Mark+Twain+Movie

I think that it's really cool how Mark Twain was a world- renouned traveler before airplanes were invented. This thought fascinates me because it was a lot hard and more costly to travel almost anywhere. That part was pretty cool. I don't understand why Twain changed his name while writing books. Samuel Clemens is a pretty good name, so why change it? It's also cool how he worked so many jobs. The fact that he traveled the world and had so many different jobs made his stories so much more realistic and better. I believe that his mother influenced him the most in his writing because in the movie we watched, they said that his mom was one of the happier people in the house when he was growing up and he got a lot of inspiration from her. I also believe that the deaths of his two siblings and the places that he went when he was a little kid also affected his writing and his stories. Slavery also affected him on a more personal level because he grew up around them all his life and was taught that slavery was ok. Bieng a printer's apprentice, I believe, probably influenced his love for writing the most. I'm glad that we watched this short documentary because I always like to learn about authors before I read their works. It helps me understand where they are coming from. 1204934913

I didnt really get wat the movie was talking about but i think that it is prety cool how he has so many things in his life that are happening that make him discover this new way of writting. And i also thought that its cool how he used Mark twain as his name for publishing everything which means in the river lenguage that there is a deep side and the boat is in complete safety. I also agree with ewe that his mom did a very good job raising him and influencing all his literature and maybe sometimes in life we just need a nice person to come to our lifes to show us of how much happiness there is in the world. Happyness is important because there are many people doing crazy things in life just because they cant fufill their dreams or because there are people that are mean to them and if we examine some things i think that if the people taht have killed innocent people in a school or other public place if they had someone that cared about them and talked to them about always doing the right thing. His mom is a person that i think mark twain admired the most and loved the most. I have heard that his books and writtings are amazing and by watching this documentry i can see were he is getting most ideas from and how the world around him affects his writting and all his feelings. 1204943213hre

I thought it was cool how improtant river boat captins are to the US. And how they make as much money as the vice president. If also sounded like they needed to be very smart since he said they need to memerise every part of the river and were to turn and it is to shallow. But it was a dangorous job too. His brother died because the boat blew up. They weren't very stable boats. Numerous lives depend on the captin knowing how to ko his job right. I think that the was one of the most important men of that time. 1205009856

I really was interested in Twains life style. The movie explained how he was always writing poems, articles and journals. Thats very inspiring for kids who thrive to become writers. I think that shows alot of motivation and drive for Mark Twain. I remember, in grade school we read a lot of Twains work. I really like him as a person and as a writer. It's also cool that Mark Twain wasn't his REAL name, what a cool name to pick though, huh? I also think his mom helped him accomplish alot. Kids are always a reflection of their parents. His mom was probably his main motivater and supporter. 1205028426

I find the Mark Twain movie very interesting. If you have read any of his books, you can see that his own lifestyle and childhood are expressed through the characters and settings of the story, yet it is not about him. I also agree with the student above me: I knew Mark Twain was a pen name, but it is a very interesting choice, and I didn't know that it came from him being a steamboat captain. Even though Mark Twain was a funny man, he still had very serious problems in his younger years, like siblings dying, his dad not being financially stable, and moving all over the country several times, doing all different kinds of jobs. It gives me more respect for him, and makes his opinion of the country at that time more accurate in my eyes. Before this movie, "Mark Twain" was just another name on some famous books, but now that I know more about who he really was and what he had to go through, I respect him a lot more than before. 1205103188

I actually wanted to pay attention to this movie when we were told that it focused on Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. Right when it began I found it interesting because I noticed how he made sarcastic jokes which I found cool because back in that time I always pictured people to be dull and very proper. The part that threw me off was how Mark Twain got his pen name. I knew that it wasn't his real name but I never knew how he chose it. turned out it was a steamboat term that meant 12 feet deep water, which meant it was "safe". Also if it werent for the movie I would never have guessed that Mark Twain originally worked with steamboats, and that was his life dream to be a captain. I saw him as a writer. That's it. Another part that I found interesting was when they were talking about Twain growing up. How he first heard story telling from his uncle's slaves. Its cool to think how what he grew up hearing ended up transfering into his writing style for many of his stories. Also it was no shock to me to find out that Twain had worked with his brothers printing press. You could tell that the many materials that he got read also ended up transfering into his writing because he used god vocabulary. I think that the printing press also had a big influence on Twain because that how he learned to read in a sense and he got so much information because he got ahold of so many different sources. 1205113094

Mark twain is one sweet dude. He is totally the Will Ferrell of the 19th century. Had i have been alive i would have been his biggest fan. This guy led a pretty sweet life. He just kind of did what he wanted to. His life of traveling is cool but it was also stupid. He had a good job sailing steamboats, this was quite a high paying job as Twain noted that he "made us much as the vice president of the united states." He gave this up to pursue his passion to travel the world, this left him penniless, when he could have been home making the big bucks. I love Twain's stories because he is so sarcastic that he makes you feel like he could almost take over the world with his ridiculous comments. I like reading his stories and i am excited for this topic. mme

Mme, he didn't give up the steamboats just to travel. He had no choice. The Civil War forced all steamboat traffic on the Mississippi to stop. So ... the job left him.1205238033

I think that the movie was quite informational. I mean it has basically tolld the wholle life of a pretty active guy. Where he was born his brothers and his family. I covered how he lived in the perfect chilfhood place, where he had a friend that would make a cat call and call him out the window to go do what kids to after bedtime. That is where writers...good writers get their stories, where they live. They may not have directly encountered the story, but someone could have told them there encounter and he could have filled in the rest. I mean how could you make up a story about a guy wwho likes to bet so muchh he trained a frog to jump. When he grew up Twain had always wanted to be a steamboat driver, like the rest of the professions kids want to be, but this one was real. He took a steamboat ride and convinced the captain to take him on as an apprentice which he did, and that is where he got his new name. "Quarter Twain, half twain, mark twain..." were words you heard from the "Depth Guy" who would tell the driver the depth of the water and if you were in a quarter twain you were in very shallow, half twain you shgould start looking out, and mark twain you were good. After the Civil War stopped pretty much all steamboat action "Mark" moved to San Fransisco to be a gol miner where he terribly failed. after the minig business pretty much crashed, he wwent to be an editor for a local newspaper where he wrote little shorts. When he was fired from the job he had no money and had extreme thoughts of killing himself. He actually got to the point of putting a gun to his head. Hope did come when he borrowed money so he could have a lecture. which turned out to be a hit where he made somewhere around 400 dollars. "Mark twain" had a pretty exciting life before he wrote the frog and smil story, which kicked off his career and the rest is history

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I also thought it was cool how significant river boat captains are to the U.S.A. Also I found it a little humorous how they made as much money as the vice president of the U.S. I thought that it was kind of cool how that these river boat captains needed to be really intelligent and had to commit to memory where the river turned and how shallow the waters were and where they were at all times. Plus it was a dangerous job too. His brother is dead because the boat blew up, how did it even blow up? It’s a steam boat. They must have been very unstable boats. Hundreds of lives are dependant on these captains knowing their job completely. I think this is one of the most hazardous, complicated, and significant jobs back in the day. 1205358462

Mark Twain is a pretty sweet guy. He lived a very exciting life. I thought it was sweet that he changed is name after the deepness of the water. If thats not cool than i dont no what is. Mark twain to have to be forced to leave his job because of the civil war. Now it must of been a cool thing to travel on his own around the country. But before all this happened is life was ruff his dad was financially unstable and with is brother dying in the boat explosion. When he made probably the coolest house in the world and forced to leave because of money problems to become as successful as he was must have been tuff.I believe that his mother influenced him the most in his writing because in the movie we watched, they said that his mom was one of the happier people in the house when he was growing up and he got a lot of inspiration from her. I also believe that the deaths of his two siblings and the places that he went when he was a little kid also affected his writing and his stories. Just to over come all of his problems and be as successful as he was makes him such a good person.1205369362

I also really like this movie. I think that it has a perfect way of taking the true facts of his life but making it into almost a story. Also I loved how they included his sarcastic jokes in the movie but it was like you weren't sure if they actually were jokes or not because the way they were incorporated it made it seem like he was totally serious. One of my favorite stories or part of this movie is when they told how Samuel Clemmens got his writing name of Mark Twain. When he was working on the steamboats they had to measure how deep the water was to make sure it was safe to go through. One of the measurements was 'Mark Twain'. So he just decided to take on that name. Another thing I found interesting was that he took the people from his own childhood such as himself, his friends, and even his family and he put this into one of his most famous books: Tom Sawyer. He also used a real setting of where he grew up. It was like he wrote a really fun autobiography but just of when he was a kid. I think that this is a really good movie and im actually glad were watching it! 1205370534

To be completely honest, most of the movies that we watch in class bore me. Yet, this movie is very interesting and is continuously intriguing. I think that it is fascinating because to know that someone could start a lifestyle that is so unfortunate and sad and to truly define themselves so promnently is really inspiring. Mark Twain changed his name, moved, even remarried. I think it's really cool to know that he was a funny erson even though he had so any serious and depressng things going on in his life such as the death of his son which he blamed on himself. I have he utmost amount of repect for Twain because he gave his famliy a good lifestyle and maintained a balance with his writing. I really liked the fact that he was so moved by the slavewoman's life story because it shos that even though he was so famous, he still had the heart to listen to her and even write a story on her. Mark Twain all around was such a great writer, family man, and individual. 1205371216 --- I concur with Gke. I think being the boat captain of a steam boat played a significant role in Mark Twain's career. As the captain, he was able to travel around the nation and observe the nature very close. This close relationship with nature helped him later on as a writer because he could relate his thoughts to the way of nature. Also, being a captain, he must have been under some heavy pressure which gave him the habit of blaming things happening around him to himself. Overall, the movie helped me understand Mark Twain and his writings and his ideas. 1205372068

i like this movie because i think it's interesting to see how Mark Twain lived his life before becoming famous as a writer. Its interesting to see that his greatest works are based of the town he grew up in. And it is also interesting to see the town that is the setting for one of the Great American stories we have heard about our whole lives. i love to see how the world around an author affects how he writes and thinks about things. Mark Twain's life has definitely affected how he writes and what he writes about. His home town gave him great material, his stretch as a steam boat captain gave him his great attention to detail (not to mention the greatest pen name ever, Mark Twain). And everything else in his life affected how he looked at situations and wrote about them. this movie shows me that and i find it interesting. Im happy to admit i am enjoying it. 1205376055

So, today as we watched more of the Mark Twain movie, it showed me how Twain went through a lot of turmoil throughout this life. Like, how he met his wife who had difficulties giving birth which resulted int he death of 2 of their babies.This must've effective Twain's writing on an emotional level, giving him time to think more about the negative aspects of life instead of humor. And, it seems as if once his other daughters were born, he became the most happiest person alive. He read to his children with passion which could've even influenced them to take up this occupation in the near future. The movie also stated how Twain had an anger problem and wound up being quite selfish at times. Taking his writing more seriously then his own family. Even though no negative aspects of his life show through his work, it's disturbing and sad knowing how much pain Twain put himself through.1205383765

I personally thought that the movie was great because it was filled with many intereesting facts that gave us more informatino about the life of Mark Twain. I also liked how it revealed to us when he started referring to his work with the name Mark Twain. Instead of using his real name. That really left me puzzled as to why he did that. But I think it was because of the fact that he wanted to start over and didnt want people to view him from the name that he allready went by. But instead forget about that name, and use a new one with no history behind it. 1205426135

i am enjoying this movie. mark twain had a very interesing life. he has done so many differnt things that it must have helped his wrighting alot. i also think that he and his wife were verry storg with all the delt with, like the death of their children and almost loseing their home. i also think that mark twain was verry strong to begin with in his life with all the moving around he did and not really bing with his family or anyone he really new. i also thought it was cool how he came up with the name mark twain with the whole boating thing and all. i think it really helped him express who he wanted him self to be safe but almost alittle dangerus at times. 1205448718

I really liked this movie also it was not as boring as the other movies that we have watched previously. This man was very active throughout his whole life and the movie was very entertaining. I personally liked this movie because i like to gamble not as much as this man but just little things like a slot machines. This man was very andimarble he new what things came first in his life. He took care of his family by building a huge house for them, and when he realized he could not afford it he went back to what he didnt want to do ever again. As a kid he seemed just as active and he just knew how to be a kid and that is great. He liked people for who they really are not who their parents were and if i was a kid back then i would have looked up to this guy. Him and his wife were meant for eachother and i cannot beleive his dad let them get married after seeing his friends. [[user:sSi2|1205459506]

It seemed kind of neat to me how this man did a little bit of everything. He changed his name a lot, he traveled, he lectured, he wrote, he worked on the boat for a while. It just seems to me like Mark Twain lived his life how he wanted with few worries. Sometimes he did have to do things he didn't want to like go back to lecturing to support his family but it was something he was good at and willing to do because of how important his family was to him. Twain lived an interesting life and did things some people wish they could do but aren't really willing to risk something for. Mark Twain knew there was a chance that his writing wouldn't catch on and he could be a dud but he took the chance anyway. Just from the movie I can tell the impact that Mark Twain had and I agree that it makes him very admirable.1205465576