Born and raised in Missouri when slavery was practiced openly both domestically and as a means of production in parts of the United States, much of his well-known written work reflects the cadence of Missourian lifestyles during that time. Some of that work has long been challenged, censored and banned under certain circumstances due to its politically challenging nature and offense to the sense of modern humanity. Racial content reflected in Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" for example, has been determined by some as too uncomfortable to be appropriate for students.
Twain freely traveled often, and made his possible contributions to the world around him. Formal education had been cut short for him after his father's death at Twain's age eleven, when those around him still knew him as Samuel Clemens. Young Samuel gained employment instead, but was able to remain close to his talents and interests through work. He gained further education via public libraries in his spare time. Knowledge gained as well from a lifetime of travel (during a time of slow news and locally-curbed information) lent a great deal of perspective to his own unique brand of storytelling.
The particular experiences met by Samuel Clemens in a developing world ultimately led to his legendary status as a U.S. native, writer and author of valuable, telling, and impressionable works-- writings that collectively cast a reflective eye on human conduct in that world. Notably, Mark Twain's writing continues to echo memories of a younger nation, unified-yet-separate, as its inhabitants lived and toiled.
