Mark Twain

19 Pages 4717 Words

ark Twain’s two major works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and it’s sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he develops and displays his humoristic abilities by concealing within them deeper meanings, ultimately producing a satire of the region and society in which he lived.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was written in 1876 and it’s sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in 1884. The time difference between the two novels is significant. Within the eight year span, Twain’s feelings changed, and his gift for satire became more acute. The observable increase in the deeper meanings of the second novel show evidence to this fact. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is more commonly considered a book for younger readers, as opposed to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is considered one of the greatest novels in history because it conceals so well Twain’s opinions within what is seemingly child’s book.
It was Time and it’s partner Age that led Twain to change his views, and these views were expressed through his characters. Huck Finn said, for example: “All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was a change.”
It was Twain’s nature to write about where he lived, and his nature to criticize it if he felt it necessary. When the public made this task difficult, he was forced to develop different means of concealment for his satires, his main one being humor. That is one reason why Twain is widely regarded as one of the most entertaining authors of all time, he appeals to many different types of people, of all ages and backgrounds.
Due to his regionalistic tendencies, it is necessary to describe Mark Twain’s background. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri in 1835. At the age of four he moved to a town called Hannibal, a Mississippi River port that was to become a large influence on his future writing. 1 In perhaps his greatest novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin...