Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

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Mark Twain

Biography

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 to John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens
By 13 Clemens’ father had died of pneumonia and he left school to become a printer’s apprentice
At 15 he joined is brother’s newspaper as a printer and editorial assistant.
Clemens moved to St. Louis for a printer’s job at the age of 17
In 1858 he became a licensed river pilot
In 1863 he found his pen name, a term he learned while working as a river pilot
“Mark Twain” means a ship could safely pass through a river because the water wasn’t too shallow

During the Civil War Clemens worked as a newspaper reporter for several papers
Twain gained fame with the short story “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
Twain’s first book, “The Innocents Abroad” was published in 1869
He wrote 28 novels, many short stories and letters
Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910

In Notorious Jumping Frog:
It is humorous that a man would bet on anything, that a man would teach a frog to jump and catch flies, and that you could stop a frog from jumping by feeding it quail shots.
Bakers Bluejay Yarn:
The bluejay tries to fill up the knothole full of acorns, and later in the story the birds figure out the acorns are landing in the house. They are trying to fill up a house full of acorns!

In Notorious Jumping Frog:
Smiley named his frog Dan'l Webster after the congressman, U.S senator, statesman and the most famous orator of his time.
In Bakers Bluejay Yarn:
The miner supposably can understand animal language and the bluejays have more good and bad grammar like humans.

Cunning and cleverness, competition, and lies and deceit.
The lesson to be learned from this story is: Don't brag or you'll regret it. (In the story, Smiley brags about his frog and the stranger wins by sabotaging the competition.)

The lesson learned from this story is humans aren't much smarter than animals.
The author says, "They [all the jays] examined the hole, they all made the sufferer tell it over again, then they all discussed it, and got off as many leather-headed opinions about it as an average crowd of humans could have done."
The author also says, "They roosted around here on the housetop and the trees for an hour, and giftware over that thing like human beings."

Believed everyone is equal. He wrote many articles and letters about slavery, women’s rights and unions.
Example in story: “I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barrroom stove of the dilapidated tavern in the decayed mining camp of Angel’s.” (From The Notorious Jumping Frog)
“He was a middle-aged man, simple hearted minor who lived in a lonely corner of California” (from Baker’s Bluejay Yarn)

Twain did not believe in vivisection, or using living animals for experimental surgeries.
Examples in story: “Animals can talk to each other, of course. There can be no question about that; but I suppose there are very few people who can understand them.” (From Baker’s Bluejay Yarn)
“And turned him upside down and he belched out a double handful of shot. And then he saw how it was, and he was the maddest man – he set the frog down and took out after that feller, but he never ketched him.” (From The Notorious Jumping Frog)

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"Jim Baker’s Bluejay Yarn Summary - Mark Twain - Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"Mark Twain - Bibliography and List of Works." Biblio.com: Search Used Books, Textbooks, Rare Books, & Out of Print Books from Independent Booksellers. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"Mark Twain." The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"Mark Twain and Social Justice." The Progress Report -- Independent Daily News. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"The Official Web Site of Mark Twain." The Official Web Site of Mark Twain. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"The Prince and the Pauper." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .
"Tom Sawyer." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .

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