Famuel Glemens was the real name of the famous writer Mark Twain. Twain grew up in Missouri in the years before the American Civil War Dunng thi time. Missouri stii recognized savery as legal. These conditions had a noticeable impact on Twain's writing. They can be seen in the themes deat within his noves. At the time of the civil war, Twain was in his late twenties. He did not actually fight in the war. He lived in Nevada and California during the war years. Even though Twain was a successful writer, he held a number of other jobs over his lifetime. He worked as a miner, steamboat operator, and lecturer. His wealth of experiences across the United States provided him with much of the material used in his writing. Twain did not start out writing novels, however. He wrote for newspapers first. of his novels, many feel that The Adventures of Hucklebery Finn is the best. The story takes place in a fictional town much like Twain's own hometown in Missouri. Hucklebemy Finn runs away to escape from his father. His father only wants to claim him as his son in order to get his hands on the money the boy has inherited. Huckleberry decides to escape by traveling down the Mississippi River. In doing so, he meets a runaway slave named Jim, and the two decide that they will head south