Does Huckleberry Finn, the main character in Mark Twain's American
             classic, deserve to be nominated for the "Individual of the Year" award'
             Considering that the judges for this award are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
             the great American civil rights leader, and Henry David Thoreau, the famous
             American writer best known for his Walden, it would appear to be a foregone
             conclusion that Huck Finn would indeed receive the award as the "Individual
             of the Year," mainly due to the principles and ideologies expressed by King
             in his "Letter From Birmingham Jail" and the essay by Thoreau entitled
             "Civil Disobedience," both of which highly reflect the experiences of Huck
             Finn as the young non-conformist and avid seeker of justice.
             As Kenneth S. Lynn points out, Huck Finn symbolizes "every young boy
             who ever lived and is also an individual worth knowing, due to his non-
             conformist attitudes and his ability to allow the reader to see himself in
             what he does, what he says and how he experiences life" (45). Although he
             swears and smokes, Huck Finn has a set of ethics all his own that reflect
             his upbringing, his background and the various ways in which he has been
             treated by humankind. Reared haphazardly in the deep South, Huck believes
             that slaves belong to their rightful owners, yet through his honest
             gratitude toward his friend Jim, the escaped slave, he helps him in his
             efforts to escape the bonds of slavery. Huck also talks with a lowbrow
             dialect, but he is keen-witted and intelligent. He tells his story with a
             straight-faced forwardness, but the reader is constantly subjected to many
             and sharp-tongued comments on human nature in almost every chapter of his
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             Through the eyes of judge Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Huckleberry
             Finn stands as a true hero, due to his efforts to save Jim, his African-
             American friend and com...