In the compact town of Florida, Missouri, Samuel Longhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835 making him the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. Mark Twain’s father was employed as a storekeeper, lawyer, judge and land speculator, constantly striving for wealth and support for himself and his family.
Growing up with great despair and financial struggles, Twain was exposed to extreme loneliness, poverty and alcoholism within his household and town. In 1847, Twain’s father died unexpectedly, making his benevolent mother the head of the household with no source of income.
Because of this great tragedy, Mark Twain was only educated until the age of 12 and was forced to become employed as an “apprentice printer at the Hannibal Courier” where he composed numerous sketches and articles. This job birthed his adoration and passion for writing, eventually leading to his famous literary works.

Mark Twain's most notable literary works are "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" which was published in 1884 and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," published in 1876. The novels both demonstrate the hardships and struggles Twain encountered during his younger years of boyhood, including the prejudice and racist concept of slavery. Surprisingly, Mark Twain never received any form of award or acknowledgement for any of his literary works.

An excerpt from Mark Twain's illustrious, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," distinctly represents the heavy issue of racism as Huck Finn declares how "Human beings can be awful[ly] cruel to one another" (239).
In addition to consequential quotes, Twain also includes the importance of childhood and freedom within his novel, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." As the protagonist within the novel describes his point of view towards the world, "Tom [says] to himself that it was not such a hollow world after all" (152).

Personally, I was amazed at the fact that Twain never received any form of recognition towards any of his literary works, especially with how his novels are repeatedly and universally read among numerous scholars each year. Twain’s novels exemplified his childhood conflicts throughout most of his astonishing and best-selling novels. Because Twain lived through a cruel time period that involved slavery and racism, he distinctly illustrates the vivid issues throughout his literary works, creating a lucid picture for the readers.

Astonishingly, traumatic experiences can occasionally benefit ones future. As previously stated, Mark Twain’s father abruptly died, causing poverty and panic within the Clemson household. Furthermore, this incident forced Twain to work, eventually leading him to writing newspaper articles, which arose his love for writing and becoming notorious because of it.

Without the passing of Twain’s father at such a young age, Twain possibly could have never been intrigued with writing or could have never transformed and developed into one of the greatest authors in American Literature.