1. Mark Twain & Huckleberry Finn By Änna Williams

2. Born – Nov. 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri Real name – Samuel Langhorne Clemens America’s most famous literary icon Father - a judge Samuel (as a child) was of poor health Father died of pneumonia when Samuel was 12 yrs. old Mark Twain - Biography

3. Printer's apprentice River pilot's apprentice River pilot Newspaper reporter Lecturer Author Twain’s occupational career

4. Clemens' pseudonym, Mark Twain, comes from his days as a river pilot • "Mark twain" means that it is safe to navigate • No direct descendants of Samuel Clemens • Married & had 4 kids but three died • Surviving child, Clara, died at the age of 88 w/o ever having children • Wrote 28 books & numerous short stories, letters & sketches • Fame= short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of CalavarasCounty“ • His first book- "The Innocents Abroad“ • Passed away on April 21, 1910 Some Fun Facts

5. Remained unfinished for several years Finally published in 1884 in England & 1885 in the U.S. Takes place in the Mississippi Valley - St. Petersburg, Missouri Huckleberry Finn

6. Huck is a realist • Tolerates caretakers, the Widow Douglas & Miss Watson, efforts to “sivilize” him • Prefers to live barefoot in rags, smoking his pipe & fishing in the river • Huck’s “Pap” - abusive drunk, inciting incident • Prompting Huck to fake his own death and escape down the river The story

7. revolve around Huck’s friendship w/ runaway slave named Jim, & his adventures w/ 2 con men who attach themselves to Huck & Jim Plot #1: Huck struggles w/ his conscience over whether he should turn Jim in or help him escape like “a low down Ablitionist” Plot #2: the greedy exploits of the con men disgust Huck making him feel “ashamed of the human race” two main plot lines

8. Lets Huck tell his own story • Allowing Twain to satirize certain social customs • Highlights ironies Huck overlooks • Makes the story funny • humor is largely expressed through irony & sarcasm • portraying people w/ realism & shunning sentimentality, Twain makes a strong statement about human foibles & societal hypocrisy What does Twain do?