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Archive 1 | ← | Archive 4 | Archive 5 | Archive 6 | Archive 7 | Archive 8 |
This seems to be a very confusing literary style similar to random jumps between the pronouns "he" & "she" because the author is trying to please two groups but instead creates whiplash grammer. Clemens deserves impeccable language and the article should completely use "Clemens", keeping the note about how his idea for later pen name came about.
Hello, as I recall Mark Twain once said a pretty detailed and pretty nice quote on India's butts. I understand that maybe not everything is going to be an article but if anyone is famiilar wwith what he said on India, i think it belongs in this article, maybe in the section of his views then. Because the aritcle wasd pretty detailed. And was a pretty nice opinion. I think it should be in the article.
I don't see a whole lot about Mark Twain and Joan of Arc. Please consider adding a link to this page http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_mark_twain.asp — Preceding unsigned comment added by Politicalpoet ( talk • contribs) 16:59, 12 January 2011 (UTC)
dashjafiodshgfouishg';oif The religion section is a bit clumsy in its attempt to discuss the complexity of Twain's (no doubt evolving) religious ideals (or the lack thereof). It begins with a sentence stating that Twain was a Presbyterian and implying that this is his basic religious beliefs; that is, it acknowledges his critique of religion, but does so in a way that renders those critiques secondary to his Christian foundations. Likewise, further in the section it claims that "despite" his criticisms he raised money to build a church. I am sure this is true but the phrasing is odd in that it once again presupposes that his criticisms are of lesser concern than his money raising. This is particularly troubling as he raises this money in the 1860's, prior to his gaining fame and much prior to his increasing criticism of Christianity and religion in general. Thus, his building the church says little about his religious ideals later in life. Once again, I do not doubt the factual nature of these claims, but they as stated do come across as a POV attempt to cast Twain as a fundamentally Christian man. Instead, I think this would be better if it more clearly delineated a timeline of Twain's changing thoughts on religion, showing that there is evidence of some religious conviction by him early in his life, but that as he aged this lessened to the point where his writings suggest he alternated between some form of vague deism and outright atheism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.217.208 ( talk) 19:46, 28 January 2011 (UTC)
The article itself needs to leave it at what he said and did and what events happened that could have affected him.
</nowiki><opinion>His religious convictions were tested by the death of his wife and all but one of his children, old age, and turn-of-the-century Christian imperialism. He at least despised organized religion. Losing so many loved ones made it hard to believe in a benevolent and personal God. He never mentions an afterlife. </opinion> --
Javaweb (
talk)
21:46, 28 January 2011 (UTC)Javaweb
The idea that atheists can't view religion with humor is patently absurd and demonstrably false. However, I can agree that I was going too far in specifically labeling him "atheist" and/or "deist" without documentation. Javaweb is correct that we need to limit our treatment of Twain to the facts of his life and writings. My main complaint, and I admit it didn't come across well in my original post, is that the overall rhetorical flow and organization of the Religion section (in particular, the few interjections noted above) comes across as a POV attempt to assert that despite his often radically anti-religious statements, Twain was really, fundamentally Christian. I believe the section could be better organized and phrased to better demonstrate the evolution and complexity of Twain's religious beliefs (or the lack thereof). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.217.208 ( talk) 18:06, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
Seriously, though, all debates about how religious Twain was aside, the religion section is terribly written, and needs to be thoroughly revised. As is, each paragraph is unfocused and reads like multiple authors trying to one up each other with divergent opinions on his religiosity. As a result it is a confusing read wherein we are repeatedly told "Twain is really religious, but really he's not, but really he is." Moreover, parts of the section are just absurd; for instance, in response to some of his more heretical statements later in life we are given the fact that 50 years prior he donated money to a church. I'm not saying that such a donation is necessarily un-noteworthy (though in this case it probably is), but as stated within the overall structure of the article it comes across as his "real" position, undermining his later skepticism, despite the fact that the two are separated by decades. The timeline of his religious evolution could be more clearly stated, and the very real scholarly debate over the nature and significance of Twain's changing religious views could be more neutrally displayed, rather than coming across as a simple "he said, she said" debate within the article that only makes it more confusing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.217.208 ( talk) 06:27, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
I know there's a limit to how long a Wikipedia article can be, but the following needs correction/clarification/expansion: "His own experiences and suffering of his family made him particularly critical of "faith healing," such as espoused by Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science." First, Christian Science is not faith healing. Mrs Eddy specifically warned her students about the bad effects of faith healing, particularly when it was based on faith in the healer. God is the healing agent, not human faith. Second, Twain absolutely detested MBE, probably because she was something rare and strange in 19th-century America -- a powerful woman. Oddly, his views about Christian Science were nowhere nearly as vicious. I don't have the source, but he said something to the effect that, if healing were possible 2,000 years ago, why shouldn't it be possible today? (He was being serious, not ironic, I believe.) WilliamSommerwerck ( talk) 15:32, 4 September 2012 (UTC)
Grand Central Terminal VS Grand Central Station — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mattsky ( talk • contribs) 18:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)
This page makes reference to 'Grand Central Station'
Under 'Friendship with Henry H. Rogers' it says:
"A month later, Twain was en route from Connecticut to visit his friend in New York City when Rogers died suddenly on May 20, 1909. Twain arrived at Grand Central Station to be met by his daughter with the news."
The words 'Grand Central Station' are a link that takes you to the Wiki page for Grand Central Terminal
That link tells us that:
Grand Central Terminal (GCT) — often incorrectly called Grand Central Station
Although the terminal has been properly called "Grand Central Terminal" since 1913, many people continue to refer to it as "Grand Central Station." "Grand Central Station" is the name of the nearby post office,...
I assume that they met at the train station, Grand Central Terminal and not the post office, Grand Central Station considering the sentence says he was 'en route'. Mattsky ( talk) 17:59, 7 February 2011 (UTC)
Mark Twain, you and your tie are beast. Just saying.
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There is an sentence with a bad use of Language Arts: He smoked pipes constantly, and Susan Crane did not want him to in her house anymore. It should be: He smoked pipes constantly, and Susan Crane did not want him to enter her house anymore. It also says: All of the Clemens family are buried in Elmira's Woodlawn Cemetary. Cemetary should be spelled Cemetery.
68.89.131.205 ( talk) 13:53, 1 May 2011 (CT)
Done. Fixed! Thanks for your note.
Binksternet (
talk)
19:54, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
"Twain was opposed to vivisection as the word was understood by him in 1899 (the meaning of this word has been subject to change over time)." What is the source for the meaning of the word "vivisection" changing since 1899? The wikipedia article on vivisection does not mention any such change in meaning. Vivisection is surgery on live animals for scientific research purposes. What did it mean in 1899? I move to strike that part. - JefiKnight ( talk) 02:15, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
what is controversial about Mark Twain? 50.9.109.170 ( talk) 09:51, 15 July 2011 (UTC)
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"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a wrong title: the correct title has no "The".
Yougeeaw (
talk)
20:59, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
Interestingly enough, both are correct. The book was first published in London (for copyright purposes), and that true first edition was entitled "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", with the other title appearing on the U.S. first. The books may be seen at: https://staging.airflowsciences.com/rkn/Twain/3400-3449/3414/index.html and https://staging.airflowsciences.com/rkn/Twain/3400-3449/3415/index.html Rknasc ( talk) 05:13, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
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Change http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/scrapbook/index.html to be http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/scrapbook/04_trouble/index.html
My reasoning: - The original page does not mention the quote in question ("The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco"). - There is no easy way to search pbs.org for the exact page. - It took me 5 minutes to go through each of the pages of the scrapbook to find the reference to the quote. - It would save others the same 5 minutes.
ReferenceMan ( talk) 17:50, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
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68.56.65.208 ( talk) 00:52, 18 September 2011 (UTC)
Hello ! One section says his father was in commerce, the other says he was a lawyer, so which is correct ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Degourdon ( talk • contribs) 01:41, 22 October 2011 (UTC)
Yes, although true (he was both at various times), I cleared it up a bit. The proper place for a full exegesis on his father's career should be on his dad's page. Twain was born into a well-read, but certainly not rich, family. Codwiki ( talk) 13:55, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
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Hello,
Please include this link for further reading. It offers a perspective regarding contemporary debates on changing the use language in Huckleberry Finn.
http://diverseeducation.com/blogpost/329/
Pam.felder ( talk) 02:56, 10 November 2011 (UTC)
The conversion of $300,000 to today's worth has a 2 million dollar difference between this page and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paige_Compositor. Also, since money is a changing thing, and wikipedia has no 'publishing date', it would be prudent to say something along the lines of "$x,xxx,xxx as of [Month] [Year]". Haven't got the time to do it myself at the moment, sorry. G2sean ( talk) 06:55, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
It will eventually be archived at http://www.google.com/logos/logos11-4.html once 2012 begins. 11 --> 2011, 4 --> Oct-December (4th quarter of year) -- Javaweb ( talk) 11:12, 30 November 2011 (UTC)Javaweb
In the Section Financial Troubles, it describes the Paige typesetting machine as being "a beautifully engineered mechanical marvel, but prone to breakdown." This sentence needs to be replaced, removed,or rephrased. A few other sentences have a similar feel, such as "he worked hard to pay his creditors in full". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.233.31.37 ( talk) 17:07, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
Are you sure that it was Faulkner who called Mark Twain "the father of American literature"? So far I have always been informed that it was Hemingway who called him so. If you are right, Hemingway would just have parroted Faulkner. And if so, this would be a sincere charge of Hemingway. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.250.239.29 ( talk) 12:58, 31 December 2011 (UTC)
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In the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn section of this article, Ernest Hemingway is misquoted. The article currently reads "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain, called Huckleberry Finn." This should read "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn."
Moltofichi ( talk) 22:10, 4 January 2012 (UTC)
The last two sentences in the second paragraph of the section entitled "Early Life" feel out of place to me.
"Twain was born two weeks after the closest approach to Earth of Halley's Comet. On December 4, 1985, the United States Postal Service issued a stamped envelope for "Mark Twain and Halley's Comet."[7]"
These should be either put in a different section of the article or removed.
Oweng4000 (
talk)
17:25, 25 January 2012 (UTC)
I don't think you understood what I was talking about. This is in a section that talks about how he was one of the few Clemens to survive to adulthood. Regardless, I think the USPS part should be in the pop culture section. Oweng4000 ( talk) 14:01, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
The thing about the stamps is non trivial? Oweng4000 ( talk) 22:05, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
{{edit semi-protected}} I just noticed there's no mention of Clemens's residence in Muscatine, Iowa, evidently for a period of weeks in 1854 or 1855. Obviously this factoid can't be added on my say-so alone, but the source I most quickly quickly cite is a newspaper article I myself wrote a decade ago—for the same newspaper where young Clemens worked for brother Orion, then the co-owner with John Mahin. According to Muscatine's Twain expert Max Churchill: "Sam came from St. Louis on the packet Keokuk in 1854." See http://muscatinejournal.com/betwixt-and-be-twain/article_f16c1d51-4fa9-5748-bc42-2e94a7ffeb29.html. A more recent editorial in the Muscatine Journal says: "he lived in Muscatine during part of the summer of 1855." It also says: "From Dec. 16, 1853 through March 15, 1855, he published eight stories in the Muscatine newspaper - a total of about 5,800 words." http://muscatinejournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/columns/journal-editorial-that-other-famous-muscatine-resident/article_7bfb22ae-222d-11df-a6de-001cc4c03286.html. I leave the particulars to scholars, but I assure you Iowans will be grateful for this Wikipedia mention. I'm posting on the run and trusting the experts will get it right. If necessary, I can help dig up other sources. Thanks for your attention! 66.207.7.144 ( talk) 14:10, 26 January 2012 (UTC)Daniel G. Clark (Jan. 26, 2012)
66.207.7.144 ( talk) 14:10, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
A lot of people don't know it, but Mark Twain was once a young man. In fact he wrote most of his best stuff before he was 55. On the other hand most of our pictures are of him in a white suit with white hair, pretty much following the Hal Holbrook stereotype. I'd guess the stereotype first developed as photography and printing improved about 1900, allowing the first real mass distribution of his photos when Twain was in his last feeble years. (Pretty much the same stereotype is applied to Leo Tolstoy as well) Twain was a very vigorous writer. His voice was not that of an old man, so I'd appreciate it if folks don't keep on putting in the feeble old pix and stick with a picture of the real man in all his vigor. Smallbones ( talk) 04:11, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
Anybody object to moving Friendship with Henry H. Rogers to just after Financial troubles? It seems rather out of place, stuck between Writing and Views. Clarityfiend ( talk) 22:36, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
From watching the panel discussion at the Tucson Book Festival, it's clear that Twain's treatment of his secretary, Isabel, was actively tamped down by Twain's official biographer. There is now a book out called Mark Twain's Other Woman: The Hidden Story of His Final Years the claims of which, I believe, deserve mention in this article. L H M 05:53, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
Suggest adding to this section the honors of LL.D. from Yale University, 1901, LL.D. from University of Missouri, 1902, and D.Litt. from Oxford, London, 1907. MR2David ( talk) 07:55, 13 May 2012 (UTC)
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Please link "robber baron" to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_(industrialist)
I had no idea what a robber baron was and first thought of a misspelling (e.g. rubber baron or something). 178.191.126.203 ( talk) 19:21, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
Please link mention of this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Connecticut_Yankee_in_King_Arthur's_Court — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.148.149.236 ( talk) 12:55, 12 July 2012 (UTC)
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | ← | Archive 4 | Archive 5 | Archive 6 | Archive 7 | Archive 8 |
This seems to be a very confusing literary style similar to random jumps between the pronouns "he" & "she" because the author is trying to please two groups but instead creates whiplash grammer. Clemens deserves impeccable language and the article should completely use "Clemens", keeping the note about how his idea for later pen name came about.
Hello, as I recall Mark Twain once said a pretty detailed and pretty nice quote on India's butts. I understand that maybe not everything is going to be an article but if anyone is famiilar wwith what he said on India, i think it belongs in this article, maybe in the section of his views then. Because the aritcle wasd pretty detailed. And was a pretty nice opinion. I think it should be in the article.
I don't see a whole lot about Mark Twain and Joan of Arc. Please consider adding a link to this page http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_mark_twain.asp — Preceding unsigned comment added by Politicalpoet ( talk • contribs) 16:59, 12 January 2011 (UTC)
dashjafiodshgfouishg';oif The religion section is a bit clumsy in its attempt to discuss the complexity of Twain's (no doubt evolving) religious ideals (or the lack thereof). It begins with a sentence stating that Twain was a Presbyterian and implying that this is his basic religious beliefs; that is, it acknowledges his critique of religion, but does so in a way that renders those critiques secondary to his Christian foundations. Likewise, further in the section it claims that "despite" his criticisms he raised money to build a church. I am sure this is true but the phrasing is odd in that it once again presupposes that his criticisms are of lesser concern than his money raising. This is particularly troubling as he raises this money in the 1860's, prior to his gaining fame and much prior to his increasing criticism of Christianity and religion in general. Thus, his building the church says little about his religious ideals later in life. Once again, I do not doubt the factual nature of these claims, but they as stated do come across as a POV attempt to cast Twain as a fundamentally Christian man. Instead, I think this would be better if it more clearly delineated a timeline of Twain's changing thoughts on religion, showing that there is evidence of some religious conviction by him early in his life, but that as he aged this lessened to the point where his writings suggest he alternated between some form of vague deism and outright atheism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.217.208 ( talk) 19:46, 28 January 2011 (UTC)
The article itself needs to leave it at what he said and did and what events happened that could have affected him.
</nowiki><opinion>His religious convictions were tested by the death of his wife and all but one of his children, old age, and turn-of-the-century Christian imperialism. He at least despised organized religion. Losing so many loved ones made it hard to believe in a benevolent and personal God. He never mentions an afterlife. </opinion> --
Javaweb (
talk)
21:46, 28 January 2011 (UTC)Javaweb
The idea that atheists can't view religion with humor is patently absurd and demonstrably false. However, I can agree that I was going too far in specifically labeling him "atheist" and/or "deist" without documentation. Javaweb is correct that we need to limit our treatment of Twain to the facts of his life and writings. My main complaint, and I admit it didn't come across well in my original post, is that the overall rhetorical flow and organization of the Religion section (in particular, the few interjections noted above) comes across as a POV attempt to assert that despite his often radically anti-religious statements, Twain was really, fundamentally Christian. I believe the section could be better organized and phrased to better demonstrate the evolution and complexity of Twain's religious beliefs (or the lack thereof). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.217.208 ( talk) 18:06, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
Seriously, though, all debates about how religious Twain was aside, the religion section is terribly written, and needs to be thoroughly revised. As is, each paragraph is unfocused and reads like multiple authors trying to one up each other with divergent opinions on his religiosity. As a result it is a confusing read wherein we are repeatedly told "Twain is really religious, but really he's not, but really he is." Moreover, parts of the section are just absurd; for instance, in response to some of his more heretical statements later in life we are given the fact that 50 years prior he donated money to a church. I'm not saying that such a donation is necessarily un-noteworthy (though in this case it probably is), but as stated within the overall structure of the article it comes across as his "real" position, undermining his later skepticism, despite the fact that the two are separated by decades. The timeline of his religious evolution could be more clearly stated, and the very real scholarly debate over the nature and significance of Twain's changing religious views could be more neutrally displayed, rather than coming across as a simple "he said, she said" debate within the article that only makes it more confusing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.191.217.208 ( talk) 06:27, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
I know there's a limit to how long a Wikipedia article can be, but the following needs correction/clarification/expansion: "His own experiences and suffering of his family made him particularly critical of "faith healing," such as espoused by Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science." First, Christian Science is not faith healing. Mrs Eddy specifically warned her students about the bad effects of faith healing, particularly when it was based on faith in the healer. God is the healing agent, not human faith. Second, Twain absolutely detested MBE, probably because she was something rare and strange in 19th-century America -- a powerful woman. Oddly, his views about Christian Science were nowhere nearly as vicious. I don't have the source, but he said something to the effect that, if healing were possible 2,000 years ago, why shouldn't it be possible today? (He was being serious, not ironic, I believe.) WilliamSommerwerck ( talk) 15:32, 4 September 2012 (UTC)
Grand Central Terminal VS Grand Central Station — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mattsky ( talk • contribs) 18:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)
This page makes reference to 'Grand Central Station'
Under 'Friendship with Henry H. Rogers' it says:
"A month later, Twain was en route from Connecticut to visit his friend in New York City when Rogers died suddenly on May 20, 1909. Twain arrived at Grand Central Station to be met by his daughter with the news."
The words 'Grand Central Station' are a link that takes you to the Wiki page for Grand Central Terminal
That link tells us that:
Grand Central Terminal (GCT) — often incorrectly called Grand Central Station
Although the terminal has been properly called "Grand Central Terminal" since 1913, many people continue to refer to it as "Grand Central Station." "Grand Central Station" is the name of the nearby post office,...
I assume that they met at the train station, Grand Central Terminal and not the post office, Grand Central Station considering the sentence says he was 'en route'. Mattsky ( talk) 17:59, 7 February 2011 (UTC)
Mark Twain, you and your tie are beast. Just saying.
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There is an sentence with a bad use of Language Arts: He smoked pipes constantly, and Susan Crane did not want him to in her house anymore. It should be: He smoked pipes constantly, and Susan Crane did not want him to enter her house anymore. It also says: All of the Clemens family are buried in Elmira's Woodlawn Cemetary. Cemetary should be spelled Cemetery.
68.89.131.205 ( talk) 13:53, 1 May 2011 (CT)
Done. Fixed! Thanks for your note.
Binksternet (
talk)
19:54, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
"Twain was opposed to vivisection as the word was understood by him in 1899 (the meaning of this word has been subject to change over time)." What is the source for the meaning of the word "vivisection" changing since 1899? The wikipedia article on vivisection does not mention any such change in meaning. Vivisection is surgery on live animals for scientific research purposes. What did it mean in 1899? I move to strike that part. - JefiKnight ( talk) 02:15, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
what is controversial about Mark Twain? 50.9.109.170 ( talk) 09:51, 15 July 2011 (UTC)
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"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a wrong title: the correct title has no "The".
Yougeeaw (
talk)
20:59, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
Interestingly enough, both are correct. The book was first published in London (for copyright purposes), and that true first edition was entitled "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", with the other title appearing on the U.S. first. The books may be seen at: https://staging.airflowsciences.com/rkn/Twain/3400-3449/3414/index.html and https://staging.airflowsciences.com/rkn/Twain/3400-3449/3415/index.html Rknasc ( talk) 05:13, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
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Change http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/scrapbook/index.html to be http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/scrapbook/04_trouble/index.html
My reasoning: - The original page does not mention the quote in question ("The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco"). - There is no easy way to search pbs.org for the exact page. - It took me 5 minutes to go through each of the pages of the scrapbook to find the reference to the quote. - It would save others the same 5 minutes.
ReferenceMan ( talk) 17:50, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
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68.56.65.208 ( talk) 00:52, 18 September 2011 (UTC)
Hello ! One section says his father was in commerce, the other says he was a lawyer, so which is correct ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Degourdon ( talk • contribs) 01:41, 22 October 2011 (UTC)
Yes, although true (he was both at various times), I cleared it up a bit. The proper place for a full exegesis on his father's career should be on his dad's page. Twain was born into a well-read, but certainly not rich, family. Codwiki ( talk) 13:55, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
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Hello,
Please include this link for further reading. It offers a perspective regarding contemporary debates on changing the use language in Huckleberry Finn.
http://diverseeducation.com/blogpost/329/
Pam.felder ( talk) 02:56, 10 November 2011 (UTC)
The conversion of $300,000 to today's worth has a 2 million dollar difference between this page and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paige_Compositor. Also, since money is a changing thing, and wikipedia has no 'publishing date', it would be prudent to say something along the lines of "$x,xxx,xxx as of [Month] [Year]". Haven't got the time to do it myself at the moment, sorry. G2sean ( talk) 06:55, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
It will eventually be archived at http://www.google.com/logos/logos11-4.html once 2012 begins. 11 --> 2011, 4 --> Oct-December (4th quarter of year) -- Javaweb ( talk) 11:12, 30 November 2011 (UTC)Javaweb
In the Section Financial Troubles, it describes the Paige typesetting machine as being "a beautifully engineered mechanical marvel, but prone to breakdown." This sentence needs to be replaced, removed,or rephrased. A few other sentences have a similar feel, such as "he worked hard to pay his creditors in full". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.233.31.37 ( talk) 17:07, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
Are you sure that it was Faulkner who called Mark Twain "the father of American literature"? So far I have always been informed that it was Hemingway who called him so. If you are right, Hemingway would just have parroted Faulkner. And if so, this would be a sincere charge of Hemingway. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.250.239.29 ( talk) 12:58, 31 December 2011 (UTC)
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In the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn section of this article, Ernest Hemingway is misquoted. The article currently reads "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain, called Huckleberry Finn." This should read "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn."
Moltofichi ( talk) 22:10, 4 January 2012 (UTC)
The last two sentences in the second paragraph of the section entitled "Early Life" feel out of place to me.
"Twain was born two weeks after the closest approach to Earth of Halley's Comet. On December 4, 1985, the United States Postal Service issued a stamped envelope for "Mark Twain and Halley's Comet."[7]"
These should be either put in a different section of the article or removed.
Oweng4000 (
talk)
17:25, 25 January 2012 (UTC)
I don't think you understood what I was talking about. This is in a section that talks about how he was one of the few Clemens to survive to adulthood. Regardless, I think the USPS part should be in the pop culture section. Oweng4000 ( talk) 14:01, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
The thing about the stamps is non trivial? Oweng4000 ( talk) 22:05, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
{{edit semi-protected}} I just noticed there's no mention of Clemens's residence in Muscatine, Iowa, evidently for a period of weeks in 1854 or 1855. Obviously this factoid can't be added on my say-so alone, but the source I most quickly quickly cite is a newspaper article I myself wrote a decade ago—for the same newspaper where young Clemens worked for brother Orion, then the co-owner with John Mahin. According to Muscatine's Twain expert Max Churchill: "Sam came from St. Louis on the packet Keokuk in 1854." See http://muscatinejournal.com/betwixt-and-be-twain/article_f16c1d51-4fa9-5748-bc42-2e94a7ffeb29.html. A more recent editorial in the Muscatine Journal says: "he lived in Muscatine during part of the summer of 1855." It also says: "From Dec. 16, 1853 through March 15, 1855, he published eight stories in the Muscatine newspaper - a total of about 5,800 words." http://muscatinejournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/columns/journal-editorial-that-other-famous-muscatine-resident/article_7bfb22ae-222d-11df-a6de-001cc4c03286.html. I leave the particulars to scholars, but I assure you Iowans will be grateful for this Wikipedia mention. I'm posting on the run and trusting the experts will get it right. If necessary, I can help dig up other sources. Thanks for your attention! 66.207.7.144 ( talk) 14:10, 26 January 2012 (UTC)Daniel G. Clark (Jan. 26, 2012)
66.207.7.144 ( talk) 14:10, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
A lot of people don't know it, but Mark Twain was once a young man. In fact he wrote most of his best stuff before he was 55. On the other hand most of our pictures are of him in a white suit with white hair, pretty much following the Hal Holbrook stereotype. I'd guess the stereotype first developed as photography and printing improved about 1900, allowing the first real mass distribution of his photos when Twain was in his last feeble years. (Pretty much the same stereotype is applied to Leo Tolstoy as well) Twain was a very vigorous writer. His voice was not that of an old man, so I'd appreciate it if folks don't keep on putting in the feeble old pix and stick with a picture of the real man in all his vigor. Smallbones ( talk) 04:11, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
Anybody object to moving Friendship with Henry H. Rogers to just after Financial troubles? It seems rather out of place, stuck between Writing and Views. Clarityfiend ( talk) 22:36, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
From watching the panel discussion at the Tucson Book Festival, it's clear that Twain's treatment of his secretary, Isabel, was actively tamped down by Twain's official biographer. There is now a book out called Mark Twain's Other Woman: The Hidden Story of His Final Years the claims of which, I believe, deserve mention in this article. L H M 05:53, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
Suggest adding to this section the honors of LL.D. from Yale University, 1901, LL.D. from University of Missouri, 1902, and D.Litt. from Oxford, London, 1907. MR2David ( talk) 07:55, 13 May 2012 (UTC)
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Please link "robber baron" to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_(industrialist)
I had no idea what a robber baron was and first thought of a misspelling (e.g. rubber baron or something). 178.191.126.203 ( talk) 19:21, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
Please link mention of this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Connecticut_Yankee_in_King_Arthur's_Court — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.148.149.236 ( talk) 12:55, 12 July 2012 (UTC)