Big Daddy T
On November 20, 1835 John and Jane Clemens brought their sixth child into the world- Samuel Clemens. At the time, the Clemens resided in Florida, Missouri (take note of the odd towns Sam grew up in). Sam’s mother was fun loving and thoroughly enjoyed raising her six children. His father, John, was a serious man who dreamed of wealth but continuously fell short in that department. He also failed to live very long, dying unexpectedly in 1847 (of pneumonia). This left Jane the head of a household of six. You think this task would be hard today? Imagine life in 1847.
Ahhh, life in 1847…in Hannibal, Missouri (Has Silence of the Lambs ruined the name Hannibal for anyone else?. If it hasn’t, the town itself will.) Anything associated with the name Hannibal, seems to have a sinister feel, as did Hannibal Missouri. Hannibal is a river town, and in the mid-1800’s the Mississippi carried steamboats from town to town. Sam experienced circuses, minstrel shows, revivals, and a variety of commerce (some legit, some rather questionable). Along with the entertainment came violence, there were nearly 1000 ways to die in Hannibal…one could be killed over a cattle deal, or a slave could be beat to death by his master, one could also drink himself to death or they could be run over by a steamboat. Many a man’s greed led to breaking the law and many found breaking the law easy as the river was a free for all and rarely policed. Needless to say, there was always work (not all of it morally-upstanding) in Hannibal. Jane attempted to provide for her family but by the time Sam was 12, it was paramount that he quit school and get a job (Imagine, a job at 12! What a horrid, horrid life.)
Sam began work as a typesetter. This mean he was in charge of arranging letters (letter by letter) for the local Hannibal newspaper. Luckily Sam had learned to read well, otherwise this would have been a much more dreaded job than it was. So Sam arranged letters for the next six years and finally at the age of 18, he traveled north. He continued to work at newspapers but tried his hand at writing (he left the typesetting to other poor, young children). Sam’s observant and humorous personality brought him a bit of success but family, and his adventurous nature called him back to Hannibal where he embarked on the profession of riverboat pilot. Sam loved this job and the people that came along with it but the start of the Civil War ended much of the commerce on the river.
The onset of the war divided Missouri- originally a slave state. Ironically (his brother was an abolitionist and Sam shared his views as seen in later works of literature), Sam volunteered with the Confederates. This bout of patriotism lasted a whopping two weeks. Sam then headed west- where his brother was the secretary of the Nevada territory- hoping to strike it rich (here began Sam’s struggles with financial stability, poor investment decisions and conflicting desires to live as the wealthy did but to also criticize the extravagant lifestyles…see a similarity between Clemens and Fitzgerald?).
Since gold digging (in the literal form) did not work out, Sam-now calling himself Mark Twain on paper- went back to working for newspapers. He had the good luck of working as a travel writer which allowed him to visit Europe on the dime of the newspapers. By now, Clemens was a popular writer who’s tongue- and-cheek style was lauded by many. Had he been good with money, he would have had a stable career, but where Clemen’s had sense in observing people, he lacked sense with money.
Clemens did find a cool girl to marry- Livy Langdon. She came from a pretty wealthy family and was educated- a good match for Clemens, who needed a stable and commonsensical person in his life. Livy struggled with her health and suffered from tuberculosis of the spine, some weird ailment we’ve done away with since the advent of vaccinations. Clemens and Langdon ended up moving to Hartford, Connecticut. Livy and Sam liked the people in the area, many were also writers. It was in Connecticut that Sam wrote some of his most famous works of lit. – Huck Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Guilded Age, Roughing It, Life on the Mississippi. It was also here that Sam became an outspoken social critic. He commented on everything from issues of race, to politics, to women’s rights. He used sarcasm, satire and an observant tone to share truths about human folly.
Success followed Sam but so did his inclination towards bad investments. He built a $45K house. He invested in new inventions that went nowhere. Because of these choices- he was forced to continue to work and this work often took him away from the US. Sam’s family often traveled with him and they all witnessed the unfair exploitation of small countries by larger European nations and the US. This angered Sam and upon returning to the US, he served as VP of the Anti-Imperialist league. Sam’s lighthearted humor soon turned bitter. He is infamous for a scathing introduction of Winston Churchill in 1900. Many were afraid to publish Sam’s writings as they went beyond lighthearted, yet truthful, humor. Sam’s new cynicism led to further financial troubles.
In 1904, Livy died and Sam’s world came crashing down. Sam died in 1910.
And If You Aren’t Yet Hooked on Twain….
Advice to Kids
Always obey your parents when they are present.
Always respect your superiors; if you have any.
There is no sadder thing than a young pessimist‚ except an old optimist.
May you always keep your youth.
Being Embarrassed
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.
We ought never to do wrong when people are looking.
Being Good
Be good and you will be lonesome.
Honor is a harder master than law.
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
Do your duty today and repent tomorrow.
Books
Books are the liberated spirits of men.
If books are not good company, where will I find it?
Fashion
Clothes do not merely make the man…clothes are the man.
Food
A full belly is little worth where the mind is starved.
To eat is human…to digest‚ divine.
More Twain-isms…
Human Nature
Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.
Character is the architect of achievements.
Ideas
The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.
Learning
A full belly is little worth where the mind is starved.
Money
The lack of money is the root of all evil.
Nature
Architects cannot teach nature anything.
Old Age
There is no sadder thing than a young pessimist‚ except an old optimist.
Success
Prosperity is the best protector of principle.
All good things arrive unto them that wait and don’t die in the meantime.
Travel
Travel is fatal to prejudice.
Truth
Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.
An uneasy conscience is a hair in the mouth.
When in doubt‚ tell the truth.
If you tell truth you don’t have to remember anything.
Speeches