Samuel Langhorne Clemens (pen name Mark Twain) was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. In 1839 the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri" (Chew). This "location was well suited for steamboat landings"(Rasmussen 188) because it was on the Mississippi. Twain was a steamboat pilot for several years, and by the time he started to write "Old Times," he had been away from the river for over ten years. It is then understandable to think that Twain might, in writing "Old Times," tend to be more than a bit un-realistic. After all, as the saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder." Throughout the story he "focuses on the romanticism and heroism of steamboating" (Rasmussen 344). However, at the end, he does come back down to earth by showing the true realism of steam boating.
             From the beginning of "Old Times," Twain is in an "Ah, those were the good ole' days" tone. Twain explains that the number one goal, the "one permanent ambition" (McMichael 238) of the boys in the small riverside town where he grew up, was "to be a steamboat man" (McMichael 238). The reason for this had to do with the popularity of the steamboats in the townspeople's eyes. Twain's village was always very quiet and lifeless, until a steamboat arrived. When one did come by, the entire dead town became alive and moving. Drays, carts, men, boys, and basically everyone, would hurry from all around to meet at a common spot, the wharf. "Assembled there, the people would fasten their eyes upon the boat as if they were seeing it for the first time" (McMichael 239).
             The reason why Twain and his friends admired the steamboat men was because of all of the attention they received from everyone in the village. Basically, they all wanted a job on one of the boats, so that they could gain of all of the attention of everyone in the town. Twain and his friends made Gods out of even the lowest worker on a steamboa...