Twains Setting Mark Twain used Hannibal Missouri as

Twain’s Setting Mark Twain used Hannibal, Missouri as the setting for Tom Sawyer. Let’s explore his world.

Hannibal, Missouri n Found on the Mississippi River

Hannibal, Missouri Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain n Steamboats landed 3 times a day n His dream was to be a steamboat man on the river n

Hannibal, Missouri Lived here between the years 1839 to 1853 n Newspaper career began as an apprentice to a publisher n Do you see the white fence? Remember it! n

Inside Mr. Clemens' Home

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer n The story is not an autobiography, but Mr. Clemens’ did turn many people from his life into the characters n In the preface of the book Mr. Clemens states that Tom “is a combination of three boys whom I knew”

Main Characters n Tom Sawyer – combination of Samuel Clemens himself and two childhood friends; Mr. Clemens actually did many of the things which Tom does in the book n Huckleberry Finn – comes from the real boy named Tom Blankenship, who lived down the street from Mr. Clemens

Main Characters n Becky Thatcher – based on the young girl, Laura Hawkins, who lived across the street from Mr. Clemens; she lived her whole life in Hannibal; this is a picture of the house in Hannibal which is called “Becky Thatcher’s House”

Main Characters n Aunt Polly – based on Mr. Clemens’ own mother, Jane Clemens n Cousin Mary – Mr. Clemens’ sister Pamela Clemens n Cousin Sid – Mr. Clemens’ younger brother, Henry Clemens n Joe Harper – based on a childhood playmate, John Briggs

Main Characters n Injun Joe – legend says that this character was based on Joe Douglas who was part Indian and part African-American; Douglas was bald and wore a red wig; lived a long life and died respectably

Setting This is a picture which includes the grave stones of Mr. Clemens’ parents n This graveyard will be important! n

Setting n Mc. Dougal Cave – this is about 2 miles south of Hannibal and was well explored by children; today it is known as Mark Twain Cave n Why do you think the name was changed?

On the Mississippi n Lived in several cities along the Mississippi n When 21, lived in New Orleans n Became an apprentice to Horace Bixby, a steamboat pilot n Lived on the river for 2 years n Began signing articles with the pseudonym “Mark Twain, ” which means “two fathoms deep”

The Later Years Mr. Clemens became a famous and respected author n He traveled and lectured all over the United States n

Interesting Facts n Mr. Clemens became known for the white linen suits he would wear for lectures

The Later Years n Mr. Clemens married and had 3 children. The first died after 2 years. n He began many business adventures which failed and eventually had to file for bankruptcy because of his exuberant lifestyle n Moved to Europe and did a lecture tour n Oldest daughter died during this tour in 1896

The Later Years Wife became seriously ill and died in 1904 n Dined at the White House with President Theodore Roosevelt n Youngest daughter died in 1909 n

The Last Year n Mr. Clemens’ health rapidly deteriorated after his daughter’s death n On April 21, 1910, his heart failed and he died at the age of 74

“Go out with the Comet” Samuel Clemens was born in November 1835 when Halley’s Comet appeared in the night sky n Mr. Clemens died during the next appearance of the comet, April 1910 n Amazingly, throughout his life predicted his own death n

A Big Thank You! n All pictures in this presentation can be found in the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress