twain verse twain
...n called, Cairo. It was in the state of Ohio, which at the time was one of the free states. Many of the towns Twain described were based on his hometown and nearby towns along the Mississippi shores. “I rose up, and there was Jackson’s Island, about two miles and half down stream,” (35) and “the river road’s a rocky one, and your feet’ll be in a condition when you get to Goshen, I reckon.” (59) These are just a few quotes that show how the towns are based on really places. Jackson’s Island was just a few miles away from Hannibal, where Twain grew up. Ironically The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was arguably Twain’s best work, was set in a place that Twain tried so hard to get out of. With only a few years of schooling, Twain left home at the age of seventeen and never looked back. Twain is consistently contradicting himself throughout his novel. When Huck is staying with the Grangerfords, Twain pointed them out to be entertaining and not a serious family because they were so wealthy. “I hadn’t seen no house out in the country before that was so nice and had so much style. It didn’t have an iron latch on the front door, nor a wooden one with a buckskin string, but a brass knob to turn, the same as houses in town.”(97) Even though they have this glorious house and each family member had there own “nigger”, Twain gave the twist of the feud. The Grangerfords verses the Shepherdsons. Why did it happen? What was it about? Twain poked fun at the wealthy families by showing how they didn’t know why they were fighting. “Oh, yes, pa knows, I reckon, and some of the other old people; but they don’t know now what the row was about in the first place.” (105) By Twain making fun of the wealthy families he is only contradicting himself and his own lifestyle. Twain was a very poor child being one out of six children. He worked very hard to get out of his hometown of Hannibal and to move to his huge house in Hartford. He wrote Huck Finn after he married a wealthy woman from the east, Olivia Langdon, and was living in luxury. Twain lived the high life. He had everything he needed and ever wanted but continued to criticize the rich life style. Twain compares good verse b...