Farnham 5/9/07

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            Samuel Clemens was one of the greatest “Realism” authors in history. (Chew 2) His books talked about journeys and someone’s escape into freedom. Whether it is to get away from a parent or to get clear out of town, Clemens wrote about them all. There was also a reoccurring setting in his books, which is the Mississippi River (Twain Biography 3). The River had a huge influence on his writings, he wrote many of his stories based of his experiences and life on the Mississippi River.

            Samuel Clemens has lived near the Mississippi River most of is life (Mark Twain Literature Net 2). His moved on the river in 1839 in the small town of Hannibal, Missouri (Chew 2). Twain had little formal education, with much of his real education coming from the print shops and newspaper offices that he worked in when he was young (Chew 2). He dreamt of working on a riverboat since he was young, and finally got the chance when persuaded a riverboat pilot in New Orleans to teach him all of his skills (Twain Biography 4). Then in 1859 he became a licensed riverboat pilot. (Chew 2) The river also was the reason he got the name “Mark Twain”, which means two fathoms deep on a riverboat (Chew 2).

            One of Twain’s fist books which is also called his first masterpiece is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain Books and Writers 2). The book is about a young boy’s escape from a Mississippi River town in the summer during the 1840s (Chew 3). The original story was based off Twain’s childhood as a boy on the river. The young boy in the story, Tom Sawyer, is best friends with Huck Finn, the town drunk (Mark Twain Books and Writers 4). The two witness the murder of Doctor

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Robinson by Injun Joe during a grave-robbing attempt (Circle of Life 5). The boys say nothing to anyone and with the company of Joe Harper the three of them run away to St.            

Petersburg and try to live their lives like pirates (Mark Twain Books and Writers 4). Well since they are gone for so long the rest of the town thinks that the three of them were are all dead. So the townsfolk have a funeral for them, but just as they have the funeral the three come back to find the gold that Injun Joe has hide from the robbing (Mark Twain Books and Writers 4). Tom and Huck end up finding the treasure and becoming heroes in the end. The town’s people also forgave them for running away. So it all worked out for Tom and Huck, they were forgiven and became heroes in their town (Mark Twain Books and Writers 4).

            Twain’s next masterpiece was one that was also influenced by the Mississippi River and it surroundings. The novel The Adventures of Huck Finn was considered Twain’s greatest novel (Twain Biography 3). The sequel to Tom Sawyer, this novel is about a boy that runs away from his dad by rafting down the Mississippi River (Twain Biography 3.) He becomes best friends with a runaway slave named Jim. This book shows the cruelty that man and women are capable of (Circle of Life 3). Whether it be to each other or even to people of a different race cruelty can be very strong and hurtful. It also provides a panoramic view of the American life and American culture along the Mississippi River during the civil war (Twain Biography 3). Twain reflects on his own life and his own experiences when he was on the river during the civil war. Twain has a

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first hand experience about what is really like, and he puts it into his writhing, and that is what makes The Adventure of Huck Finn one of his greatest books ever.

            Most of Mark Twain’s novels have been influenced by the Mississippi River, but none more that Life on the Mississippi. An autobiography celebrating boyhood in a small Mississippi River town (Mark Twain Literature Net 2). Twain trains as a steamboat captain and really learns the science behind navigating the river. Twain would pilot trips from New Orleans to Minnesota all the time (Chew 2). He left his town on the river and returned 21 years later. He then became the last person to ever pilot a steamboat from New Orleans to Minnesota (Mark Twain Literature Net 2). The theme in the story comes from the openness and sense of freedom that the river has to anyone who has ever sailed it (Mark Twain Literature Net 2).

            In all of Twain’s novels there is a very noticeable theme, that theme is journeys and the escape into freedom. Whether it be escaping from a town or a way of life to what the characters consider their freedom. The Mississippi River was a huge source of freedom and a way to start over in Twain’s books and in his own life. With this desire to escape came a journey that had to be made, and a vast journey at that. All Twain’s writing reflected these themes. That is because the Mississippi River was such a huge influence and a source of inspiration to him.

Farnham 4^th

5/13/2007

John Sutton has lived his entire life along the Mississippi River. Since he was a kid he has lived in the same town and in the same house for 17 years. To John the river wasn’t just a place to go and hang out with some friends, or a just a place to go out and ride around on his little canoe and fish. The river was a way of life to John. To be on the river and to just get out into the open was what John wanted the most out of anything in life. John dreamt of getting out of his town and traveling on the river as a captain of his own ship. That has been his dream since he could remember. He would always sit on the riverbank and watch the ferries and cargo ships pass by. He just hoped that one day that could be him on the ships sailing up and down the magnificent Mississippi.

            John has never really liked where he lived or the people in his small town. John’s family was not the riches bunch off people that have ever lived either. They never took any vacations and if they did it were just to go see their family in northern Mississippi. He wants to get out from this life of boredom. He also was not such a good student. His dad was very hard on him for his grades. His dad wanted the best for John and pushed him hard when it came to his schoolwork. His dad didn’t want John to end up like him, in a small town with a bad job and not making much money. He knew that John had the potential to do great things in his life, if only he could focus in school. He also never wanted John to work on the river because his dad; John’s grandfather was a riverboat captain and lost his life when his dad’s ship sunk one day and his dad unfortunately didn’t make it out in time. John hated whenever he would bring up something about the river his dad would get upset and tells John the same story about his dad. John had a lot of pressure on him and that just fueled his fire to get out of the town and on to the Mississippi River. John just wanted to get out and be free from all the pressure.

            A year went by with John feeling the same way about everything. John was now 18 years old and a high school graduate. He passed all his classes, but with low C’s. His family had just barley saved up enough money to get John through college at the local community college about an hour down the way. As the summer passed John’s desire for the open river became more and more passionate with everyday that he would spend on the river. He would occasionally travel down to the docks, they were about an hour away and he would watch all the boats come in from a day of sailing on the river. When John was there once he saw that a captain needed help on one of his boats, just as a deckhand doing some everyday task on the ship. This was a golden opportunity for John, a job that he had always wanted.

            On the way back from the docks John devised a plan that he thought would work, he would stay at his house for the rest of the summer and when it was time for him to go to college he would just go to the docks and take the job. When the summer finally came to an end john packed his things said goodbye to his family and went directly to the docks and got the deckhand job that he had wanted earlier in the summer. The captain told him that this was not there main port, it was really somewhere in Illinois. This was a huge surprise to John, he thought of his family and his friends but it just wasn’t enough to overcome his passion for the river. So the magnificent journey began for John. The job was not as glamorous as he had thought; he had to do all the jobs that know one else ever wanted to do. But John soon accomplished his dream of sailing in the Mississippi. It was an amazing feeling to John, it felt like freedom; he had no stress, pressure and nothing to worry about. John was felling good about what he had done. He had finally escaped into his perfect world. He set a goal and had accomplished it sooner that he really thought he would. He was a happy kid.

            John knew though that his parents would be concerned and worry about him. So one day while his ship was in port in New Orleans he sent a note to his family just saying what he was now doing, where he had been, not to worry about him, that he was happy, and he was positive that he would stay, and last that he loved all of them. As the years passed John became the captain of the ship that he had first started out on. He was a good captain and made many trips between New Orleans to Minnesota through out his days as captain. John and his family never spoke again since he sent them that letter.

The one thing that really kept John going was every time he would pass his little town while he was on the river. He could see his old house and he remembered what he had to give up to be here. Even with that feeling that he had no regrets of his life, he was happy that he did it and would not change one thing about it. 

“Mark Twain Biography.” Mark Twain Books. Oct. 2001. Classic Literature Library. 22 Apr.    2007          <http://mark-twain.classic-literature.co.uk/>.

“The Mark Twain Circle of Life.” 1996. The Mark Twain Association of New York Inc. 25 Apr. 2007 <http://www.salwen.com/mtahome.html>.

Mark Twain. 2003. Books and Writers. 25 Apr. 2007 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mtwain.htm>.

 “Mark Twain.” 2000. Literature Network. 22 Apr. 2007 http://www.online-literature.com/twain/.