The Absence of Huckleberry Finn in Hannibal, Missouri

"Welcome to Hannibal!" The town is known worldwide as the boyhood home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, "one of America's best authors, better known today as Mark Twain, who lived and grew up here."

This is the most frequent introduction that can be found in every visitor's guide or any other publication related to the town of Hannibal or on websites (I particularly recommend www.visithannibal.com). Yes, indeed, it sounds attractive and irresistibly alluring. It is supposed to, for tourists are the only sources of income that might bring a great deal of money to this town.

But reality is rather different from these descriptions. First of all, Twain lived in Hannibal only from 1839 to 1853, and he returned there himself only seven times, the last time in 1902. However, according to the most popular sources, he spent his formative years there, which supposedly left such a lasting impression on him that his childhood memories formed the basis for much of his writing, most importantly his masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the sequel to his The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). But the fact is that the town Hannibal today completely ignores Huckleberry Finn's presence not only as a fictional character but also as a protagonist.

The story of Huckleberry Finn is not taught in the local schools, and even the theatre company distorts some of the facts of the book: a production called Reflections of Mark Twain actually omitted the character of Jim, an African-American slave.

Concerning the town's historical attractions, which are usually presented by brochures as astounding, they are given fake-authentic appearances designed to leave only good impressions. Each and every one of them is dedicated to Tom Sawyer and/or Becky Thatcher (Tom's sweetheart). And, of course, to Mark Twain himself.

Consequently, apart from the one statue of Tom and Huck that stands at the food of Cardiff Hill and the Huck Finn Shopping Center, there is nothing in Hannibal that reminds the visitor of either Huck Finn or the black slave Jim. To illustrate their absence, here are some of the most prominent attractions: Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Mark Twain Museum and Gift Shop, J. M. Clemence Law Office, The new Mark Twain Museum, Sawyer's Creek Fun Park, Becky Thatcher Home, Mark Twain Cave, Tom Sawyer Dioramas, Mark Twain Lake and Mark Twain national forest. And there are many other sites that carry "their" names, like shops, hotels, restaurants, inns and parks.

However, the question remains why Huck Finn has been excluded from most public attractions.

Once more, for the sake of a better understanding, bear in mind that Twain's major novel "Huckleberry Finn" draws upon his childhood experiences in Hannibal. The story is set in the time of slavery, before the Civil War, when blacks were considered inferior to whites. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain arguably attacks racism and the institution of slavery in Hannibal, though not in a direct way but through the use of satire. By making the slave Jim one of the main characters Twain showed his contemporary audience slaves to be just as human as they were. In this character, he wanted to show his frank affection and admiration for black Americans, which began when he was still a boy on the threshold of adolescence in Hannibal. In his childhood, he witnessed blacks being lynched. With the character of Huck Finn he showed someone who is able to disregard the social norms and follow his own beliefs instead. In other words, Twain's aim is to encourage people through Huck's character not to accept racism just because society accepts it.

Nevertheless, exactly the opposite effect has been created after such a long time. People who are presently living in Hannibal make the same mistake. They implicitly uphold the town's slave-holding past by only promoting Mark Twain's boyhood years, which results in the general preference of Tom Sawyer's antics over the more politically relevant Huck Finn. Rather than face Hannibal's history of slavery, they ignore it and thus accept  deep-rooted prejudices.