mark twain biography quiz

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• 1. Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Clemens. What was his middle name? Langhorne Wayne Pleasant John Reveal
• 2. In boating lingo, what is a “Mark Twain”? A strong headwind Two fathoms of water A Mississippi bird with a distinctive call An old steamship Reveal
• 3. How old was Twain when he had to leave school following the death of his father? 10 12 14 16 Reveal
• 4. What was Twain's first job? Journalist Carpenter Baker Printer Reveal
• 5. Which of these jobs did Twain NOT do in his lifetime? Typesetter Steamship pilot Miner Barber Reveal
• 6. Twain lost large amounts of his own and his wife's money on a failed invention. What was it? A typesetting machine A film camera A tape recorder A jukebox Reveal
• 7. Which of Twain's inventions was the only one to make money for him? An adjustable garment strap A self-pasting scrapbook A memory game A bottle opener Reveal
• 8. In 1906 Twain formed a letter-writing and social club for the teenage girls in his life. What was it called? The Glee Girls The Jumping Frog Society The Angle Fish and Aquarium Club The Hucklettes Reveal
• 9. Which of these universities has NOT given Twain an honorary degree? Yale Missouri Harvard Oxford Reveal
• 10. Which of these novels was written first? Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Tom Sawyer Abroad A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage Reveal
• 11. Twain rushed the writing of his novel Pudd'nhead Wilson. Why? He wanted to finish it before starting a world lecture tour He wanted to 'write something that will stop Americans reading that egregious Conan Doyle” He was writing it to fend off bankruptcy A petition had been submitted signed by thousands of readers impatient for a new book Reveal
• 12. Who said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”? F Scott Fitzgerald Stephenie Meyer Ernest Hemingway William Faulkner Reveal

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Mark Twain Quiz

Mark twain trivia: 22 questions to test your memory.

Updated: May 31, 2023

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Think you know everything there is to know about Mark Twain? Put your knowledge to the test with this comprehensive quiz! Featuring 22 questions on a variety of topics, it's the ultimate test of your expertise. So what are you waiting for?

What is the city or country of Mark Twain's birth?

Allegany County

When was Mark Twain born?

Oct 6, 1825, nov 28, 1845, nov 30, 1835, aug 14, 1868, what is mark twain's signature.

Which award did Mark Twain receive in 1998?

Aerospace walk of honor, member of the nevada writers hall of fame, presidential medal of freedom, africa prize for leadership for the sustainable end of hunger, which of these pictures is of mark twain.

Can you tell me where Mark Twain lives?

Ramat hasharon, american association for the advancement of science, mark twain house, anita borg institute for women and technology.

Do you know where Mark Twain lived during the time period between Jan 1, 1874 and Jan 1, 1891?

Which is the birthname of Mark Twain?

William daniel hillis, samuel langhorne clemens, henry walton jones jr., william cuthbert falkner.

On what date did Mark Twain pass away?

Apr 21, 1910, sep 22, 1959, dec 24, 1909, aug 18, 1896.

Which is a pseudonym of Mark Twain?

J walker williams, alexander hammid, sieur louis de conte.

Can you tell me the location of Mark Twain's death?

What country does Mark Twain have citizenship in?

United states of america, united kingdom.

Which of the following is married or has been married to Mark Twain?

Caroline cuthbert, ellen swallow richards, olivia langdon clemens.

Where did Mark Twain attend school?

Hopewell academy, bryn mawr college, t.m. landry college preparatory, cascadilla school (ithaca).

Which of the organization has Mark Twain been a member of?

Darwin awards, royal society of literature, american academy of arts and letters, deutsche filmakademie.

Which of the following are notable works of Mark Twain? (Select 2 answers)

The war of the worlds, adventures of huckleberry finn, the adventures of tom sawyer, the twelve chairs.

What is the location of Mark Twain's burial site?

Dry creek cemetery, pewee valley confederate cemetery, woodlawn cemetery.

Mark Twain's work genre is Historical Fiction . Is this true or false?

What was the manner of Mark Twain's passing?

Execution by firing squad, death in custody, natural causes.

Could you select Mark Twain's most well-known occupations? (Select 2 answers)

Illustrator, travel writer.

What is Mark Twain's religion or worldview?

Christian science, undenominationalism.

What was the reason for Mark Twain's passing?

Myocardial infarction, heart failure.

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Mark Twain Biography Quiz: questions and answers

Free online printable quiz with multiple-choice questions (MCQ) without registration.

What do you know about Mark Twain? Do you want to test your knowledge and learn a lot of new things? Mark Twain biography quiz  has ten questions and answers about the life of this great American writer and author of the stories about the adventures of Tom Sawyer and his friends.

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For each question choose one of the multiple answers then click done to check your results.

1.  When was Mark Twain's first novel published?

2.  how long did twain live, 3.  how many inventions did mark twain patent, 4.  which was mark twain’s last published novel, 5.  what year did twain found his own publishing company, 6.  what is the most amount of cats mark twain has owned at one time, 7.  which person did twain hang with most often, 8.  what year did thomas edison film mark twain, 9.  how long did twain spend with a confederate militia when the civil war began, 10.  what was mark twain’s natural hair color before it turned white, finished the quiz try more.

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Mark Twain Biography

15 questions

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• 1. Multiple Choice Edit 2 minutes 1 pt What was Mark Twain's original name? Huckleberry Finn William Faulkner Orion Clemens Samuel Clemens
• 2. Multiple Choice Edit 2 minutes 1 pt When was Mark Twain born? in 1835 in 1845 in 1935 in 1945
• 3. Multiple Choice Edit 2 minutes 1 pt Where was Mark Twain born? Missouri Mississippi Michigan Connecticut
• 4. Multiple Choice Edit 2 minutes 1 pt How old was Samuel, when he started working? 12 13 15 18
• 5. Multiple Choice Edit 2 minutes 1 pt His first job was … in a newspaper at a steamboat in the army in a shop
• 6. Multiple Choice Edit 2 minutes 1 pt After the war Mark Twain moved to… New York San Francisco Boston Virginia City

What does "Mark Twain" mean?

shallow water

do not cross

His first job was …

in a newspaper

at a steamboat

in the army

What was the name of his publishing firm?

Harper Collins

Dunder Mifflin

The Charles Webster Company

Pack a Piece

• 13. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt True or False: Twain was once the pilot of a steamboat. True False

Mark Twain is best known as......

America's most wanted

America's best and most influential writer

America's most well known musician

none of the above

What adjective could bet describe Mark Twain

materialistic

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(1835-1910)

Who Was Mark Twain?

Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, was the celebrated author of several novels, including two major classics of American literature: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor.

Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the tiny village of Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835, the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to nearby Hannibal, a bustling river town of 1,000 people.

John Clemens worked as a storekeeper, lawyer, judge and land speculator, dreaming of wealth but never achieving it, sometimes finding it hard to feed his family. He was an unsmiling fellow; according to one legend, young Sam never saw his father laugh.

His mother, by contrast, was a fun-loving, tenderhearted homemaker who whiled away many a winter's night for her family by telling stories. She became head of the household in 1847 when John died unexpectedly.

The Clemens family "now became almost destitute," wrote biographer Everett Emerson, and was forced into years of economic struggle — a fact that would shape the career of Twain.

Twain in Hannibal

Twain stayed in Hannibal until age 17. The town, situated on the Mississippi River, was in many ways a splendid place to grow up.

Steamboats arrived there three times a day, tooting their whistles; circuses, minstrel shows and revivalists paid visits; a decent library was available; and tradesmen such as blacksmiths and tanners practiced their entertaining crafts for all to see.

However, violence was commonplace, and young Twain witnessed much death: When he was nine years old, he saw a local man murder a cattle rancher, and at 10 he watched an enslaved person die after a white overseer struck him with a piece of iron.

Hannibal inspired several of Twain's fictional locales, including "St. Petersburg" in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. These imaginary river towns are complex places: sunlit and exuberant on the one hand, but also vipers' nests of cruelty, poverty, drunkenness, loneliness and soul-crushing boredom — all parts of Twain's boyhood experience.

Sam kept up his schooling until he was about 12 years old, when — with his father dead and the family needing a source of income — he found employment as an apprentice printer at the Hannibal Courier , which paid him with a meager ration of food. In 1851, at 15, he got a job as a printer and occasional writer and editor at the Hannibal Western Union , a little newspaper owned by his brother, Orion.

Steamboat Pilot

Twain loved his career — it was exciting, well-paying and high-status, roughly akin to flying a jetliner today. However, his service was cut short in 1861 by the outbreak of the Civil War , which halted most civilian traffic on the river.

As the Civil War began, the people of Missouri angrily split between support for the Union and the Confederate States . Twain opted for the latter, joining the Confederate Army in June 1861 but serving for only a couple of weeks until his volunteer unit disbanded.

Where, he wondered then, would he find his future? What venue would bring him both excitement and cash? His answer: the great American West.

Heading Out West

In July 1861, Twain climbed on board a stagecoach and headed for Nevada and California, where he would live for the next five years.

At first, he prospected for silver and gold, convinced that he would become the savior of his struggling family and the sharpest-dressed man in Virginia City and San Francisco. But nothing panned out, and by the middle of 1862, he was flat broke and in need of a regular job.

Twain knew his way around a newspaper office, so that September, he went to work as a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise . He churned out news stories, editorials and sketches, and along the way adopted the pen name Mark Twain — steamboat slang for 12 feet of water.

Twain became one of the best-known storytellers in the West. He honed a distinctive narrative style — friendly, funny, irreverent, often satirical and always eager to deflate the pretentious.

He got a big break in 1865, when one of his tales about life in a mining camp, "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog," was printed in newspapers and magazines around the country (the story later appeared under various titles).

'Innocents Abroad'

His next step up the ladder of success came in 1867, when he took a five-month sea cruise in the Mediterranean, writing humorously about the sights for American newspapers with an eye toward getting a book out of the trip.

In 1869, The Innocents Abroad was published, and it became a nationwide bestseller.

At 34, this handsome, red-haired, affable, canny, egocentric and ambitious journalist and traveler had become one of the most popular and famous writers in America.

Marriage to Olivia Langdon

However, Twain worried about being a Westerner. In those years, the country's cultural life was dictated by an Eastern establishment centered in New York City and Boston — a straight-laced, Victorian , moneyed group that cowed Twain.

"An indisputable and almost overwhelming sense of inferiority bounced around his psyche," wrote scholar Hamlin Hill, noting that these feelings were competing with his aggressiveness and vanity. Twain's fervent wish was to get rich, support his mother, rise socially and receive what he called "the respectful regard of a high Eastern civilization."

In February 1870, he improved his social status by marrying 24-year-old Olivia (Livy) Langdon, the daughter of a rich New York coal merchant. Writing to a friend shortly after his wedding, Twain could not believe his good luck: "I have ... the only sweetheart I have ever loved ... she is the best girl, and the sweetest, and gentlest, and the daintiest, and she is the most perfect gem of womankind."

Livy, like many people during that time, took pride in her pious, high-minded, genteel approach to life. Twain hoped that she would "reform" him, a mere humorist, from his rustic ways. The couple settled in Buffalo and later had four children.

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Mark Twain's Books

Thankfully, Twain's glorious "low-minded" Western voice broke through on occasion.

'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published in 1876, and soon thereafter he began writing a sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Writing this work, commented biographer Everett Emerson, freed Twain temporarily from the "inhibitions of the culture he had chosen to embrace."

'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'

"All modern American literature comes from one book by Twain called Huckleberry Finn ," Ernest Hemingway wrote in 1935, giving short shrift to Herman Melville and others but making an interesting point.

Hemingway's comment refers specifically to the colloquial language of Twain's masterpiece, as for perhaps the first time in America, the vivid, raw, not-so-respectable voice of the common folk was used to create great literature.

Huck Finn required years to conceptualize and write, and Twain often put it aside. In the meantime, he pursued respectability with the 1881 publication of The Prince and the Pauper , a charming novel endorsed with enthusiasm by his genteel family and friends.

'Life on the Mississippi'

In 1883 he put out Life on the Mississippi , an interesting but safe travel book. When Huck Finn finally was published in 1884, Livy gave it a chilly reception.

After that, business and writing were of equal value to Twain as he set about his cardinal task of earning a lot of money. In 1885, he triumphed as a book publisher by issuing the bestselling memoirs of former President Ulysses S. Grant , who had just died.

He lavished many hours on this and other business ventures, and was certain that his efforts would be rewarded with enormous wealth, but he never achieved the success he expected. His publishing house eventually went bankrupt.

'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'

Twain's financial failings, reminiscent in some ways of his father's, had serious consequences for his state of mind. They contributed powerfully to a growing pessimism in him, a deep-down feeling that human existence is a cosmic joke perpetrated by a chuckling God.

Another cause of his angst, perhaps, was his unconscious anger at himself for not giving undivided attention to his deepest creative instincts, which centered on his Missouri boyhood.

In 1889, Twain published A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , a science-fiction/historical novel about ancient England. His next major work, in 1894, was The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson , a somber novel that some observers described as "bitter."

He also wrote short stories, essays and several other books, including a study of Joan of Arc . Some of these later works have enduring merit, and his unfinished work The Chronicle of Young Satan has fervent admirers today.

Twain's last 15 years were filled with public honors, including degrees from Oxford and Yale . Probably the most famous American of the late 19th century, he was much photographed and applauded wherever he went.

Indeed, he was one of the most prominent celebrities in the world, traveling widely overseas, including a successful 'round-the-world lecture tour in 1895-96, undertaken to pay off his debts.

Family Struggles

But while those years were gilded with awards, they also brought him much anguish. Early in their marriage, he and Livy had lost their toddler son, Langdon, to diphtheria; in 1896, his favorite daughter, Susy, died at the age of 24 of spinal meningitis. The loss broke his heart, and adding to his grief, he was out of the country when it happened.

His youngest daughter, Jean, was diagnosed with severe epilepsy. In 1909, when she was 29 years old, Jean died of a heart attack. For many years, Twain's relationship with middle daughter Clara was distant and full of quarrels.

In June 1904, while Twain traveled, Livy died after a long illness. "The full nature of his feelings toward her is puzzling," wrote scholar R. Kent Rasmussen. "If he treasured Livy's comradeship as much as he often said, why did he spend so much time away from her?"

But absent or not, throughout 34 years of marriage, Twain had indeed loved his wife. "Wheresoever she was, there was Eden," he wrote in tribute to her.

Twain became somewhat bitter in his later years, even while projecting an amiable persona to his public. In private he demonstrated a stunning insensitivity to friends and loved ones.

"Much of the last decade of his life, he lived in hell," wrote Hamlin Hill. He wrote a fair amount but was unable to finish most of his projects. His memory faltered.

Twain suffered volcanic rages and nasty bouts of paranoia, and he experienced many periods of depressed indolence, which he tried to assuage by smoking cigars, reading in bed and playing endless hours of billiards and cards.

Twain died on April 21, 1910, at the age of 74. He was buried in Elmira, New York.

The Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut, is now a popular attraction and is designated a National Historic Landmark.

Twain is remembered as a great chronicler of American life in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Writing grand tales about Sawyer, Finn and the mighty Mississippi River, Twain explored the American soul with wit, buoyancy and a sharp eye for truth.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Mark Twain
• Birth Year: 1835
• Birth date: November 30, 1835
• Birth State: Missouri
• Birth City: Florida
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Mark Twain, the writer, adventurer and wily social critic born Samuel Clemens, wrote the novels 'Adventures of Tom Sawyer' and 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’
• Writing and Publishing
• Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
• Death Year: 1910
• Death date: April 21, 1910
• Death State: Connecticut
• Death City: Redding
• Death Country: United States

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Mark Twain Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/mark-twain
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: March 31, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other 364.
• Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessaries.
• New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls, and humbug resolutions.
• The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them.
• I'd rather have my ignorance than another man's knowledge, because I've got so much more of it.
• Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.
• Do not put off 'til tomorrow what can be put off 'til day-after-tomorrow just as well.
• In order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain.
• 'Classic'—a book which people praise and don't read.
• When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.
• Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
• We can't reach old age by another man's road. My habits protect my life, but would assassinate you.
• Be good and you will be lonesome.

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Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens Nov. 30, 1835 in the small town of Florida, MO, and raised in Hannibal, became one of the greatest American authors of all time. Known for his sharp wit and pithy commentary on society, politics, and the human condition, his many essays and novels, including the American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , are a testament to his intelligence and insight. Using humor and satire to soften the edges of his keen observations and critiques, he revealed in his writing some of the injustices and absurdities of society and human existence, his own included. He was a humorist, writer, publisher, entrepreneur, lecturer, iconic celebrity (who always wore white at his lectures), political satirist, and social progressive .

He died on April 21, 1910 when Halley’s Comet was again visible in the night sky, as lore would have it, just as it had been when he was born 75 years earlier. Wryly and presciently, Twain had said, “I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.”  Twain died of a heart attack one day after the Comet appeared its brightest in 1910.

A complex, idiosyncratic person, he never liked to be introduced by someone else when lecturing, preferring instead to introduce himself as he did when beginning the following lecture, “Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands” in 1866:

“Ladies and gentlemen: The next lecture in this course will be delivered this evening, by Samuel L. Clemens, a gentleman whose high character and unimpeachable integrity are only equalled by his comeliness of person and grace of manner. And I am the man! I was obliged to excuse the chairman from introducing me, because he never compliments anybody and I knew I could do it just as well.”

Twain was  a complicated mixture of southern boy and western ruffian striving to fit into elite Yankee culture. He wrote in his speech, Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims,1881 :

“I am a border-ruffian from the State of Missouri. I am a Connecticut Yankee by adoption. In me, you have Missouri morals, Connecticut culture; this, gentlemen, is the combination which makes the perfect man.”

Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri had a lasting influence on Twain, and working as a steamboat captain for several years before the Civil War was one of his greatest pleasures. While riding the steamboat he would observe the many passengers, learning much about their character and affect. His time working as a miner and a journalist in Nevada and California during the 1860s introduced him to the rough and tumble ways of the west, which is where, Feb. 3, 1863, he first used the pen name, Mark Twain, when writing one of his humorous essays for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise in Nevada.

Mark Twain was a riverboat term that means two fathoms, the point at which it is safe for the boat to navigate the waters. It seems that when Samuel Clemens adopted this pen name he also adopted another persona - a persona that represented the outspoken commoner, poking fun at the aristocrats in power, while Samuel Clemens, himself, strove to be one of them.

Twain got his first big break as a writer in 1865 with an article about life in a mining camp, called Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog , also called The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County . It was very favorably received and printed in newspapers and magazines all over the country. From there he received other jobs, sent to Hawaii, and then to Europe and the Holy Land as a travel writer. Out of these travels he wrote the book, The Innocents Abroad , in 1869, which became a bestseller. His books and essays were generally so well-regarded that he started lecturing and promoting them, becoming popular both as a writer and a speaker.

When he married Olivia Langdon in 1870, he married into a wealthy family from Elmira, New York and moved east to Buffalo, NY and then to Hartford, CT where he collaborated with the Hartford Courant Publisher to co-write The Gilded Age, a satirical novel about greed and corruption among the wealthy after the Civil War. Ironically, this was also the society to which he aspired and gained entry. But Twain had his share of losses, too - loss of fortune investing in failed inventions (and failing to invest in successful ones such as Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone ), and the deaths of people he loved, such as his younger brother in a riverboat accident, for which he felt responsible, and several of his children and his beloved wife.

Although Twain survived, thrived, and made a living out of humor, his humor was borne out of sorrow, a complicated view of life, an understanding of life’s contradictions, cruelties, and absurdities.  As he once said, “ There is no laughter in heaven .” 

Mark Twain’s style of humor was wry, pointed, memorable, and delivered in a slow drawl. Twain’s humor carried on the tradition of humor of the Southwest, consisting of tall tales, myths, and frontier sketches, informed by his experiences growing up in Hannibal, MO, as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, and as a gold miner and journalist in Nevada and California.

In 1863 Mark Twain attended in Nevada the lecture of Artemus Ward (pseudonym of Charles Farrar Browne,1834-1867), one of America’s best-known humorists of the 19th century. They became friends, and Twain learned much from him about how to make people laugh. Twain believed that how a story was told was what made it funny  - repetition, pauses, and an air of naivety.

In his essay How to Tell a Story Twain says, “There are several kinds of stories, but only one difficult kind—the humorous. I will talk mainly about that one.” He describes what makes a story funny, and what distinguishes the American story from that of the English or French; namely that the American story is humorous, the English is comic, and the French is witty.

He explains how they differ:

“The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter. The humorous story may be spun out to great length, and may wander around as much as it pleases, and arrive nowhere in particular; but the comic and witty stories must be brief and end with a point. The humorous story bubbles gently along, the others burst. The humorous story is strictly a work of art, — high and delicate art, — and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of telling a humorous story —- understand, I mean by word of mouth, not print — was created in America, and has remained at home.”

Other important characteristics of a good humorous story, according to Twain, include the following:

• A humorous story is told gravely, as though there is nothing funny about it.
• The story is told wanderingly and the point is “slurred.”
• A “studied remark” is made as if without even knowing it, “as if one were thinking aloud.”
• The pause: “The pause is an exceedingly important feature in any kind of story, and a frequently recurring feature, too. It is a dainty thing, and delicate, and also uncertain and treacherous; for it must be exactly the right length--no more and no less—or it fails of its purpose and makes trouble. If the pause is too short the impressive point is passed, and the audience have had time to divine that a surprise is intended—and then you can't surprise them, of course.”

Twain believed in telling a story in an understated way, almost as if he was letting his audience in on a secret. He cites a story, The Wounded Soldier , as an example and to explain the difference in the different manners of storytelling, explaining that:

 “The American would conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it…. the American tells it in a ‘rambling and disjointed’ fashion and pretends that he does not know that it is funny at all,” whereas “The European ‘tells you beforehand that it is one of the funniest things he has ever heard, then tells it with eager delight, and is the first person to laugh when he gets through.” ….”All of which,” Mark Twain sadly comments, “is very depressing, and makes one want to renounce joking and lead a better life.”

Twain’s folksy, irreverent, understated style of humor, use of vernacular language, and seemingly forgetful rambling prose and strategic pauses drew his audience in, making them seem smarter than he. His intelligent satirical wit, impeccable timing, and ability to subtly poke fun at both himself and the elite made him accessible to a wide audience, and made him one of the most successful comedians of his time and one that has had a lasting influence on future comics and humorists.

Humor was absolutely essential to Mark Twain, helping him navigate life just as he learned to navigate the Mississippi when a young man, reading the depths and nuances of the human condition like he learned to see the subtleties and complexities of the river beneath its surface. He learned to create humor out of confusion and absurdity, bringing laughter into the lives of others as well. He once said, “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

MARK TWAIN PRIZE

Twain was much admired during his lifetime and recognized as an American icon. A  prize created in his honor, The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the nation’s top comedy honor, has been given annually since 1998 to “people who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best known as Mark Twain.” Previous recipients of the prize have included some of the most notable humorists of our time. The 2017 prizewinner is David Letterman, who according to Dave Itzkoff, New York Times writer , “Like Mark Twain …distinguished himself as a cockeyed, deadpan observer of American behavior and, later in life, for his prodigious and distinctive facial hair. Now the two satirists share a further connection.”

One can only wonder what remarks Mark Twain would make today about our government, ourselves, and the absurdities of our world. But undoubtedly they would be insightful and humorous to help us “stand against the assault” and perhaps even give us pause.

RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING

• Burns, Ken , Ken Burns Mark Twain Part I, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-x_k7zrPUw
• Burns, Ken , Ken Burns Mark Twain Part II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1arrRQJkA28
• Mark Twain , http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/index.php/about/biography/
• Mark Twain , history.com , http://www.history.com/topics/mark-twain
• Railton, Stephen and University of Virginia Library, Mark Twain In His Times , http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/about/mtabout.html
• Mark Twain’s Interactive Scrapbook, PBS, http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/index.html
• Mark Twain’s America , IMAX,, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0WioOn8Tkw (Video)
• Middlekauff, Robert, Mark Twain’s Humor - With Examples , https://amphilsoc.org/sites/default/files/proceedings/150305.pdf
• Moss, Walter, Mark Twain’s Progressive and Prophetic Political Humor, http://hollywoodprogressive.com/mark-twain/
• The Mark Twain House and Museum , https://www.marktwainhouse.org/man/biography_main.php

For Teachers :

• Learn More About Mark Twain , PBS, http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/learnmore/index.html
• Lesson 1: Mark Twain and American Humor, National Endowment for the Humanities, https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/mark-twain-and-american-humor#sect-introduction
• Lesson Plan | Mark Twain and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor , WGBH, PBS, https://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/773460a8-d817-4fbd-9c1e-15656712348e/lesson-plan-mark-twain-and-the-mark-twain-prize-for-american-humor/#.WT2Y_DMfn-Y
• Mark Twain's Feel for Language and Locale Brings His Stories to Life
• The Story of Samuel Clemens as "Mark Twain"
• A Closer Look at "A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain
• Mark Twain's Colloquial Prose Style
• Reading Quiz: 'Two Ways of Seeing a River' by Mark Twain
• Mark Twain's Views on Enslavement
• The Meaning of the Pseudonym Mark Twain
• Quotes from Mark Twain, Master of Sarcasm
• Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays
• What Were Mark Twain's Inventions?
• Two Ways of Seeing a River
• A Photo Tour of the Mark Twain House in Connecticut
• Mark Twain & Death
• A Fable by Mark Twain
• 'Life on the Mississippi' Quotes
• Who's the Real Huckleberry Finn?

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

By mark twain, the celebrated jumping frog of calaveras county quiz.

• 1 In an alternate title for the story, what adjective was used to describe the “Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”? Fabulous Notable Fantastic Notorious
• 2 The story is based upon a storytelling tradition in the American west called a Urban Legend Medicine Show Whopper Tall Tale
• 3 The story was published the year this war ended World War I World War II American Civil War War of Independence
• 4 Which region of the United States is the narrator from? The south The midwest The east coast The west coast
• 5 What city is the story set in? Los Angeles Angel's Camp San Francisco Sacramento
• 6 The story takes place in a Gold mine Tavern Dance hall Swamp
• 7 Which character was in the original title? Dan’l Webster Leonidas W. Smiley Simon Wheeler Jim Smiley
• 8 Which region of the United States is Jim Smiley from? The south The east coast The west coast The midwest
• 9 Simon Wheeler speaks in Vernacular A foreign accent Educated diction Queen’s English
• 10 Which character was named after a former U.S. president? Andrew Jackson Simon Wheeler Dan’l Webster Leonidas W. Smiley
• 11 The climax of the story is about a Death Dance Fight Contest
• 12 What did the stranger put in Dan’l Webster’s mouth? Quail shot Beer Rocks Flies
• 13 Calaveras County is an example of: Assonance Anapest Alliteration Allegory
• 14 Which animal is NOT mentioned in the story? Horse Cow Dog Duck
• 15 How many strangers to town are there in the story? Four Three One Two
• 16 What does the word p'ints mean in the story? Pines Points Pintos Pints
• 17 Who was Dan'l Webster named after? an outlaw a president a cowboy a former Secretary of State
• 18 What is “the fifteen-minute nag”? A gambler A horse A frog An elderly woman
• 19 What kind of contest is featured in the story? Running Arm-wrestling Three-legged Race Jumping
• 20 How much money did Jim Smiley bet on Dan'l Webster? $40 4¢ $4 $400
• 21 When was the story set? 1870/71 1801/1802 1864/1865 1849/1850
• 22 What was happening historically in California when the story was set? A huge earthquake in San Francisco California was part of Mexico The Gold Rush The first Spanish mission was built
• 23 Jim Smiley bet often. Did he usually win? 50/50 Yes Hard to tell No
• 24 What did Smiley say he would “risk two- and-a-half” on? Parson Walker’s wife was unfaithful Parson Walker’s wife would lose a fight Parson Walker’s wife would die Parson Walker’s wife would win a race
• 25 Why did the narrator call on Simon Wheeler? To inquire after a friend’s friend To collect a debt To place a bet To hear a good story

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What was the narrators way of speaking?

The narrator uses an educated man’s vocabulary and is excessively polite, with a wry, formal, somewhat condescending tone.

Find three examples of exaggeration in the story

1) "..... he would go to work and bore me nearly to death with some infernal reminiscence of him as long and tedious as it should be useless to me. If that was the design, it certainly succeeded."

2) "If he even seen a straddle-bug start to go...

Which of the following best describes the setting in (paragraph 2) for mark twains The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

D- A miner's camp in the West

Study Guide for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County study guide contains a biography of Mark Twain, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain.

• Vernacular Realism in Twain Works
• Out Tricked: Humor in The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Lesson Plan for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

• Introduction
• Publication history
• Plot summary
• Translations
• Adaptations

Mark Twain Quiz

Mark Twain Quiz Questions

1) What was Mark Twain’s real name? a) Eric Arthur Blair b) Michael Marian Morrison c) James Hadley Chase d) Samuel Langhorne Clemens

2) Where was Mark Twain born? a) Miami, Florida b) Florida, Missouri c) Sacramento, California d) Austin, Texas

3) When did Mark Twain become a licensed river pilot? a) 1839 b) 1844 c) 1858 d) 1870

4) Mark Twain is a river term. What does it mean? a) Likely to rain b) Waterfall ahead c) Storm is brewing d) Safe to navigate

5) As a river term how deep is Mark Twain? a) One fathom (6 feet) b) Two fathoms (12 feet) c) Three fathoms (18 feet) d) Four fathoms (24 feet)

6) Which newspaper in Virginia City was edited by Mark Twain? a) Sun b) Territorial Enterprise c) National Herald d) Star

7) Which story first brought fame to Mark Twain? a) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn b) The Innocents Abroad c) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County d) David Copperfield

8) Which of the following books was written by Mark Twain? a) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer b) Full Moon c) The Great Gatsby d) Oliver Twist

9) Who changes places with a pauper in The Prince and the Pauper ? a) Edward III b) Edward VI c) Charles II d) George IV

10) Who wrote “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…”? a) Aldous Huxley b) Julian Huxley c) P. G. Wodehouse d) Ernest Hemingway

Mark Twain Quiz Questions with Answers

1) What was Mark Twain’s real name? d) Samuel Langhorne Clemens

2) Where was Mark Twain born? b) Florida , Missouri

3) When did Mark Twain become a licensed river pilot? c) 1858

4) Mark Twain is a river term. What does it mean? d) Safe to navigate

5) As a river term how deep is Mark Twain? b) Two fathoms (12 feet)

6) Which newspaper in Virginia City was edited by Mark Twain? b) Territorial Enterprise

7) Which story first brought fame to Mark Twain? c) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County

8) Which of the following books was written by Mark Twain? a) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

9) Who changes places with a pauper in The Prince and the Pauper? b) Edward VI

10) Who wrote “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn…”? d) Ernest Hemingway

• Truman Capote Quiz
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• Peter Benchley Quiz
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• Edgar Lawrence Doctorow Quiz

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• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Literature Notes
• Mark Twain Biography
• Book Summary
• About The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Chapters 4-5
• Chapters 6-8
• Chapters 9-11
• Chapters 13-14
• Chapters 15-16
• Chapters 17-18
• Chapters 19-20
• Chapters 23-24
• Chapters 25-26
• Chapters 27-28
• Chapters 29-30
• Chapters 31-32
• Chapters 33-34
• Character Analysis
• Becky Thatcher
• Character Map
• Critical Essays
• Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn: A Study in Contrasts
• Tom Sawyer : The Movie, the Musical, and the Novel
• Full Glossary for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Personal Background

Mark Twain (a.k.a., Samuel Longhorne Clemens) was born in the little town of Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835, shortly after his family had moved there from Tennessee. When Twain was about four, his family moved again, this time to Hannibal, Missouri, a small town of about five hundred people.

Twain's father was a lawyer by profession but was only mildly successful. He was, however, highly intelligent and a stern disciplinarian. Twain's mother, a southern belle in her youth, had a natural sense of humor, was emotional, and was known to be particularly fond of animals and unfortunate human beings. Although the family was not wealthy, Twain apparently had a happy and secure childhood.

Early Career

Twain's father died when Twain was twelve years old and, for the next ten years, Twain was an apprentice printer and then a printer both in Hannibal and in New York City. Hoping to find his fortune, he conceived a wild scheme of making a fortune in South America. On a riverboat to New Orleans, he met a famous riverboat pilot who promised to teach him the trade for five hundred dollars. After completing his training, Twain piloted riverboats along the Mississippi for four years. During this time, he became familiar with the towns along the mighty River and became acquainted with the characters who would later inhabit many of his novels, especially Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

When the Civil War began, Twain's allegiance tended to be Southern due to his Southern heritage, and he briefly served in the Confederate militia. Twain's brother Orion convinced him to go west on an expedition, a trip which became the subject matter of a later work, Roughing It .

Writing Career

Even though some of his letters and accounts of traveling had been published, Twain actually launched his literary career with the short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," published in 1865. This story brought him national attention, and Twain devoted the major portion of the rest of his life to literary endeavors. In addition to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , some of Twain's most popular and widely read works include novels such as The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Life on the Mississippi (1883), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889), and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), as well as collections of short stories and essays, such as The 1,000,000 Bank-Note and Other Stories (1893), The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Essays (1900), and What Is Man? (1906).

Mark Twain, one of America's first and foremost realists and humanists, was born in 1835 during the appearance of Haley's Comet, and he died during the next appearance of Haley's Comet, 75 years later.

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