FATHER OF

AMERICAN
LITERATURE: MARK
TWAIN

Prepared by:
Janeth M. Ordonio
MARK TWAIN
 MARK TWAIN

• Occupation: Author
• Born: November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri
• Died: April 21, 1920 in Redding, Connecticut
• Best Known for: Writing the books The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn
WHERE DID MARK TWAIN GROW UP?

• Samuel Langhorne Clemens

• He was born in Florida, Missouri
• He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri
• He dreamt of becoming
a steamboat pilot
• Sixth of seven children
 EARLY CAREER

• At the age of 11, Samuel's father died.

• He went to work as an apprentice for a printer.
 A STEAMBOAT PILOT

• At the age of 21, he decided to pursue his dream.

• He took two years of hard work and study.
HEADING WEST
• Samuel moved out west.
• He earned a living writing for
newspapers.
• He soon began writing short
stories.
• The Celebrated Jumping Frog
of Calaveras County.
 WHERE DID THE NAME MARK
TWAIN COME FROM?
• It comes from a term used on steamboats.
FAMOUS
BOOKS
 LATER LIFE
• Twain's love for adventure
and risk got him into
financial problem later in
life.

• In order to pay the bills, he

traveled around the world.
 DEATH
• Mark Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MARK
TWAIN

• Twain married Olivia

Landon in 1870.

• He joined a Confederate militia

for two weeks at the start of the
Civil War, but quit before he
had to fight.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MARK
TWAIN

• He was a strong supporter of putting an end to slavery.

He also supported women's rights and suffrage.

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is sometimes referred

to as “The Great American Novel.”

• He claimed to have foreseen his brother's death in a

dream a month before his brother died.
 To Jennie
Good-bye! a kind of good-bye.
I bid you now, my friend,
And thought 'tis sad to speak the word.
To destiny I bend.

And though it be decreed by Fate

That we ne'er meet again,
Your image, graven on my heart,
Forever shall remain.
Aye, in my heart thoult have a place ,
Among the friends held dear, --
Nor shall the hand of Time efface
The memories written there.

Goodbye,
S.L.C.
1O GENERIC
QUESTIONS
 WHO IS TALKING?
The author is the one who is speaking in the
poem. It uses the first person point of view.
TO WHOM IS THE SPEAKER
TALKING?
Throughout the whole poem he talks about friendship and
how they will never meet again.
 DRAMATIC CONTEXT
It is the shift of tone from sad to love to reassuring. The
narrator is telling Jennie that he won't forget her, and will still
love her.
 WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE
POEM?
• FIRST STANZA

Good-bye! a kind of good-bye,

I bid you now, my friend,
And though 'tis sad to speak the word,
To destiny I bend
 WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE
POEM?
• SECOND STANZA

And though it be decreed by Fate

That we ne'er meet again,
Your image, graven on my heart,
Forever shall remain.
 WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE
POEM?
• THIRD STANZA

Aye, in my heart thoult have a place,

Among the friends held hear,--
Nor shall the hand of Time efface
The memories written there.
 WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE
POEM?
• LAST STANZA

Goodbye,
S.L.C.
 WHAT MOTIVATES THE SPEAKER TO
SPEAK NOW, IN THE TONE HE USES?

The author was motivated by the value of true

friendship. Once the bond of friendship has been
strongly established, it can withstand innumerable
difficulties. Distance cannot wreck the bonds between
two friends.
HOW DOES THE LANGUAGE OF LITERARY
PIECE CONTRIBUTE TO ITS MEANING?

The first three stanzas are constructed of

four lines but, one sentence. It is also a
poem that is dressed like a letter.
 HOW IS THE POEM
ORGANIZED?
The poem To Jennie by Mark Twain is
written by a form of EPISTLE. It has a
rhyme scheme ABCBDFEFGHGIJ. The
rhythm mostly six and eight syllables.
 To Jennie
Good-bye! a kind good-bye. A
I bid you now, my friend, B
And thought 'tis sad to speak the word. C
To destiny I bend. B

And though it be decreed by Fate D

That we ne'er meeet again, F
Your image, graven on my heart, E
Forever shall remain. F

Aye, in my heart thoult have a place , G

Among the friends held dear, -- H
Nor shall the hand of Time efface G
The memories written there. I

Goodbye, J
S.L.C.
 DO PATTERNS OF RHYME AND RHYTHM
CONTRIBUTE TO THE MEANING AND EFFECT
OF THE POEM?

Yes, they did. As the author used epistolary

technique to reveal and contruct his heartfelt
message and affection for his friend.
WHAT THEMES DOES THE POEM
CONTAIN?

The theme could be about leaving someone

behind, but preserving the memory of them in
your mind and never truly letting go.
 WHAT IS YOUR INITIAL
RESPONSE?
While Clemens' works can evoke both laughter and
tears , his ultimate goal was to make every reader smile
even in the darkest of times, Clemens wanted everyone
to know that no matter what they would always have a
friend, Mark Twain.