Samuel Clemens represents a prominent American writer who used his writings as a tool to educate members of society, but also lacked the ability to fully understand particular events of history. He lived an advantageous life that established and intensified his literary abilities. As a boy he lived in Hannibal, Florida, where his father served as a judge and enrolled the young Clemens in a private school. At school he learned the basics of writing but wanted further instruction in literacy. After his father's death, Clemens dropped out of school and began working as a newspaper printer. The experience gained from his master's degree led him to collaborate with various newspapers and to hold the role of editorial assistant. Once he had enough exposure to writing, he decided to pilot riverboats, which helped him develop his famous pen name, Mark Twain. He continued to serve as a riverboat pilot until the American Civil War interfered with the river trade, convincing him to return to newspaper work. Several newspapers in the United States hired Clemens as a reporter. He wrote stories for newspapers, which earned him fame, immortalizing his pseudonym, Mark Twain. Clemens possessed the ability to discuss various topics within his works and to make connections between events of the present and legends of the past. "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is a great example of Twain's way of connecting current events with tales of the past. Twain also possessed the ability to create fables regarding real events with fictional characters, as seen in "The Private Story of a Failed Campaign." Mark Twain used both works mentioned to discuss the American Civil War, but the two pieces contain a different approach... middle of paper... danger. However, his opinion of the South soon changed, leading Clemens to employ another literary style, one that compares past situations in history with present conflicts. In “A Connecticut Yankee…”, Clemens references medieval icons such as Camelot, King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and Merlin to use as gateways to help ordinary people understand the American Civil War. In the story he relates several factors of the civil war to problems of medieval England, forming a simple comparison. The two writing approaches aided American citizens' understanding of the Civil War, but they also showed Southerners the error of their ways. Clemens compares the Confederacy to the corrupt government of sixth-century England. Showed the South that although they believed they were fighting for freedom, Southerners truly fought for the right to oppress others.