The author who would become famous as Mark Twain started out in life as Samuel Clemens. Born and raised along the Mississippi River, Clemens would start out in life as a steamboat pilot.
This book, which was written after he was a famous writer, tells the story of his life on the river. In the first part, he is a cub pilot under his mentor, Horace Bixby, who teaches him how to navigate the treacherous river. The very very wordy Twain mixes it up in this part of the book, describing both the river, steamboats, steamboating, etc., and what happens to him as a pilot. This is an interesting part of the book because it includes a fair amount of commentary about life in America after the Civil War, reflecting on the differences between the North and the South.
Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text's form, craft, meanings, etc. It is a key requirement of the Common Core State Standards and directs the reader's attention to the text itself.
They tye in a certain way
