Mark Twain’s life was packed of great triumphs and devastating tragedies. Throughout his life would write magnificent stories and suffered from losses of loved ones. He would go from a humble begining to having traveled all throughout the U.S. and the entire world. Samuel Langhorne Clemson, better known as Mark Twain, began his life in Hannibal, Missouri on November 30, 1835. His father, John Clemson, had many jobs in order to support his family. He was a lawyer, judge, storekeeper, and land speculator. Mark Twain grew up in a slave state, and his family like most southern families had the idea that the white race was superior to others. This influence on Mark Twain would often show in his writings. Mark Twain had to drop out of …show more content…
Louis where he traveled on steamboats up and down the Mississippi River, writing short stories for newspapers. Then two years after that when he was twenty-one he became a steamboat pilot. (Mark Twain a Look at the Life). When the civil war began in 1861, steamboat travel on the Mississippi River was closed putting him out of business. During this time Mark Twain decided to join the Missouri state militia, but it was quickly dispatched, leaving Mark Twain looking for another job. (Twain). In July of 1861, Mark Twain decided to move West in the pursuit of wealth. He decided to test his luck in Nevada mining for silver and gold. He spent a whole year prospecting with no reward. Mark Twain ended up homeless and without a job once more. After searching for a new job Mark Twain began to work at the, Virginia City Territorial Enterprise in October of 1862. He wrote news stories, editorials, and sketches for their newspaper, and soon he became a big hit in West. People seemed to enjoy his funny and friendly writing style. (Twain). In 1865 Mark Twain had written a book that would kick off his career as famous a writer. Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, was a short story written about a miner in the West. This was Mark Twain’s first book to draw national attention towards