Born in 1835 as Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Parentage: born poor(er), but of proud VA gentry heritage Settled along the frontier of Missouri, an area still very much on the Western edge of American settlement. Hannibal, MO & the Mississippi River Family life Newspaper job Most of his work was far from academic as it was often comic, burlesque, and farcical. Became a steamboat pilot (or at least a “engineer” for a steamboat). He took his pen name from the riverboat slang “marking twain,” which refers to the judgment of river depth.

■ Briefly fought in the Civil War (for the South) before deserting. ■ Did not care much for slavery, but saw some chivalric heroism in the notion of fighting for the South; became disillusioned with this notion within a matter of weeks. ■ Became a reporter/humorist out of necessity ■ American literature as big business → majority of readership still in newspapers ■ Success of Irving, Poe, Cooper, Emerson establishes climate for literary growth and production ■ Uniquely Southern and/or Western Writer ■ Offered a fresh perspective on old issues/tensions. ■ American literary canon no longer defined by writers and critics from the urban centers of the Northeast (New York, Boston, Philadelphia)

■ Twain became frustrated with what he perceived as the cold, clinical, and undemocratic view of American culture. ■ Nostalgia for innocence of youth ■ Felt America (and Americans) were gradually turning away from their democratic, sullied roots and instead embracing more of a aristocratic demeanor.

■ Humor: Twain’s literature is funny—and intentionally so. He used humor to convince people of his moral points. ■ Twain uses man’s inclination for laughter in two ways: ■ 1) narrative device: to entertain and tell his story ■ 2) critical engagement: to make the ridiculous and the just seem so through distinctions of laughter.

■ Satire/Sarcasm: : directly aimed to undermine the opposition (and society at large) by engaging with mainstream modes of thought ■ Satire definition? ■ Irony of the book’s “racism” ■ Highlights his points, particularly about slavery and racial injustice, by stating, in all seriousness, the absurd points of the opposition. ■ Subversiveness: Aims to undermine established order or cultural norms; does so to force his audience to consider other viewpoints ■ Advocacy for Change: constant evolution, but it becomes devolution without originality and critical evaluation

■ Published Began working on it as early as 1874, when he began The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. ■ The novel initially began as a young adult piece that was a sequel to Tom Sawyer. ■ “Realistic, satiric, yet lyrical novel in the southwestern vernacular” (1335)

1. First Person Narration that appeared “coarse, vulgar, and immoral.” ■ Effect: An authentic American voice 2. Narrator-Protagonist is a boy/young adolescent from the lower rungs of the social order; though white, Huck is still very much the Other. ■ Effect: Reconsider the role of narrator and traditional Hero 3. ANTI-RACIST and anti-class divisiveness ■ Effect: Social critique at forefront

■ The novel we will discuss contains a number of challenging concepts and diction. The use of the “n- word” has raised many questions by readers and censors. Twain uses it so casually for the following reasons: ■ 1. Satire: to prove a point about its power and, as previously stated, to show the destructive influence of antagonistic race relations in America ■ 2. Reality: culturally, that was the dialect of the setting and the time; people legitimately spoke this way and to avoid this language would decrease the realism of the dialogue ■ 3. Zeitgeist: although the word carried weight back then, it did not have all of the potency or cultural significance that it has accumulated in the 126 years since its initial publication. “Censorship is like telling a man he cannot have a steak because a baby can’t chew it.”- Mark Twain

■ Place: The Mississippi Valley ■ Missouri and Illinois; later, Arkansas and Louisiana ■ Why did Twain pick this region, and why is it significant? ■ Practical Reason: ■ Historical Reason: ■ Time: “Forty to Fifty Years Ago” ■ Takes Place: 1840s-1850s ■ Audience: 1880s ■ Why are the time period of the novel and publication dates significant?

“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot” ■ Why add this statement? What is the significance of this “order”? ■ What tone does this set for the novel? What is Twain trying to communicate to his readers from the outset?

“In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods Southwestern dialect; the ordinary "Pike County" dialect; and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have not been done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech. I make this explanation for the reason that without it many readers would suppose that all these characters were trying to talk alike and not succeeding. ■ Purpose? Significance? ■ Lesson for Modern Readers?

● Leaving sivilize-ation: ● Purpose: ● Reason for Return: ● Dinner: ● Why is prayer an inconvenience? ● Religion, Education, Behavior: ● Miss Watson: ● Prayer, Heaven, Hell & Tom Sawyer ● Nature: ● How do we see this theme?

● Meeting Jim: ● Playing Pranks on Jim (sort of…) ● Jim’s Witches Tale: ● Significance: ● Character Development:

● Tom Sawyer’s Gang: ● Oath: ● Origins: ● Significance? ● Ambition: ● Why not burglar? Why rob and kill instead? ● Gender Relationships ● Innocence of Youth: ● Why not Sunday?

● Huck’s Prayer: ● Reaction(s) to Prayer: ● Pap: ● Huck’s Relationship with Pap: ● Tom’s Quixotic Plan: ● Significance? ● Huck’s Reaction:

● Huck’s Schooling and “Progress” ● Huck’s Fortune: ● Concern for his Fortune: ● Pap’s First Dialogue: ● Anti-Education: ● Huck’s Response and Book: ● Implication: ● Effectiveness of the Law: ● Commentary on Temperance Movement?