Many authors write books based on their own lives and experiences. Because of this, the book's characters resemble people from the author's life and sometimes the author himself. Mark Twain and his fictional, Huckleberry Finn are no different. Editor Jack Salzman says of Twain, "He would make the scenes of his youth internationally famous in ... Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." (47) Through Huck, Mark Twain presents his childhood experiences to his readers and expresses his realistic views, his feelings towards racism, and his storytelling abilities.

Mark Twain's realistic views of the world, and the people in it, carry over into his characterization of Huck Finn. In his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses his life experience and knowledge of small town life to create Huck's personality and environment. According to Robert Penn Warren, "Twain knew the hard facts of his world. He knew that Hannibal, Missouri, had its...