Classic Tales

Even when I was in grade school, I have been an avid visitor of the place a minority of students like: the library. I studied in a private school so as expected, it is worth every penny my parents paid. I was in grade two when I began to read classic books. The titles Little Women, The Secret Garden, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol, Last of the Mohicans, Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, Call of the Wild, Black Beauty, Kidnapped,  were familiar to me. I mostly read them inside the library and borrow them for a week. At a young age, I don't care when some words required me to consult a dictionary. For as long as the book is hard bound, has clean pages and illustrations, then, I can read it for my own leisure. 

I entered high school where some classic books where required to read to submit a book review. Eventually, I read Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Pride and Prejudice,Wuthering Heights, and the thick ones like Les Miserables and The Count of Monte Cristo. 

But if there's one book that I really enjoyed reading, that would be The Adventures of Tom Sawyer*. Tom Sawyer was a mischievous boy who lived with his Aunt Polly in the Mississippi River town. Because he was involved in a fight, he was forced to whitewash the fence as punishment. After then, more incidents happened displaying his mischief and wit. 

The author of the book is Samuel Clemens who used Mark Twain as his pen name. Out of curiosity, I researched about the author and his works. His book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was actually based on his youth in Hannibal. Because of his talent, wit and satire, he earned the title "the greatest American humorist of his age". As a writer, he published thirty books and more than hundreds of short stories, essays, and speeches.

A lot of biography were written for the literary icon, Mark Twain [1835-1910]. His early years and life near the river (Mississippi), his marriage and family, his travels, even his love for science (he was good friends with Nicola Tesla) were printed and published. 

In New York city, it has been claimed that a tour is given to the places he formerly visited nearing his birthday yearly. 

To you Mister Twain, (and with Google's doodle), 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

Thank you for being an inspiration. :)

Google.com, Nov 30, 2011

 "Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not the absence of fear." - Mark Twain

References:

Merriman, C.D. 2006. Mark Twain. Retrieved November 29, 2011 from http://www.online-literature.com  /twain/.

Railton, Stephen. 1996. Mark Twain in His Times. Retrieved November 29, 2011 from http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/index2.html.

The Official Website of Mark Twain. (n.d). Retrieved November 29, 2011 from http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/bio.htm.

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* I also read the sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Its controversy led me to read it differently. It is indeed a Great American Novel.