How Is Mark Twain Used In Advice To The Youth

Mark Twain is a famous American writer who is known for his works including themes of personal growth, adventure, and humor. Twain believes that the youth had a better hope at a positive future than the older generation, causing him to give his speech - “Advice to the Youth”. The subject of the passage is the irony that comes from the advice the older generation gives to the youth. Many older people give cliche advice such as do not lie or “go to bed early, get up early” (Twain 1). Although this advice is beneficial, the parents of the younger generations experience different events during their youth, yet they still hamper irrelevant advice that cannot be applied to the modern generation of youth. In “Advice to the Youth”, Mark Twain conveys the hypocrisy of the older generations' advice by stating that it does not apply to

Twains gives his speech specifically to the youth of his generation; he is told to talk about “something suitable to youth--something didactic, instructive, or something in the nature of good advice” (1). He wishes to express multiple pieces of advice to the youth that are more modern that help them throughout their life, yet he states ideas that are stereotypical and not modified for the younger generation. That information is not able to be applied to the younger generation because they were not present for these events and they live in a different time period and live under different circumstances than the older generation. Additionally, Mark Twain uses a sarcastic tone to convey his message that past advice does not apply to modern society. He states, “Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these