Why did Samuel Clemens use the pen name Mark Twain?

Answer 1

Samuel Clemens used the pen name Mark Twain because it was a riverboat term that meant the water depth was safe for navigation. Clemens, who had worked as a riverboat pilot, adopted the pen name as a nod to his past and to signal a fresh start in his writing career.

Answer 2

Mark twain is a term used in steam boat piloting. It means the water is 13 Mark Twain's dream job was to be a pilot of a steam boat so he used the term as his pen name.

He got famous after he used it so he kept on using the name Mark Twain. It was part of terminology.

** Mark Twain means 12 Feet

Answer:

When writers use a nom de plume or pseudonym it is for several reasons:

• It sounds better. War stories written by "Percy Mildtoes" might not sell as well as ones written by "Crusher Dan Strong"
• The author may be writing under several names, and magazines buying his stories may want it to look like they have a lot of writers
• The author may have a public persona with one point of view but may want to present a contrary point of view and invents a new person to do it
• In Samuel Clemens' case, the call of "mark twain" (12 feet of water under the boat called out by the leadsman) projected a sense of comfort and safety and good things to anyone who had ever travelled the Mississippi River. This is the image he wanted to call up.

Answer 3

Samuel Clemens got his pen name Mark Twain from boat terminology picked up when he worked on a steamboat. The term "mark twain" refers to a river that is two fathoms deep.

Answer 4

He got it from his boating experience.