Huckleberry Finn

1 Pages 354 Words

Twain, through this novel, reveals a boy's initiation into manhood. Huck's existence on the raft
teaches him about life as it really is. Whenever he goes on shore, he sees the cruelty of society
and man's inhumanity to his fellow man. When he returns to the raft, he feels the peace of nature
and the nobility of the black slave that shares his journey.

Southern society has taught Huck that slaves are sub-human creatures with no feelings, only a
piece of property to be bought and sold. At the beginning of the novel, Huck buys into this
philosophy without question. He cannot believe that he is helping "a nigger" escape to freedom.
It is against everything he has been taught (and he knows Tom Sawyer could never do it.) Huck
is amazed to learn that Jim cares deeply about his family, just as a white person cares for his (and
more than Pap ever cared for Huck.) He is even more amazed that Jim can have his feelings hurt
when Huck plays a trick on him. He never believed that Blacks had feelings. But every time that
Huck goes on shore, he loses some of his innocence; he begins to understand the hypocrisy of
society. He sees the Grangerfords killed by the Shephardsons, and he sees the Duke and Dauphin
easily dupe the townspeople out of their money.

Instinctively, Huck realizes that Jim is wiser and worth more than many of the white people on
shore. When he is forced to make a decision about turning Jim in or standing by him, Huck
decides not to betray his friend, even if it is against everything he has been taught by society and
even if he goes to hell for it.

By the end of the novel, Huck knows for sure than he cannot fit into the civilized way of life or
partake in the hypocrisy of society. He knows himself well enough to realize he must move on.
As a result, at the end of the novel, he sets out for new lands to the west, seeking a place that
offers truth and freedom....