Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Mark Twain On Western Wednesday...!

I doubt if any a one writer has influenced as many folks world wide as Samuel Clemens, better known as "Mark Twain!"

I don't think he intended to be much more than a humorist, but he ended up being far more than that. I think most would agree that he left his mark on American literature for many years.


Mark Twain begins reporting in Virginia City

Writing under the name of Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens begins publishing news stories in the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.

Born in Missouri in 1835, Clemens followed a circuitous route to becoming an observer and writer of the American West. As a young man he apprenticed as a printer and worked in St. Louis, New York, and Philadelphia. In 1856, he briefly considered a trip to South America where he thought he could make money collecting coca leaves. A year later, he became a riverboat pilot apprentice on the Mississippi River, and worked on the water for the next four years.

In 1861, Clemens' brother Orion was appointed secretary to the territorial governor of Nevada. Clemens jumped at the offer to accompany Orion on his western adventure. He spent his first year in Nevada prospecting for a gold or silver mine but was no more successful than the vast majority of would-be miners. In need of money, he accepted a job as reporter for a Virginia City, Nevada, newspaper called the Territorial Enterprise. His articles covering the bustling frontier-mining town began to appear on this day in 1862. Like many newspapermen of the day, Clemens adopted a pen name, signing his articles with the name Mark Twain, a term from his old river boating days.

Clemens' stint as a Nevada newspaperman revealed an exceptional talent for writing. In 1864, he traveled farther West to cover the booming state of California. Fascinated by the frontier life, Clemens drew on his western experiences to write one of his first published works of fiction, the 1865 short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." The success of this classic western tall tale catapulted Clemens out of the West, and he became a world-hopping journalist for a California newspaper.

In 1869, Clemens settled in Buffalo, New York, and later in Hartford, Connecticut. All told, Clemens spent only a little more than five years in the West, and the majority of his subsequent work focused on the Mississippi River country and the Northeast. As a result, Clemens can hardly be defined as a western writer. Still, his 1872 account of his western adventures, Roughing It, remains one of the most original and evocative eyewitness accounts of the frontier ever written. More importantly, even his non-western masterpieces like Tom Sawyer (1876) and Huckleberry Finn (1884) reflected a frontier mentality in their rejection of eastern pretentiousness and genteel literary conventions.


I know a lot of people that think Twain is an over-rated writer, but I like his style. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think he was a racist, but rather wrote in the style and language widely used at the time. In fact, I think he even apologized in the beginning of some of his books about the use of words considered offensive and explained the use of those words.


Coffee out on the patio this morning. Another hot one is on the way!

8 comments:

Chickenmom said...

Didn't know he traveled so far and wide! I bet a lot of his books are not read in schools today because they are not "politically correct".
Such a shame! It will be hot here too - I guess I shouldn't complain after the Winter we just had!

Mamahen said...

I never knew how he got started ir how he made a livng before he discovered his writing talent..and I too enjoy his works....Got possible severe weather coming our way roday...i'd better stay close to home...my critters don't like storms..

linda m said...

I always loved reading Mark Twain's books. He wasn't any more racist than anybody else at that time in history. He used the language of the people. His stories are good and colorful. This morning it is in the 60's but we are expecting rain. Just glad winter is over.

deb harvey said...

to call mark twain a racist is to be pig ignorant. any study of history or of the man himself cannot lead to such a conclusion.
deb h.

Dizzy-Dick said...

He had a quick wit and I loved his style of humor.

Rob said...

"Pig ignorant", I like that!

HermitJim said...

Hey Phyllis...
He was a pretty traveled man, that's for sure!

There have been drives in some places to have his books banned from the libraries. Can you believe it?

Thanks for coming by today!



Hey Mamahen...
I can certainly understand that! My cats don't seem to like the thunder and lightening much either!

Thanks for dropping in today!



Hey Linda M...
I think that a lot of folks forget he wasn't a modern writer and wrote to be understood by everyone!

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Deborah...
I couldn't agree with you more!

Thanks for coming over this morning!



Hey Dizzy...
I always enjoyed the he way he had of telling a story!

Thanks for dropping by today!



Hey Rob...
Good way to put it, I reckon!

Thanks for stopping by today!

JO said...

I found him to be a very interesting person kind of larger than life. I enjoyed his writings.

I don't do much morning reading these days so I can enjoy the early morning coolness outside. Once it's to hot I'm in the house.
Hope everyone enjoyed the coffee as always