Mark Twain
| Mark Twain | |
|---|---|
| File:Mark Twain photo portrait, Feb 7, 1871, cropped Repair.jpg | |
| Mark Twain, detail of photo by Mathew Brady 7 February 1871 | |
| Pen name | Mark Twain |
| Occupation | Writer, lecturer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Fiction, historical fiction, children's literature, non-fiction, travel literature, satire, essay, philosophical literature, social commentary, literary criticism |
| Notable work(s) | Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
| Spouse(s) | Olivia Langdon Clemens (1870–1904) |
| Children | Langdon, Susy, Clara, Jean |
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (b. 30 November 1835 in Florida, Missouri; d. 21 April 1910 in Redding, Connecticut), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). The latter book, despite being anti-slavery and depicting Blacks positively, is today often criticized for use of perceived racial stereotypes. Wikipedia lists the Black Jim character as a "Magical Negro".
Life
A plan for the improvement of spelling in the English language
- For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.
- Generally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeiniing voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x"— bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez —tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivili.
- Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.
About Jews
In 1898, he wrote the essay Concerning The Jews, Wikipedia has a misleading article on the essay, not mentioning aspects such as Twain's view that anti-Semitism was caused by factors such as large Jewish influence. In 1899, Twain joked that after reading in the Encyclopaedia Britannica that there was 250,000 Jews in America, he was compelled to write to its editor, claiming he knew, personally, more than 250,000 American Jews. He suggested 250,000 was a misprint for 25,000,000.