Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835. Clemons grew up in a town called Hannibal, Missouri. Here, Sam Clemens saw a wide range of different people pass through his town. People such as gamblers, artists, thieves, and even slave traders who influenced his childhood memories. We see traces of his rugged hometown, deeply rooted in Southern tradition. Clemens was known as a mischievous boy who smoked, led a prankster team, and often played games at the high school. At the age of twelve, Clemens dropped out of school after the death of his father. He then accepted a job as a printer where he learned to write. Clemens constructed poems, reports and humorous sketches. Although young Samuel did not have an education, he gained knowledge by living and experiencing the hustle and bustle of a river town. Clemens later became a riverboat pilot, continuing his desire to travel. While on the river, Samuel's pseudonym became the one we all know today, Mark Twain. Term that riverboat engineers used to describe the depth of water the boat traveled. Twain's humorous writing style was influenced by his years as a local newspaper editor. A diary saturated with jokes and anecdotes. Twain's remarkable youth was peppered with experiences ranging from newspaper printer, reporter, newsman and editor, riverboat pilot, Confederate Army soldier, and gold prospector. Samuel Clemens' adventurous childhood and nomadic lifestyle helped inspire the character formations found in two of his greatest writings, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. In a brief overview of Twain's work we can see the extent of experiences that.... ... middle of paper ......thus was seen as having a negative outlook, is still best remembered for him for his humor. He uses exaggerated comedy to attack the selfishness and overly prideful views he has seen in society. The charm of Mark Twain was that he presented these problems in the form of stories in a typically American language, instead of imitating English writers. He used the rhythms and dialect of his native people to make the characters more accessible so that everyone could wonder about their own community. and yourself. Twain transformed elements of his past into literary expression and helped a nation gain greater self-esteem. Works cited by Hemingway, Ernest and Edward Shenton. The green hills of Africa. New York: Scribner, 1935. Print. Powers, Ron. Mark Twain: A Life. New York: Free Press, 2005. Print.Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Champaign, IL: Project Gutenberg, 199. Print.