Mark Twain and Laughter: a WebQuest

For many people in the late 1800s, Mark Twain was THE American. He traveled around the world, telling stories about life in America and reporting back to the U. S. on life in other countries. His humorous sketches presented our nation, which was still young, to an audience that was curious about us. His depiction of a frog-jumping contest in California or of his own experiences learning to be a riverboat pilot amused people both at home and abroad.

Today we remember Mark Twain as an outstanding American writer and as possibly the world's first stand-up comedian. In this WebQuest you will explore his style of humor and compare it with that of modern writers. Follow the sequence of buttons to the left. Click "Task" to continue.