Essay about Advice to Youth and Mark Twain - 890 Words

Mark Twain, known at the time to be a humorous author, wrote a speech on ‘Advice to Youth.’ Twain gives several pieces of advice all with a twist of honesty attached. The way this speech was written suggest that it would have been delivered at a graduation ceremony. Perhaps Twain was asked to speak at a college graduation ceremony and was going to deliver this speech. It is the perfect speech to relate to youth. Twain’s advice begins with â€Å"always obey your parents†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Norton, 550) which is sound advice. The rule of obeying one’s parents comes right from the Ten Commandments. Obeying one’s parents is a rule that is as old as time, engraved in everyday teachings. Twain twists this idea and adds â€Å"†¦ when they are present† (Norton, 550) saying†¦show more content†¦Twain is relating to the target audience. Twain is getting into the shoes of a youth in their era. This is one way to get the youth to listen and resp ond in a positive way. Twain writes every sentence positively then ends sarcastically. â€Å"If a person offends you †¦ hit him with a brick† (Norton, 550). This line is hilarious. Twain is telling young adults it is ok to act out aggressively, just wait for the appropriate time and place. Also, if it is the wrong person you act out against just apologize and everything will be fine. The lark is commonly used as a symbol in a variety of ways. Twain uses the lark in the part about going to bed early and waking up early. Waking up with the sun is the normal time to rise for the year this was written. Depending on the time of year the sun usually rises at about seven in the morning. Twain says to wake up with a lark is respectable but â€Å"you can easily train him to get up at half past nine† (Norton, 550). Meaning on average this would give you an extra two and a half hours to sleep in. This is evidence showing that Twain is writing to teens or college students bec ause they are usually the ones who like to sleep the day away. Mark Twain’s advice on lying is do not get caught. Twain says â€Å"once caught, you can never again be, in the eyes of the good and the pure† (Norton, 550) Meaning once a person lies, that person is a liar. Branded like cattle, forever having a mark of the liar. It literally scars aShow MoreRelatedAdvice For The Youth By Mark Twain1344 Words   |  6 Pagesof roles they acquire on a daily basis. In the memoir Advice to the Youth by Mark Twain, it relates a lot to identity, especially mine. The memoir gives advice to children about key topics that Twain thinks are important for the youth to know while growing up. I can relate to the passage because I have a younger sister that I love to teach things to. I always strive to do the right thing to be a good influence on her. In the passage, Twain also makes references to controversial topics that AmericaRead MoreThe Use of Irony in Advice to Youth by Mark Twain1055 Words   |  5 PagesThe use of irony in Advice to Youth by Mark Twain â€Å"(born Nov. 30, 1835, Florida, Mo., U.S.—died April 21, 1910, Redding, Conn.) American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist who acquired international fame for his travel narratives, especially The Innocents Abroad (1869), Roughing It (1872), and Life on the Mississippi (1883), and for his adventure stories of boyhood, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). A gifted raconteur, distinctiveRead MoreMark Twain Advice to Youth Summary5237 Words   |  21 PagesThe Origins of the Constitution Gordon S. Wood, Brown University When did the story of the Constitution begin? Some might say it ABOUT THE began over 2500 years ago in the city-states of ancient Greece. 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In the discourse community of English some of these people include author and playwright William Shakespeare, author Mark Twain, author and poet Jane Austen , and a slew of famous African-American authors some including Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, and poet Maya Angelou. African American Literature: Urban Fiction The aspect of the English discourse