Often the environment and culture surrounding a writer will affect the styles and subjects of literature in any certain era (Local Color). William D. Howels, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Greenleaf Whittier, and James Russell Lowell are such writers who were under this influence. However, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was not only under this influence but he wrote according to his current surroundings. Clemens was an observer, viewing the world through his eyes alone but with an unique endowed and profound sense of understanding. Clemens deep personal senses of right and wrong, time and place which he gained from his uncanny ability to see the world around him. Whatever the event, natural, supernatural or man made, often became a topic for serious discussion with friends while playing billiards and material for one of his stories (Time Line). Some subjects that were features in Clemens novels were social injustices and social criticism; and his views on government.

"The rain...falls upon the just and the unjust alike; a thing which would not happened if I were superintending the rains affairs. No, I would rain

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a scathing social satire disguised as a young boy's adventure. During the course of Huck's trip down river with the runaway slave, Jim, Huck encounters the hypocrisy, greed, and cruelty of a 'civilized' society" (World Authors 1493). "I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before" (Huckleberry 15). This popular quote is an example of how Clemens criticized the human race and society.

softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him" (World Literature 3721).

Scholars recognize in Clemens a man divided in outlook between comic and tragic perceptions of existence (World Literature 3713). "Through his career he looked back yearningly to the Mississippi, finding in his memories spiritual rejuvenation and inspiration. At the same time he was skeptical about the wisdom of humanity and the possibility of progress in human society. His longing for an idealized past as a haven from an increasingly hostile present is evident in most of his major works of fiction" (World Literature 3713). As a result, Clemens' "work offers a compelling vision of the American frontier. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, for example, the Mississippi River exemplifies the frontier. Allowing Huck to escape the moral and social strictures of civilization. Huck confronted by the awesome power and beauty of nature, develops an awareness of the importance of such simple values as courage, honesty, and common sense" (World Literature 3714).

"There is a phrase which has grown so common in the world's mouth that it has come to seem to have sense and meaning - the sense and meaning implied when it is used: that is a phr

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Approximate Word count = 1240
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)