and considered her a perfect and ideal woman, cared about her and never criticized her. Olivia, on the other hand, considered him an eternal boy who would never grow up. For 30 years of marriage, they had four children.

In 1871, Mark Twain and his wife moved to Hartford, where he spent the most peaceful and happiest years of his life. In this city, he founded his own publishing company, which began to bring in a good income. Mark Twain himself during these years became interested in satire, wrote long stories, ridiculing the vices of American society.

The idea to create an autobiographical novel was ripe for the writer for a long time, and after several unsuccessful attempts, in two years with short interruptions, Mark Twain created The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The novel is based on the author's childhood memories. But the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is considered the most significant contribution of the writer to literature. Some critics call this work the pinnacle of American literary art, so vividly and vividly the characters of the characters in the novel were spelled out.

All his life Mark Twain was interested in the Middle Ages, he was worried about some questions and problems of those years. In 1882, the novel by the writer "The Prince and the Pauper" was published, where Twain with great ardor and aplomb denies the world of social inequality. And in 1889, another historical novel, "Yankees at the Court of King Arthur," was published, on each page of which there was enough sharp irony and satire.

Mark Twain was personally acquainted with Nikola Tesla, his lively mind was interested in the scientific achievements of our time. They often carried out experiments and experiments in Tesla's laboratory. Some of the technical details in his novels, for example, on time travel, appeared precisely due to close communication with Nikola Tesla.

Also, the writer's contemporaries noted his addiction to pipe smoking. According to many, there was often such a rich tobacco smoke in Twain's office that nothing could be seen in it, as in a fog.

In 1904, Olivia, Twain's beloved wife, died suddenly. Even in her youth, having fallen unsuccessfully on the ice, she became disabled, and with age her condition only worsened. The writer took the loss of his wife very hard, his physical and mental health deteriorated. He didn't want to live without his adored Olivia. After the death of his wife, Mark Twain completely stopped communicating with the female sex although there were applicants for his heart, but he remained faithful to his wife. In addition, three of his children were tragically killed. All these sad events led to the fact that the writer began to have severe depression. The works published at the end of his life were slightly different in genre from the previous ones; they showed a poisonous irony and even sarcasm, or, conversely, bitterness and fatigue. Mark Twain's financial situation also deteriorated - his publishing company, in which he invested most of his funds, collapsed.

One of the most famous and widely read works of Mark Twain One of the most famous and widely read works of Mark Twain is the adventures of two poor boy and a prince, who temporarily changed their roles.

In the image of Huck in his book, Mark Twain tried to convey the image of a carefree and noble boy, whose low social position does not prevent him from enjoying life.

Some of the writer's works never saw the light of day; many manuscripts were rejected due to their harsh content. So, for example, Twain loved to write all sorts of essays and poems with an erotic slant, but such creations were distributed only in a narrow circle of close people. The most famous work in this genre is the essay "1601: Conversations by the Fireplace", which deals with the Queen of England herself and her subjects.

End of life
Mark Twain passed away in April 1910, having died of angina pectoris. Shortly before his death, he predicted to himself that he had a year left to live.

In the city of Hannibal, the house in which little Samuel grew up is still preserved, those caves that he carefully explored with his friends, these places have become popular for tourists to the city. The house in which he lived for 20 years in Hartford is now a Mark Twain Museum, and is named in America as a national heritage of the country's history.

Mark Twain, a brief biography of which is presented in the article below, is a well-known writer. He is loved and respected all over the world, he gained fame for his talent. How did his days go, what was important in his life? Read the answers below.

A little about the writer

Mark Twain's works are read at school, as they are included in the compulsory course. All adults and young people know this writer, so a short biography of Mark Twain for grade 5 will be presented here, because around this time children get acquainted with his exciting books. Our hero was not only a writer, but also a person with an active life position. His creativity is very diverse and reflects the path of life - the same rich and variegated. He wrote in many genres, from satire to philosophical fiction. In each of them, he remained faithful to humanism. At the height of his popularity, he was considered one of the most prominent Americans. Russian creators spoke of him very flatteringly: especially Gorky and Kuprin. Twain became famous thanks to his two books - "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

Childhood

Mark Twain, whose brief biography is the topic of our article, was born in Missouri, in the fall of 1845. After a while, the family changed their place of residence, moving to the city of Hannibal. In his books, he most often described the inhabitants of this city. Soon the head of the family died, and all responsibility passed to the young boys. The elder brother took up publishing in order to somehow provide for his family. - Samuel Lenghorn Clemens) tried to make his own contribution, so he worked part-time with his brother as a typesetter, and later - as an author of articles. The guy dared to write the most daring and vivid articles only when his older brother Orion was away somewhere for a long time.

When the Civil War broke out, Samuel decided to try himself as a pilot on a ship. Soon he returned from sailing and decided to get away from the terrible events of the war as far as possible. The future writer often repeated that if it had not been for the war, he would have devoted his whole life to working as a pilot. In 1861 he went west to where silver was mined. Not feeling a true attraction to his chosen business, he decides to take up journalism. He was hired to work for a newspaper in Virginia, and then Clemens began to write under his pseudonym.

Alias

The real name of our hero is Samuel Clemens. He said that he invented his pseudonym while working as a pilot on a steamer, using terms from river navigation. Literally it means “mark two”. There is another version of the origin of the alias. In 1861, Artemus Ward published a humorous story about three sailors. One of them was called M. Twain. The most interesting thing is that S. Clemenes loved and often publicly read the works of A. Ward.

Success

The biography of Mark Twain (briefly) testifies that in 1860, after the author's visit to Europe, he published a book called "Simpletons Abroad". It was she who brought him the first fame, and the literary society of America finally turned its close attention to the young author.

Besides writing, what else did Mark Twain live? A short biography for children will tell you that almost a decade later, the writer falls in love and moves to Hartward to live with his fiancée. During the same period of time, he began to criticize American society in his satirical works and lecture in educational institutions.

Biography of Mark Twain in English (briefly) tells us that in 1976 the writer published the book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", which in the future will bring him worldwide fame. Eight years later, he wrote his second famous work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The most popular historical novel by the author is The Prince and the Pauper.

Science and other interests

Does Mark Twain have anything to do with science? A short biography of the writer is simply impossible without mentioning science! He was very interested in new ideas and theories. His good friend was Nikola Tesla, with whom they did some experiments together. It is known that two friends could not leave the laboratory for hours, doing another experiment. In one of his books, the writer used a rich technical description, saturated with the smallest details. This indicates that he was not only familiar with some of the terms. In fact, he possessed in-depth knowledge in many areas.

What else was Mark Twain fond of? A short biography will tell you that he was an excellent orator and often spoke in public. He knew how to literally capture the spirit of the audience and not let it go until the end of his speech. Realizing what influence he can have on people and already having a sufficient number of useful connections, the writer was engaged in finding young talents and helping them to break through, to show their talent. Unfortunately, most of the tapes and lectures of his public speeches were simply lost. Some he himself forbade to publish.

Also Twain was a Freemason. He joined the North Star Lodge in St. Louis in the spring of 1861.

Last years

The most difficult time for the writer was his last years of life. One gets the feeling that all the troubles decided to fall on him overnight. In the literary field, there was a decline in creative strength, and at the same time, the financial situation was rapidly deteriorating. After that, great grief befell him: his wife Olivia Langdon and three of his four children died. Surprisingly, M. Twain still tried not to lose heart and sometimes even joked! The great and talented writer died in the spring of 1910 from angina pectoris.