Mark Twain Biography Research Paper

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She was 24 when she died and Twain never lived in the house again (Literature 1835-1910, n.d).

Like many authors that lived in his day, Twain had very little formal education. His education was obtained in the print shops and newspaper offices where he worked as a boy. By the time he was 18, he had served an apprenticeship as a printer at his brother Orion's paper and written a humorous sketch, The Dandy Frightening the Squatter, which was published in The Carpet Bag, a New York periodical. He continued to work as a humor writer under such pseudonyms as Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, W. Epaminandos Adrastus Blab, Sergeant Fathom, and Josh (Literature 1835-1910, n.d).

Although Twain has some financial comfort during his years in Hartford, he made some bad investments in new inventions, and was forced into bankruptcy. In an effort to save money and pay off their debts, Twain moved his family to Europe in 1891. When his publishing company was unsuccessful in 1894, Twain was required to set out on a worldwide lecture tour in order to earn money. Unable to return to the place where their daughter died, the Twains never went back to Hartford to live. From 1891 until 1900, Twain and his family toured all over the world. In 1897, he wrote Following the Equator, which told of European powers' utilization of weaker governments, which he witnessed during their travels (Literature 1835-1910, n.d).

The Boer War in South Africa and the Boxer Rebellion in China added to Twain's growing anger toward imperialistic countries and their dealings. With the arrival of the Spanish-American and Philippines War in 1898, Twain's anger was readdressed toward the American government.

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By the time Twain returned to the U.S. from Europe and paid off his debts, he had become America's foremost personality. He was asked to be present at ship launchings, anniversary gatherings, political conventions, and countless dinners. Reporters often met him at every port of call, anxious to print a new quote from him. In order to improve his image, he took to wearing white suits and strolled down the street to attract attention. It was during this time that Twain acknowledged himself an anti-imperialist and, from 1901 until his death in 1910, served as the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League (Literature 1835-1910, n.d).

In his later years, Twain's writings turned to a darker side. They started to focus on human greed and cruelty, and question the humanity of the human race. Even though Twain's lecture tour had enabled him to get out of debt, his anti-government writings and speeches endangered his livelihood once again. Labeled by some as a traitor, several of Twain's works were not published while he was alive, because of the fact that magazines would not accept them, and perhaps because of a fear that he had that his marketable status would be ruined if they were (Literature 1835-1910, n.d). Mark Twain continues to be a very influential person in American Literature even today. Even so many years after his death it is very important to study his works in order to better understand the society in which we live. A great deal can be learned from reading his classic works and should be read by everyone.

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