Mark Twain

Mark Twain is the most famous citizen of Hannibal, Missouri. He absorbed the language and customs of this area of the country and wove them into tales of life along the Mississippi River. In fact, for a short period of time he worked as a riverboat pilot.

One of my favorite quotes from Twain is "Faith is believing what you know ain't so."

His greatest novel was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. My favorite scene from the novel is Huck and the runaway slave Jim out on the raft on the Mississippi River. Here Huck has to come face to face with the evil of slavery, the peculiar institution defended by the Christianity of his time and place. Huck decides he will not expose Jim's whereabouts to those out looking for him, although he believes such an action might well cost him his soul. Huck is willing to "go to Hell" for the sake of Jim. Huck's plight is the crux of the novel. He comes down on the right side, although he feels like he has done the wrong thing.