Life on the Mississippi is an autobiographical travel book. Mark Twain recalled his work as a sailor on the Mississippi River. The author has a keen interest in the Mississippi River. In his hands, the river emerges as a living, changeable, unpredictable, capricious image. To Mark Twain, who had little schooling, the Mississippi River was nothing less than a university, which exposed him to many mysterious natural and complex social phenomena. The rise and fall of the Mississippi River even directly affect the rise and fall of farms and cities. In those years, the river had fought its way through Hurricane Island, Arkansas, Walnut, and Conference Bay. The author also describes with delight the cities along the Banks of the Mississippi: Burlington, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Rock Island, New Orleans, and St. Paul.

The author’s love for nature and for the working people is reflected in his autobiographical travel notes Life on the Mississippi. Mark Twain had a special feeling for the Mississippi River because he had worked as a pilot in his youth, working with the crew and fighting side by side on the river. He knew its eddies, its reefs, and its rapids. He never forgot the mountains, towns, and local customs on both sides of the river. In his novel, the author gives a very touching description of the beautiful scenery that rises over the river at sunset. The writer describes nature, not for the sake of scenery, but to express his complex mood by describing nature. The author emphasizes that of all his experiences, the one that has left the deepest impression on him is his life as a sailor in the Mississippi River.

-Coreen C.