Mark Twain (November 30, 1835 April 21, 1910), formerly Samuel Langhorne Clemens, an American writer and speaker, "Mark Twain" is his pen name, originallyMississippi RiverA term used by sailors to denote the depth of water measured in a channel.
When he was 12 years old, his father died, so he had to stop school and work in a factory.He once worked as a navigator, miner and journalist of the Mississippi River.Gradually wrote some interesting novels and began his writing career.[1]Representative works include novels《GBP million》《Adventures of Huckleberry Finn》《The Adventures of Tom Sawyer》Etc.
Mark Twain is an AmericanCritical realismMark Twain, the founder of literature, wrote a large number of works throughout his life. The genres involved novels, plays, essays, poems and other aspects.In terms of content, his works criticize unreasonable phenomena or the ugliness of human nature, and express the strong sense of justice and concern for ordinary people of this writer who was a typesetter and sailor;In terms of style, both experts and ordinary readers believe that humor and satire are his writing characteristics.He experienced the United States from the early dayscapitalismreachImperialismThe development process of his thought and creation is also reflected in the development stage from light teasing to bitter satire and then to pessimism. In the early stage, he is good at bitter satire, and in the later stage, his language is more exposed and intense.
Mark Twain was born in the United States on November 30, 1835MissouriPoor family of rural lawyers in Florida.He is the sixth of seven children in his family.His father is a local lawyer with a meager income and a poor family.Little Mark Twain had to work when he was at school.His father died when he was eleven years old. From then on, he began to work independently, first as an apprentice in a printing factory, and then as a newspaper messenger and typesetterMississippi RiverBe a sailor and a helmsman.[3]
Mark Twain's photo in 1850
In the autumn of 1839, Mark Twain's family moved to a port city on the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, which became his later work《The Adventures of Tom Sawyer》And《A Wandering Impossible Child》MediumSt.PetersburgThe inspiration of the city.At that time, Missouri was a federal slave state, and young Twain began to understandSlaveryThis became the theme of his adventure novels in the future.Mark Twain isColor blindness, which aroused his humorous jokes in social circles.[3]
On March 24, 1847, Mark Twain's father John Clemens diedpneumonia。In 1847, Mark Twain, from a poor family background, began to work as a printing house apprentice, newsboy, typesetter, sailor, gold miner, journalist, etc.[3]
In 1851, Mark Twain became a typesetter with contributions, and began to write drafts for the Hannibal Journal founded by his brother Orion.[3]
Mark Twain around 1855
On May 1, 1852bostonHis debut book, "The Stunned Playboy of the Colonists", was published in the Humor Weekly Handbag.[3]
In 1858, Mark Twain returned to Missouri.On the journey from the lower Mississippi River to New Orleans, the ship's navigator "Bisby" wanted Twain to become a ship's navigator for life.[3]
In 1861, Oulaisi wasLincolnThe President sent them to the westNevadaAs the secretary of the territorial government, he went with him to try to make a fortune in the timber industry and mining industry, but failed, so he turned to writing articles for a living.1862 in NevadaVirginiaHe works in a newspaper office in the city.
In 1863, he began to use the pseudonym "Mark Twain".
In 1864San FranciscoGet to know the humorous writer A · Ward and the novelist Bu · Hart, get their encouragement and help, and improve their writing skills.
Mark Twain in 1867.
In 1865, he published a humorous story "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in a New York magazine, which made him famous nationwide.After that, he often wrote humorous articles for newspapers and periodicals.[3]
In 1867, a local newspaper providedmediterranean seaShip travel in the region.When he went to Europe andMiddle EastDuring his journey, he wrote the famous travel letter series collected in 1869《Fool Travel》。During this period, he met Charles Langdon and saw the photos of his sister Olivia Langdon. Twain fell in love with her at first sight.[3]
Mark Twain andNew YorkOlivia Langdon, daughter of a capitalist, got married.Living after marriageBuffaloHe edited and issued the Express, which was sold a year later due to excessive losses.
Published in 1872《Hard times》This book reflects his life experience in the newly developed western region, and records some anecdotes, especially humorous stories with American western characteristics.
He wrote it with Cha Warner in 1873《Gilded Age》Is his first novel.[3]
Mark Twain in 1871
Mark Twain moved to the east with his family in 1871ConnecticutHartfordBy this time, he had become a famous writer and humorous speaker.The following years were the harvest years of his creation.
1875 Mark Twainwilliam dean howells The covenant is《the atlantic 》Writing.He wrote seven articles on the subject of his early life as a helmsman on the Mississippi River, which were later collected into a book called The Past of the Mississippi River.Eight years later, he returned to his hometown and expanded the book into On the Mississippi River (1883).[3]
In 1876, a novel《The Adventures of Tom Sawyer》Publication.Although it is a juvenile book set in a small town on the Mississippi River, it is loved by readers of all ages.Many stories about naughty Tom and his partner Huckleberry Finn and Tom's girlfriend Becky Thatcher are written in the book, many of which are the author's own experience, and there are many interesting plots in line with children's psychology.[3]
Mark Twain[4]
Another important novel by Mark Twain in 1876《Adventures of Huckleberry Finn》He began writing and published in 1884.This novel has been highly praised by critics, welcomed by readers at home and abroad, and has also been constantly banned.[3]
In 1889, Mark Twain published "Connecticut Americans at the Court of King Arthur"《Prince and poor children》(1881) are novels satirizing feudalism and religion with the background of England.
In 1894, Mark Twain wrote《Pudd'nhead Wilson 》, created a woman full of struggleBlack slavesThe image of Roxy.Before and after that, his family suffered misfortune: two daughters fell ill and died, and his wife's health deteriorated;He failed to invest in making an automatic typesetter and went bankrupt.In order to repay his debt, he went on a trip to give a speech, visited HawaiiNew Zealand、Australia, India and South America.[3]
In 1896, the biography of Joan of Arc was published, which describes the 15th century French national heroineJoan of ArcA lifetime of.
In 1897, he wrote Equator Travel, which satirized and condemnedImperialismyescolonyThe oppression of the people and the opposition to imperialism became the central idea of his later works.
Mark Twain is in Nicola Tesla's laboratory.
In 1898, Mark Twain paid off all his debts.
In October 1900, after leaving the United States and living in Europe for nearly ten years, he returned to the United States with his family, received a warm welcome and became a leader in the literary and art circles.
Many works on time published after 1900 have not been cut down.[3]
In 1904, his wifeItalyDeath.Mark Twain entered the final stage of his career.His early works, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, had already expressed pessimism towards "human beings" (actually the property class), which became the main theme of some of his works at this time.Novella《The people who ruined Hadleyburg》(1900), the prose "What's the matter with people?" (1906), and the story "The Mysterious Visitor" (1916) are all reflected.The most important work in his later years was his autobiography, which was dictated and recorded by his secretary.[3]
On April 21, 1910, Mark TwainNarrow heart diseaseHe died and was buried in Amara, New York.[3]
Chaonei 166 Humanities Library is a book published by the People's Literature Publishing House in 2012.The book is divided into two parts: foreign literature and Chinese contemporary novels, including Maupassant, Chekhov, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Heine and other master classics, and Ba Jin, Zheng Zhenduo, Feng Zhi, and other famous translators.
The Gilded Age is a novel co written by American writers Mark Twain and Charles Warner, published in 1873.This novel, using realism, boldly exposes the decadent darkness of the capitalist development stage after the American Civil War. The author satirizes the bourgeois democratic system and exposes the speculative epidemic, corruption and bribery that prevailed throughout the country
The California Story is a short story written by American writer Mark Twain.In the first person narrative mode, the author tells the story of a deeply infatuated man who became insane due to the loss of his wife and waited for his wife's return for 19 years with the help of his neighbors through a passing perspective in the novel.Although the story of the Californian has strong contrast, its content tends to be mild and touching.
Running for Governor is a short story written by American writer Mark Twain, first published in 1870."Running for Governor" tells about the whole process of "I" running for governor.Because the good reputation of "I" has become an obstacle to their success in the eyes of political enemies, they slander them with various slanders, such as perjury, Montana thieves, grave diggers, alcoholics, dirty bribers, and detestable bribe givers, trying to
The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is a short story by American writer Mark Twain, published in 1865.This story tells of a man who loved gambling in Caxian County, USA, trained a frog who could jump very high. He often gambled with him and won almost every time.One day, he met a passer-by who insisted on having a frog jumping contest with the other party. For this reason, he also found a frog for the stranger who did not have a frog.The stranger took advantage of the fact that he was out looking for frogs
The Connecticut Yankee in the Arthur Dynasty is a famous novel by American writer Mark Twain. This novel has created the popular "crossing novel" one hundred years later and is known as the "crossing novel ancestor".
Selected Readings of Mark Twain's Short Stories is a book published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House in August 1980. The author is Mark Twain and the translator is Liu Xianzhi and Chen Xiongshang.
Mark Twain's Prose (Illustrated Collection of Foreign Prose) is a collection of essays published by People's Literature Press in 2008.The book mainly includes 28 essays written by Mark Twain from 1865 to 1903, about 40 years ago.
The Complete Works of Mark Twain's Novels is a book published by Inner Mongolia Culture Press in 1996. The author is Mark Twain, Mark Twain, Mark Twain.
Selected humorous sketches of Mark Twain (revised version), published by Anhui Science and Technology Press in September 2007, is translated by Chen Guangming.The translator of this book selects Mark Twain's early humorous sketches to facilitate readers' appreciation of humor and improve their understanding, appreciation and translation ability.
Mark Twain's Collection of Short and Medium Stories is a book published by Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House on June 1, 2004. The author is Mark Twain.This book contains Mark Twain's short stories.
Autobiography of Mark Twain is a book published by Shaanxi Normal University Press in the late 19th century (original edition). The author is Mark Twain.This work lasted four years from Mark Twain's oral instruction to Pein in 1906 to his death in April 1910.In fact, Mark Twain wrote an autobiography outline in early 1873.
Selected Short Stories of Mark Twain is a book published by International Culture Publishing Company in 2006. The author is Mark Twain (American).This book mainly includes selected excellent works of Mark Twain.
The Sacramento Federal Newspaper sent Mark Twain to Hawaii, then known as the Sandwich Islands, as a correspondent, to send a letter to the Federal Newspaper about things there.Later, when he worked at the California Dadi in San Francisco, he also wrote according to these humorous letters, because the California Dadi sent him to travel from San Francisco to New York City via the Panama Canal as a itinerant reporter.At that time, he kept sending letters to newspapers for publication, ironically and humorously recording
Unlike Tom, Huck is eccentric and not so frivolous, but he has a strong personality, is not afraid of hardship, is free and easy, and does not care about the secular world. After inheriting the inheritance of his stepmother, he kidnapped and escaped for his biological father. He then ran along the south of Mississippi River, and experienced many stories of danger and danger turning into barbarians. Through the experience of wandering with Jim, a runaway slave,He condemned the evil of slavery, criticized the barbarism of feudalism, satirized the hypocrisy and ignorance of religion, and publicized
The Prince and the Beggar is a novel written by American writer Mark Twain.Using the story of Prince and Chamberlain, which has been circulating in England for a long time, as the material, it describes a fairy tale like story of a poor child Tom and a rich prince Edward exchanging social status. It has very profound practical significance, and has also become a work of special style in Mark Twain's works.The novel uses the form of fairy tales, clever satire and humorous language to speak the same day
The Diary of Adam and Eve is a book published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in 2009. The author is Mark Twain and the translator is Winter Worm.
Return to the Arthur Dynasty is a book published by Shenyang Publishing House in 2011. The author is Mark Twain.This book mainly tells a series of adventure stories after the hero Camelot returned to the Arthur Dynasty.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a novel published by American novelist Mark Twain in 1876.The story of the novel takes place in an ordinary town on the Mississippi River in the first half of the 19th century.Tom Sawyer, the hero, is innocent and lively, dares to explore, and pursues freedom. He can't bear to live a boring life that constrains his personality, and fantasizes about a heroic career
World Masterpiece: Prince and Poor Children is a book published by Yanbian University Press in 2010. The author is Mark Twain.The World Masterpiece: Prince and the Poor is a famous satirical novel. The story takes the social situation of England in the sixteenth century as the background, and describes the poor boy Tom Candy in a slum in the form of fairy tale. Due to an accidental opportunity, he dramatically changed his identity with Prince Edward and became the king of England.Kind hearted
Life on the Mississippi is an autobiographical travel book published by American writer Mark Twain in 1883.This work expresses Mark Twain's sympathy for the miserable life of the bottom people and his deep concern for their fate.The author witnessed the crime and darkness along the Mississippi River;The upper class of the United States has followed suit, the lower class has groaned in pain, and we have also seen the increasing racial relations
Wilson the Fool is a novel written by American writer Mark Twain.The novel tells a strange story: Roxanne, a female slave of "one sixteenth" black blood, swapped the master's child and her own son in the cradle in order to escape the fate of slaves for a son of "one thirty second" black blood.Therefore, her later master Tom was her real son, and the master's child, Shambu, was reduced to slavery.Tom is in a superior environment
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg
Author nameMark Twain
The novel tells that in the name of repaying the benefactor, strangers make use of human weakness - greed to mock the prestigious people in Hadleyburg.Mark Twain provides readers with a perspective of "human nature" by using stories that conform to the laws of real life and social background.Mark Twain (1835-1910), an American writer, is an American writer that our readers are very familiar with and like.His father died when he was twelve years old. After that, he dropped out of school and entered the printing house
Reading Classics -- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author nameMark Twain
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author nameMark Twain
Work time2009-6
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (color inset version) mainly includes: this is a story that takes place in a wandering journey, and it is a sister chapter of the Adventures of Tom Sawyer.Tom Sawyer's good friend Huckleberry Finn became the protagonist of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (color inset version). While he helped the slave Jim get freedom, he also met various people and things.In the end, Jim the Negro was in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
On the Mississippi River
Author nameMark Twain
Work time1996-8-1
Although "On the Mississippi River" is generally regarded as one of Mark Twain's five travel notes, it is difficult to classify it in this way.The first three chapters describe the history and geographical characteristics of the Mississippi River, which belongs to the standard travel style.However, Chapters 4 to 17 are seven issues of Atlantic Monthly, describing Mark Twain's career as a helmsman from early 1858 to early 1859, and how he gradually became sophisticated and mature from naive and romantic.But this is not strictly
Golden Panda World Literature Classics: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author nameMark Twain
Work time2017-1-1
Chapter 1 Widow Douglas and Miss Watson ● Chapter 2 Tom Sets up a Bandit ● Chapter 3 Ambush Arabs and Elephants ● Chapter 4 Discovers Dad's Footprints ● Chapter 5 Dad's Reform ● Chapter 6 Days in the Woods ● Chapter 7 Escape from the Cabin ● Chapter 8 Meet Jim on Jackson Island ● Chapter 9 There's a Dead Man in the House ● Chapter 10 Rattlesnake BitesJim ● Chapter 11: Men Disguising as Women ● Chapter 12: Shipwreck on a Storm Night
When Mark Twain wrote his travel book On the Mississippi River, he pointed out the collusion between political parties and the news media;Newspaper editors are always associated with a political party;If we don't take care of the opinions of our believers, no preacher can speak freely and tell the truth completely;A writer is just a servant of the reader. When he writes, he is frank and fearless, but later, before typesetting, he will more or less reduce the spirit of his work.It can be seen from this that Mark Twain saw through the authenticity of American political parties and elections, and made no secret of attacking them."Running for Governor" is Mark Twain's all-round exposure and attack on the American social democratic political system.The novel is humorous in style. In a short space, it explores the corruption and darkness of the American electoral system. It is extremely profound in thought. It exposes the dark inside of the so-called "democratic" electoral system in the United States and the hypocrisy of the capitalist electoral system.
Criticizing the Deformed Morality of the United States
Mark Twain's Novels《The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg 》Mark Twain revealed the fact that money can control people to lie, extort or even kill people. Money is supreme.In the novel《Gilded Age》Centering on the construction of railways, the opening of waterways, the opening of universities and other plots, the work summarizes the mentality of speculation and wealth that pervaded the whole United States at that time. In depicting a typical character like Colonel Cyrus, the work shows the enthusiasm of Colonel Cyrus in a unique language: "To get rich, you need to get rich no matter how,... there is wealth everywhere in the air",Colonel Cyrus was led astray by the lie that "everyone has equal opportunities" and "anyone who cleans shoes may become a millionaire". He was forever intoxicated with those adventure plans and illusory enterprises, which made him lose the most basic human feelings. His family lived an almost destitute life for his illusory waiting.And fiction《GBP million》In China, a poor man with millions of pounds got satisfied consumption and decent service in fear, but he didn't have to pay the bill at all. The humanity of capitalist money worship thought is so fragile and despised in front of a million dollars.
Criticism of American False Religion
In his essay "Christian God", Mark Twain ironically wrote: "These priests forgot to mention that their God is the slowest mover in the universe, and his eyes that never sleep are also slow, because his eyes have to wait a century to see things, and other people's eyes only need a week to see things."In all history, there is no example that God first thought of a noble deed. He always thought of and did it more slowly than other people, and then he arrived, appeared, and enjoyed the benefits. If God really has foresight, why does he always appear after the event.In the short story Captain Stomfield Visits Heaven, Mark Twain depicts the bliss of heaven in a grotesque and ironic form. Captain Stomfield has always believed that a person will get due rewards in heaven because of his honest life since his primary school. He believes and prays that "God's plenipotentiaries on earth"He had promised him the bliss of heaven, but after his death, he felt extremely indignant that he understood that this "contract" was just a fraud, and the bliss of heaven was a fraud.In the novel The Man Sitting in the Dark, Mark Twain severely criticized the United States in China with the example of American Father AmantmissionaryHe criticized the people of Oman for ruthlessly exploiting Chinese farmers, their women and innocent children, starving them and dying, spreading the gospel with these bloody money, and affirmed the Chinese people's suspicion and growing awareness of missionaries.[9]
artistic characteristics
Mark Twain's works have three characteristics:
First, on the basis of the western humor tradition, he played an extremely exaggerated artistic imagination.
Second, works often take the first person "I" as the main character, and this "I", like the main character in Chinese crosstalk, plays various comic characters.Most of them are naive, honest, ignorant, simple minded, and wishful thinking, which often backfires.Mark Twain is conscious of using innocent and honest people as his heroes.The hero always has some ideal or some simple idea, but runs into difficulties everywhere in reality, which shows that his ideal is unrealistic and impractical. The more he does not understand this, the more he shows the gap between ideal and reality.
Third, humor contains irony.In his autobiography, he summarized his experience in writing humorous novels and said that "humor for the sake of humor cannot last long. Humor is just a smell and tidbits. I always admonish people, which is why I can persist for 30 years"."Thirty years" refers to the period from the beginning of his writing to the writing of his autobiography.His so-called "admonishing others" means that his novels contain serious creative goals of curbing evil and promoting good.[10]
Character evaluation
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Mark Twain is unique and incomparableLincoln。(By William Howells, an American critic)[11]
Mark Twain was the first real American writer, and we all inherited him.(American writerWilliam Faulkner Comment)[12]
Anecdotes and allusions
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Mark Twain
Mark Twain's real name is "Samuel Langhan Clemen". Mark Twain is his most commonly used pen name. It is generally believed that this pen name is derived from his early sailors' terminology, meaning that the water depth is 12 feet.Samuel used to be a navigator. When measuring the water depth with his partner, his partner called "Mark Twain!", which means "two marks", that is, the water depth is two xuns (about 3.7 meters, and one xun is about 1.852 meters), which is a necessary condition for a ship to navigate safely.Another reason is that his captain Cyrus, once a respected navigator, wrote some introductions for newspapers from time to timeMississippi RiverA sketch of an anecdote, pseudonym "Mark Twain".
In 1858, Captain Cyrus published a predictionNew Orleans Articles that will be submerged by water.The naughty Samuel decided to make a joke on him and wrote a very sharp satirical sketch imitating his style.However, the game article deeply hurt the old captain's heart. The old captain gave up writing and the pen name "Mark Twain" disappeared from the newspaper.Four years later, Samuel, a journalist, had to learn the news of Captain Sellers' death, and he regretted his mischief and decided to make up for it. So he inherited the pseudonym "Mark Twain" and began his writing career.However, another said that when wandering in the west, he often bought two glasses of wine in the hotel and asked the bartender to write "two marks" on the bill.[13]
