Mark's Twangs Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" had first been known as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" and later became "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".

Mark Twain, who was born Samuel Langhorn Clemens in Florida, Missouri, based this short story on a tale that he had heard while he was in Angel's Camp, California. Later he discovered that the story had origins in an old Greek tale.

Answer: Huckleberry Finn

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", one of the most banned and revised books of modern times, begins with this tongue-in-cheek warning to its readers. Huckleberry Finn was a successor book of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", a novel written by Twain in 1876.

Answer: Pudd'nhead Wilson

According to an account given early on in the book "Pudd'nhead Wilson" a jesting but unfortunate remark about a howling dog caused the townspeople of the fictional town of Dawson's Landing, Missouri, to reject a newly arrived lawyer who had just come to town. David Wilson was from then on known by the sobriquet "Pudd'nhead", as they believed him to not be quite right in the head.

"Pudd'nhead Wilson" was first published as a serial in the monthly editions of "The Century Magazine". Later it was published as a book in its own right.
At the beginning of each chapter, Mark Twain threw in various homilies in a non sequitur format.

Answer: "No man is an island; but neither should he be so large as a continent."

All the quotations provided were spoken by Mr. Twain, with the exception of the one that I created, "No man is an island..."

Many quotes have been falsely attributed to Mark Twain, but quite a number are actual quotations that he provided from the deepest recesses of his satirical mind.

Answer: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

In the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer", Tom, Huck and their friend, Joe, decided to engage in a little imaginary "pirating", and disappeared for a time from their families and friends. Upon hearing a cannon booming from a ferryboat as it echoed like thunder across the water, the boys realized that the ferry was engaged in trying to cause the bodies of the drowned victims to surface.

When they realized that the "victims" were themselves, sober thoughts about the sadness left to their loved ones soon overshadowed their glee as "heroes" as they imagined what woe their absences were causing. Later, the boys were able to hear the eulogies offered at their "funerals" as they had snuck into the church and remained hidden throughout most of the services. To the astonishment of the assembled congregation, the three boys then came marching up the aisle!

Answer: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Originally entitled "A Yankee in King Arthur's Court", the book "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" was first published in 1889.

In this tale by Mark Twain, an engineer named Hank Morgan suffered a blow to the head, and upon awakening found himself in Arthurian England, about 13 centuries prior to his time.

He was able to persuade the citizenry of that era that he was a magician of sorts, solving all sorts of problems for them and even going so far as to accurately "predict" a solar eclipse.

This book by Twain is a satirical look at modern society, as well as making light of the "chivalrous attitudes" in England during the Middle Ages. This satire, as found in many of his other works, helped to distinguish Mark Twain's work and enhanced his reputation as a humorist.

Answer: King Edward VI

"The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain is a fictional tale of two young boys who looked identical, even though they were not related to each other. One, the son of an abusive, poverty-stricken father, and the other, the heir to the throne of England, decided to switch places in life.

The ensuing adventures, calamities, and surprising side effects of their ruse are presented throughout the story which focused on the disparity between the attitudes of the rich versus the poor. As a social commentary, the story pointed out the vast differences between the social classes in Tudor England.

The character of the prince was based on the boy who was the actual prince of Wales who became Edward VI in 1547.

Edward was crowned king at the age of 9, but died at the age of 15, leaving the throne to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey. She, in turn, was deposed 13 days later by Mary I (Bloody Mary), the sister of Edward VI.

Answer: The War Prayer

"The War Prayer" by Mark Twain was a rather simple work, concerning itself with the atrocities and ironies of the war machine in general.

Ironically, WWI had been underway for a while when this poetic work of prose was published. In it, Mark Twain captured the essence of armed conflict from an unusual perspective. A fictional nation goes to war, with one town sending off its troops with a farewell from a local church. As the townspeople invoke the blessings of the Almighty on their troops, a stranger suddenly appears in their midst, announcing that he is from heaven itself and begins speaking the previously unspoken wishes of the congregation's prayer. The ending of Twain's prose/poem follows:

"Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth into battle - be Thou near them! With them - in spirit - we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe.

O Lord our God, help us tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended in the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames in summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -

For our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!

We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen."

(After a pause.) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."

...

"It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said."

Answer: A Tramp Abroad

"A Tramp Abroad" was written about the misadventures and misunderstandings involving culture clashes that the two men experienced in their travels. Written with wit and wry humor, Twain attempts to portray himself as the "classic" American tourist, absorbing components of various cultures while understanding very little of it at all.

This book was the third in a series of five travel books that the great American humorist published.

Answer: False

This statement is false in several respects.

First, Twain was not a riverboat captain, but rather a pilot, who helped guide steamships through the ever-changing channels of the Mississippi River.

Second, he included several "tall tales" in the memoirs that reflected his own experiences spent while navigating up and down the river.

Third, this humorist had this to say in an excerpt from the book in which he speaks of "The Model Boy": "He was the admiration of all the mothers, and the detestation of all their sons. I was told what became of him, but as it was a disappointment to me, I will not enter into details. He succeeded in life."