Many authors use their childhood’s as well as experiences as inspiration for their novels. Their friends, family,pets, cities, and home-towns all provide substantial information for their books. Mark Twain is no exception, he uses his life as the main source for his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The story occurs in the same place that he grew up in, and Huck Finn experiences many things that Twain experienced as child. The Mississippi river, the Judge, and many more parts of his novel are from Twain’s life. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses his own childhood as well as his life lessons as the source of his novel to help the story be realistic.
Mark Twain uses his life to inspire the settings of his books. During
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John Clemens is a huge part of Mark Twain’s childhood, not only because he is Twain’s father, but because he is a strong man who would do anything for his “family.” John fought to give his family a better life, and by following this passion he uprooted his life and moved to Hannibal, Missouri. In Hannibal he shed his passion upon the locals and became a “justice of the peace.”(History.com) In the pursuit of wealth and a better life, Clemens opened a store to achieve his goals. Twain likely uses his father because of how highly he regards himself and holds pride in his …show more content…
Twain used Tom Sawyer as the main inspiration for Tom Sawyer in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain likely used him because of his personality and heroism. Sawyer “rescued 90 lives at sea, among them 26 people he had rescued singlehandedly,” this shows his need to help other people.(Smithsonianmag.com) Sawyer also liked to make situations as extreme as possible, shown by the rescue attempt on Jim even though he is already a free man. Twain remembered Sawyer and his mischievous ways and used them to inspire the troublemaking child Tom Sawyer in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Tom Blankenship is perceived to be the inspiration for Huck Finn. Tom Blankenship is a poor boy in Hannibal that Twain knew. Blankenship is ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed, but he is the most compassionate boy Twain knew. He is envied for his happiness, his tranquility, and his independence. Huck Finn is all of these traits and then some. The continuous empathy is likely the reason Twain uses Huck to help Jim escape and why he treats Jim with as much respect as a free white man. Huck is the direct transcription of Tom