Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain was one of the most famous American writers. Twain's works are known for their humor and realism to social satire. Twain was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1839. When Twain was twelve years, his father passed away from pneumonia forcing Twain to drop out of school at the age of thirteen to get a job. His first job was as a printer's apprentice, but after two years of working there, he decided to join his brother's newspaper business. At age seventeen, Twain moved to St. Louis and became a river boat apprentice. That is where he received his pen name, Mark Twain. In 1861, when river trade started to slow, twain returned to the newspaper business. Twain eventually realized that writing was his passion and began publishing his own work in 1865 (Reuben, Paul). Throughout Mark Twain's novels and short stories, he uses his sense of humor and dialect to entertain and address the controversial social issues of racism.
The short story "A True Story" is a very well written example of how Twain uses dialect to address social issues. This story starts out with two women, Misto C and Rachel, having a conversation on the front porch of a farmhouse. Rachel is a sixty year old servant who always leaves Misto C questioning why she is always so joyful and full of excitement during their conversation Misto C asks Rachel, "Aunt Rachel, how is that you've lived sixty years and never had any trouble?" (Twain, "A True Story"). Rachel responded to her questions with stories from her past. She told Misto C how she was born into slavery and how she was a slave herself. When Rachel's master became broke, she had to sell her slaves. Rachel, Rachel's husband, and their seven children were forced to stand on a platform to be examined by the consumers. Rachel's husband was bought first and then her children. When it came down to the last child, Henry, she put up a fight while they were trying to take him away from her but of course she lost.