Results: Mark Twain, the "Father of American Literature"
Published on 05/19/2016
**Warning** Much reading ahead
QUESTIONS
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1.
1.
American author and humorist Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835. Which of these facts do you know about him?
He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, the Mississippi River town that served as the setting for many of his famous books.
32%
586 votes
He worked as a newspaper reporter and printer.
26%
480 votes
In his late twenties, he became a riverboat pilot, which is when he adopted his pseudonym Mark Twain, meaning "two fathoms deep"---the depth at which a riverboat may pass safely.
25%
455 votes
Late in life, Twain found the "continual sight of dark clothing" to be depressing. He adopted the white linen 3-piece suit, and to show that he had no regard for current trends, said, "I think I will call it my dontcareadam suit".
14%
247 votes
His birth happened shortly after the appearance of Halley's Comet, and he became obsessed with wanting to "go out with it, too".
15%
272 votes
He died in 1910, the day after Halley's Comet appeared.
15%
269 votes
I wasn't aware of any of these facts.
49%
891 votes
2.
2.
Below is a list of 12 of Twain's best-known works. Please mark the ones that you have ever heard of or read.
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" 1865 (tall tale)
15%
276 votes
"The Innocents Abroad" 1869 (based on his travels in Europe and the Middle East)
9%
158 votes
"Roughing It" 1872
6%
115 votes
"The Gilded Age" 1873
9%
172 votes
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" 1876
51%
929 votes
"A Tramp Abroad" 1880
9%
161 votes
"The Prince and the Pauper" 1882
41%
751 votes
"Life on the Mississippi" 1883
20%
362 votes
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" 1884
50%
904 votes
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" 1889
24%
446 votes
"The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson" 1894
9%
162 votes
"The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" 1899 (short story)
4%
71 votes
N/E---Not Educated about Twain's literary works
30%
541 votes
3.
3.
This video clip (1 minute and 47 seconds long) of Mark Twain at home was shot by Thomas Edison in 1909. Following are some of Twain's better-known statements. Which of these are familiar to you?
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
35%
645 votes
"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
14%
262 votes
"(Go to) Heaven for the climate, Hell for society."
8%
142 votes
"Man was made at the end of the week's work, when God was tired."
9%
173 votes
"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."
23%
420 votes
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native criminal class except Congress."
8%
148 votes
"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then He made school boards."
6%
117 votes
"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
25%
450 votes
"God created war so that Americans would learn geography."
6%
110 votes
"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
8%
137 votes
N/F---Not familiar with any of these quotes.
43%
788 votes
4.
4.
Hal Holbrook has made a career of impersonating Mark Twain in a one-person show. Have you ever seen (in person, on TV or youtube) any of Holbrook's show? The accompanying video is a 1 minute and 22 second clip of his 2-hour program.
Yes
17%
313 votes
No
83%
1510 votes
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