What is the real name of Mark Twain?

Today, we will talk about a famous American writer, public figure and journalist all over the world. The real name of Mark Twain is Samuel Clemens. He was born in Missouri, Florida, in 1835, on November 30th. Samuel died in 1910, on April 21. His work includes a variety of genres - satire, humor, journalism, philosophical fiction and others, and everywhere he takes an unchanged position - a democrat and a humanist.

Reviews of Mark Twain of other writers

William Faulkner said that Samuel Clemens (the real name of Mark Twain) was the first truly American writer. And Ernest Hemingway believed that American contemporary literature came out entirely from one book by Twain called "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." In Russia, from domestic writers especially warmly about Samuel Clemens responded Alexander Kuprin and Maxim Gorky.

The origin of the alias

The real name of the writer Mark Twain was not used by him when publishing works. He always signed a pseudonym. The author himself claimed that the name, which he in his youth began to call himself, Mark Twain - comes from the term river navigation. At that time, the future writer served on the Mississippi as an assistant to the pilot, and this cry (from the English translation "mark twain" sounds literally as "a label deuce") meant that the smallest suitable depth for the passage of various river vessels, making 2 Sea fathoms (about 3.7 meters).

But there is another version about the alleged literary origin of this pseudonym: in one of the American magazines in 1861 appeared a humorous story "The Northern Star" by Artemus Ward, narrating about three sailors, the name of one of which was Mark Twain (what a real name is Mark Twain, we Already found out). Samuel liked the humorous department of this magazine called "Vanity Fair". The writer in the first speeches (which are written below) read exactly the works of Artemus Ward.

In addition to the aforementioned pseudonym, in 1896, Samuel once signed the name "Sier Louis de Comte." Underneath it, he published one of his novels.

Childhood and youth of the writer

Samuel was born in a small town called Florida, located in the US, in Missouri. Later he joked that he increased the number of its inhabitants by one percent by their appearance in the world. The child was the third of four children in the family of Jane and John Clemens. When he was still very young, his parents moved in search of a better life in the city of Hannibal in the same state. It was he and his people who were later immortalized in the famous works of Samuel Clemens, especially in the novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" published in 1876.

First job

In 1847, Clemens father died of pneumonia, while leaving a lot of debts to children. The eldest son named Orion began to publish his newspaper soon, and Sam began to make a feasible contribution to the case as a compositor, and sometimes the author of various articles. It turned out that some of the most controversial and living texts of the newspaper were written just as a younger brother when Orion was away. Sam also sometimes traveled to New York and St. Louis.

Period before the beginning of a literary career

The call of the Mississippi eventually attracted Mark Twain, and he began to serve on the boat as a pilot. It was a profession that, as Clemens admitted, he wanted to devote his whole life, but a civil war broke out, which ended in 1861 a private shipping company. The future writer therefore had to look for another occupation.

Joining the Masonic Lodge

He joined the Masonic lodge "Polaris" in May 1861 in St. Louis. Samuel sent during the next trip from Palestine "malleus" to the box, to which he attached a letter in a humorous style. In it, he informed the brothers that the handle of this malleolus had been carved from the trunk of a Lebanese cedar, which he planted near the walls of Jerusalem, Gottfried Bouillon.

Mark Twain (real name and surname of the writer - Samuel Clemens) after a brief acquaintance with the people's militia (the experience, which he described in 1885 in colorful color), in July 1861, he left the war to the west. At this time, his brother Orion was invited to become secretary of the governor, governor of the territory of Nevada. Orion and Sam rode the prairies for two weeks in a diligence to Virginia, a mining town where silver was mined.

In the West

Twain as a writer formed this experience of living in the west of the United States. He formed the basis of his second book. Hoping in Nevada to get rich, Clemens hired a miner and began to mine silver. The writer had to live long in the camp with other workers - this way of life was described to them later in the literature. But it was not possible to become a successful miner Samuel, he was forced to leave the prey and get a job in a newspaper in Virginia, where he first started using the pen name Mark Twain. In 1864, the writer moved to California, San Francisco, where he began publishing articles for several newspapers simultaneously. Towards Twain in 1865 came the first success in the field of literature, when the humorous story he created was considered the best work created in America in a humorous genre and reprinted throughout America.

Samuel Clemens directed the newspaper "Sacramento Union" in Hawaii in the spring of 1866. He was supposed to write letters on the course of his journey about the adventures that had taken place with him. They were an unprecedented success when the writer returned to San Francisco. John McComb, Colonel, publisher of the newspaper entitled "Alta California", invited Mark Twain to go on a tour of the state with reading entertaining lectures. They immediately acquired a frenzied popularity, and the writer, entertaining the audience and collecting every dollar from each listener, traveled all over the state.

First published book

Mark Twain (the real name and surname of the writer were presented above) as a writer has achieved first success in his other journey. In 1867, he encouraged Mac Comba to sponsor his trip to the Middle East and Europe. As a correspondent in June this year, he was on the steamer "Kraker City" went to the Old World. In August, the writer also reached Sevastopol, Yalta and Odessa. Mark Twain (real name Twain - Samuel Clemens) in the ship delegation visited the residence of the Emperor of Russia in Livadia.

The letters he wrote during his trip to Asia and Europe were sent to the editorial office and published in the newspaper, after which they became the basis of one of the books entitled "The Innocents Abroad." She was born in 1869, was a resounding success. Many knew this writer until the end of his life as the creator of this work.

In 1870, Samuel married Olivia Langdon and went to live in the city of Buffalo, which is in the US state of New York. Later, he moved to Hartford (Connecticut). This period is marked by lectures in England and the USA. After that, the writer began to create a sharp satire, criticizing politicians and American society. Especially it is characteristic for the collection published in 1883 entitled "Life on the Mississippi."

Creative career

The most significant contribution of this writer to the literature of America and the world is his novel "The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn". The Prince and the Pauper, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Yankees from Connecticut, and the aforementioned collection "Life on Mississippi", consisting of autobiographical stories, were also very popular. The writer began his career with humorous unpretentious verses, and ended with sketches of manners, full of subtle irony, as well as satirical pamphlets and philosophical reflections on the fate of the whole civilization.

Numerous lectures and public speeches were either not recorded, or were lost, individual letters and works are prohibited for publication by the creator himself during his lifetime, and also for decades after the writer's demise.

Mark Twain was an excellent speaker. Having earned fame and recognition, he spent a lot of time searching for young talents who helped break through with his influence and publishing company, acquired by the writer.

Interest in science and friendship with Nikola Tesla

Samuel was fond of scientific problems. He was friends with Nikolai Tesla, spent a lot of time in his laboratory. In a work called "The Yankees from Connecticut," the writer included a journey through time, which led to the fact that modern technology emerged during the time of King Arthur in England. The technical details given in the novel indicate that the author was well acquainted with the achievements of the science of his era.

Censorial debate

Sometimes certain works of Mark Twain were forbidden by American censorship for publication for various reasons. This was due mainly to the active social and civic position of the author. Some of them could hurt the religious feelings of contemporaries, and so Twain did not publish these works. For example, until 1916, the "Mysterious Stranger" remained unpublished. Some works of anti-religious orientation were not published until the 1940s.

In the 2000s, attempts were again made in the United States to prohibit the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" due to the fact that it contains naturalistic descriptions, as well as verbal expressions that are offensive to blacks. Despite the fact that the author was an opponent of imperialism and racism and in his rejection of the latter went much further than most of his contemporaries, the words that at the time of this author were in general use really sound today as racial insults. In the United States, in 2011, in February, the first edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was created by the writer under the pseudonym Mark Twain (real name and surname Samuel Langhorn Clemens) in which similar expressions were replaced by others politically correct .

This is in brief the biography of this writer.

So, we found out the real name of Mark Twain. Foreign literature (Grade 4) introduces us for the first time to this author. Works of the novelist are liked by elementary school students. However, in the lower grades, it is rarely mentioned that Mark Twain is a pseudonym. Now you will know the real name of Mark Twain from the fairy tale "The Adventure of Tom Sawyer" - a work that is usually included in the school curriculum.