The creation of the American Voice is an ongoing process. Mark Twain- a pioneer of his time- contributed heavily to the making of literature for generations. Even though he was too controversial, Mark Twain added a newly found aspect of humor to the American voice. He did so through his books such as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and The Prince and the Pauper. However, his reputation is often misunderstood.
Born in the backwoods of Missouri, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, “Spent his boyhood in nearby Hannibal, on the bank of the Mississippi river, observing its busy life, fascinated by its romance, but chilled by the violence and bloodshed it bred (Encyclopedia of World Biography 1).” His childhood spent in this town with an obviously high crime rate forced him to grow up quickly. I believe this is one of the reasons he uses satire so heavily in his works. To overcome the harshness of his young life. Many say “Mark Twain was a poor boy who by reason of native skill rose to wealth and fame (Leary 3)”. His ability to adapt and use his surroundings gave him a leg up in the literary world as well as the real world. “…he began working as an apprentice, then a
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He was controversial for his time period and highly misunderstood. The writer of the famous book Little Women was opposed to Mr. Twain’s style of writing. As a primarily youth author he described some pretty bold and touchy subjects. Critics often said that children should not be exposed to such vulgarity as Alcott demonstrates here when she says “If Mr. Clemens cannot think of something better to tell our pure minded lads and lasses, he had best stop writing for them (Alcott 1868)”. One critic says: “Perhaps no other American author is so widely misunderstood as Mark Twain (Hearn 4)”. His legacy is widely misinterpreted but is just now coming to light and he is getting the hard earned credit he deserves. While he may be misunderstood, his messages are still quite