Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial novels in history. It is the fifth most contested book in American history (About Mark Twain). It tells the story of a young boy and a slave who venture down the Mississippi River. At the time, this was considered immoral and unheard of. The author of this story is Mark Twain. Twain was born under the name Samuel Clemens, but later, after he began writing, he took the pseudonym Mark Twain. This name signifies the boundary between the acceptable and the unacceptable, as shown in his writings. Twain had three pointed messages in his novel. Mark Twain wrote Huck Finn to express his disillusionment with society through the eyes of a young farm boy who realized that senseless violence, racism, and slavery expressed how cruel and corrupt people could be . Samuel Clemens grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. There, he experienced an adventurous childhood which greatly influenced many of his stories. Hannibal's town was not what it seemed, however, as Samuel experienced death and violence from a young age. When he was 9, he saw a local man murder a cattle rancher, and at 10, he saw a slave die after a white overseer hit him with a piece of iron (Biography of Mark Twain ). Then, after his marriage, he traveled frequently across the country. During his travels, he witnessed slavery and racism. This affected him greatly and he fought against it with the publication of Huckleberry Finn. In 1858 he became a licensed riverboat pilot (About Mark Twain). This experience allowed him to explore the Mississippi River, which played an important role in the development of the novel. Twain clearly shows his social criticisms in this novel by using satire. Huckleberry Finn was published...... middle of paper ...... through the eyes of a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. Works Cited-A&E Television Networks, LLC. (1991, March 5). Abolitionist movement. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from History.com: www.history.com/topics/black-history/abolitionist-movement-A&E Television Networks, LLC. (nd). Biography of Mark Twain. Retrieved May 14, 2014 from Biography.com: www.biography.com/people/mark-twain-9512564#awesm=~oEhRSHITXnijgm-CMG Solutions. (2006, July 6). About Mark Twain. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from Mark Twain's official website: www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/facts.htm-Twain, M. (1994). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (S. Appelbaum, ed.) Mineola, New York, USA: Dover Publications, Inc.-Weider History. (September 15, 2010). Causes of the civil war. Retrieved May 17, 2014 from HistoryNet: www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civil-war