Hannibal, Missouri The Huck Finn House

Virtual Tour by Richard Plunkett, age 14

drunk, and oftentimes, they could not afford to send and somewhat lawless char- their children to school. acter of Huckleberry Finn Therefore, Sam Clemens, was born, a person who, like many other children in similar to Blankenship, the village, was generally suffered terrible poverty forbidden to associate with and received little approval. or even talk to Tom Although Huck Blankenship. But, like the Finn was based upon character of Huck Finn, Blankenship, Twain truly that made his desire to personified a character all befriend the boy increase his own in his famous mas- all the more. Twain did terpieces, The Adventures of Shortly Tom came become very good friends Tom Sawyer and Adventures of upon the juvenile with Blankenship during Huckleberry Finn. In Tom pariah of the village, his childhood, describing Sawyer, Huck Finn is first Huckleberry Finn, Nestled in the the boy as, “ignorant, un- revealed to be a motherless son of the town heart of historic downtown washed, insufficiently fed; son of the violent town drunkard. Hannibal on North Street, but he had as good a heart drunk, with no siblings, no Huckleberry was the Huckleberry Finn as any boy ever had.” permanent household, and cordially hated and House is a monument that Twain further commented little to no possessions to dreaded by all the embodies the spirit of Mark that Blankenship’s liberties call his own. This is con- mothers of the town, Twain’s restless character, were unrestricted and he trary to the real-life charac- because he was idle Huck Finn. As a boy, Sam- was the only true independ- ter of Tom Blankenship, and lawless and uel Langhorne Clemens ent person in the town. who, although suffering vulgar and bad -- and played with a child by the Tom Blankenship proved poverty, had a real family. because all their name of Thomas to be ample inspiration for Also, in reality, Tom and Blankenship, who lived the famous au- children admired him scarcely a block away from thor - a person so, and delighted in the Clemens household. Twain instinc- his forbidden society, The Blankenship family tively knew had and wished they consisted of seven or eight potential to be- dared to be children and both parents, come an interest- like him. but they were desperately ing and realistic (from The Adventures poor. Tom’s father was character. And of Tom Sawyer) reputed to be the town thus, the aberrant THE HUCK FINN HOUSE Page 2

The Huck Finn House was reconstructed using old photographs taken prior to its demolition in 1911

afterwards we would watch the lonesomeness of the river, and kind of lazy along, and by his family lived in a diminutive Finn. Fortunately, historians into the mid-1800s, and will dwelling that, although cramped, decided it was better to recreate remain so forever. Although the and by lazy off would have been large enough to the home using authentic materi- actual house was demolished in to sleep. Wake provide adequate shelter. It is als as a tribute to Twain’s devil- 1911, wooden beams from the up by and by, and unknown whether the family ish delinquent. era were salvaged from other owned or rented the property or The Huck Finn House local buildings and were eventu- look to see what was simply squatting, moving has suffered quite a few hard- ally incorporated into the recon- done it, and from place to place as they were ships throughout the years, occa- structed Huck Finn House. This maybe see a discovered. This is one of many sionally being torn down and adds an air of nostalgia to the mysteries that surrounds the rebuilt for various purposes. building, which boasts a thriving steamboat Blankenship house. The repro- The current home, which was vegetable garden out back, fur- coughing along duction of the original abode recently rebuilt using old photos ther enhancing the feel of au- would eventually become an as a guide, was dedicated in thenticity. Observing the house up-stream… honored monument to the fic- 2007. It is now recognized as a from a distance, it doesn’t ap- ~Huck Finn tional character of Huckleberry landmark that provides a glimpse pear noteworthy or impressive in Page 3

this modern era, but inside visi- class family such as the Twain’s beloved classic, tors learn about the controver- Blankenships. The only mem- and the story of Huckle- sies that have surrounded Adven- bers of society who ranked lower berry Finn is commonly tures of Huckleberry Finn since its than the Blankenships were the accepted as Twain’s true publication. The Mark Twain slaves who also lived in Hannibal masterpiece. Museum, which maintains the at that time. The two-roomed Samuel Clemens’ property, does not shy away house includes two fireplaces for impact on all of American from discussing the issues of cooking and heating. life and literature cannot be slavery, class, and racism as the Originally, Huckleberry doubted, and his influence on interior displays reflect. Finn was billed as “vulgar and the little town of Hannibal is Recently, the museum coarse” and “trashy and vicious” forever displayed in the monu- unveiled plans to create a shed by some critics of the late-1800s, ments spread throughout the or outhouse in the side yard of based on the dialect and lan- town. And, although he may not the Huck Finn House, which guage. The controversy has be widely known or recognized, will provide more realism to the never abated, and the book is the humble Tom Blankenship setting. The house allows every consistently ranked in the Top delivered Clemens his first inspi- visitor a chance to imagine how Ten Books that are challenged in rations as Huckleberry Finn, the living in such a cramped space public libraries making it the boy that would become a re- must have been like for the only 19th century book to remain nowned character in the world Blankenship residents and appre- so controversial. However, most of American literature. ciate how the character of Huck people recognize the satire, Finn evolved from young Tom irony, humor and adventure in ~R.P. Blankenship. The Huckleberry A garden out back lends an air of authenticity Finn House rises upon a slight hill leading up from As soon as Tom the admirably restored Sam was back we cut Clemens Boyhood House, along the path, the sun illuminating its white around the garden siding and providing ample light to read informational fence, and by and placards displayed on the by fetched up on interior walls. The ceilings the steep top of are no higher than six feet, the hill the other and the uncarpeted, harsh wooden floors realistically side of the house. convey the type of living ~Huck Finn quarters typical for a lower-

This virtual tour of the Huck Finn House in Hannibal, Missouri was written by Richard Plunkett from Thornwood, New York as a project for the 2nd Annual Mark Twain Young Authors Workshop.