Lesson6MarkTwain-MirrorofAmericaAdditionalbackgroundmaterialMarkTwainwasthepennameofSamuelLanghorneClemens(1835-1910),America’smostfamoushumoristandtheauthorofpopularandoutstandingautobiographicalworks,travelbooksandnovels.Thefirst36yearsofClemens’lifeasaboyinalittletowninMissouri,

Lesson9MarkTwain-MirrorofAmericaasasteamboatpilotontheMississippi,asareporteronthefarwesternfrontierandasatravelerabroadsuppliedhimwithcopiousmaterialwhichheusedlaterforhisbestandmostsuccessfulwritings.Amonghiswell-knownworksareTheAdventuresofTomSawyer(1876),andTheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn(1884).

Lesson9MarkTwain-MirrorofAmericaDetailedstudyofthetext1.MirrorofAmerica:Mirrormeansapersonwhogivesatruerepresentationordescriptionofthecountry.Allliterarygiantsinhumanhistoryarealsogreathistorians,thinkersandphilosophersinasense.Theirworksoftenrevealmoretruththanmanypoliticalessaysputtogether,andtheirnamesusuallylivein

Lesson9MarkTwain-MirrorofAmericapeople’smemory.MarkTwainwasoneofthesegiants,andhislifeandworksareamirroroftheAmericaofhistime.2.MostAmericansrememberMarkTwain…:MarkTwainisknowntomostAmericansastheauthorofthetwobooks,whicharegenerallyacknowledgedtobehisgreatestworks.Fatherheremeanstheauthororthe

themanwhocreatedthesetwounforgettablecharacters.3.HuckFinn’sidyllic…:HuckFinn’ssimpleandpleasantjourneythroughhisboyhoodwhichseemseternal.Eternalisahyperbole;HuckFinnisthe“eternalboy”immortalized.4.TomSawyer’sendless…:endlessisalsoahyperbole;itparallelsthewordeternal.Summer,becausealltheadventuresofTom

Sawyerdescribedinthebookaresupposedtohavetakenplaceinoneparticularsummer.5.asadventurous,patriotic,…:adventurous:MarkTwainwasadventurous