Huck Finn Matures

3 Pages 716 Words

Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a novel that tracks the development of a young boy’s life on the Mississippi River in the late 1800’s. The Novel’s main character, Huck Finn, struggles to find and unite himself during a time when our nation divided and at a loss. Throughout the book, Huck strives to define his opinions of religion, slavery, family, and friends as he defies society’s. Huckleberry Finn as a character begins this book as a boy and ends this book as a boy; there are, however, many blaring opportunities for Huck to evolve into a much more mature individual.

Huck Finn starts this book as a lost boy that has been found and miraculously saved by society (Widow Douglas). The Widow takes him in and attempts to “civilize” Huck. Huck went along with this new family but never felt quite right because he has never experienced civilization. Huck thought “it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways.” Huck’s nature is not to bath, learn, read, or be polite. He was raised in the wild and “wild” is an excellent adjective to describe Huck’s personality. Huck Finn was an uncontrollable child who was never accustom to the ways of the world or the society he was so quickly thrust in to. This aspect is naïve, this gives him a fresher, unbiased outlook on the things around him.

Huck’s partner in adventure and the mentor in Huck’s moral life is an escaped slave by the name of Jim. Jim shares many of the same ambitions as Huck and they complement each other as they both attempt to grow. Huck begins to appreciate Jim and shows quite a bit of compassion, for his time. Huck acknowledges that Jim “had an uncommon level head, for a nigger.” And imagined “he must be white inside” . The racism apparent in Huck’s language is normal for the time and does not indicate a lack of respect for Jim. Huck makes a large str...