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The character of huck in the adventure huckleberry finn
Character analysis of huckleberry finn
The influence of mark twain
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In his essay “The Pattern of Fictional Experience,” critic Ihan Hassan states that in contemporary literature “the hero is a man alone” (326). It is inherently American to be self-reliant and independent of society. In literature this independence is often explored through the archetype of the outsider. Mark Twain’s own obsession with the idea of solitude and society led him to explore the issue of identity in his stories, and the archetype of the outcast is particularly prevalent in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Twain stresses the importance of the independent vagrant hero. Huck Finn is the quintessential outsider and an adequate representation of the contemporary hero in American fiction.
Readers are first introduced to the character of Huckleberry Finn in the sixth chapter of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: “Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village, Huckleberry Finn, son of the town drunkard” (67). By stating that Huck is the son of the town drunkard, Twain is already instating Huck’s position as an outsider, a member of “forbidden society”. Critic John Erskine suggests that Huck is not supposed to “be an average boy” like Tom Sawyer, “Huckleberry is explained by his father” (Erskine, 299). Twain goes on to further describe the character of Huck in his introduction:
Huckleberry was cordially hated and dreaded by all the mothers of the town, because he was idle and lawless and vulgar and bad. . .Tom was like the rest of the respectable boys, in that he envied Huckleberry his gaudy outcast condition, and was under strict orders not to play with him. Huckleberry came and went, at his own free will (67).
Huck is possibly the only truly independent character in the stories of Tom Sawyer and in his own Adventures...
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...of Hucklebery Finn. Ed. Claude M. Simpson. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1968. (7-15).
Erskine, John. “Huckleberry Finn.” Huck Finn and His Critics. Ed. Richard Lettis. New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1963. (297-305).
Hassan, Ihab. “The Pattern of Fictional Experience.” Modern American Fiction: Essays in
Criticism. Ed. A. Walton Litz. New York: Oxford University Press, 1963. (315-337).
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Stanley Applebaum. New York: Dover Publications, 1994.
Simpson, Claude M.. “Introduction.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of The
Adventures of Hucklebery Finn. Ed. Claude M. Simpson. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1968. (1-6).
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York: The World Publishing Company,
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...ke." Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Ed. Sculley Bradley, et al. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1977. 421-22.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain during the late 1800’s (Mintz). The book brought major controversy over the plot, as well as the fact that it was a spin-off to his previous story, Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This book has remained a success due to Twain’s interesting techniques of keeping the audience’s attention. Chapters eleven and twelve of “Huckleberry Finn,” uses a first person limited point of view to take advantage of the use of dialogue while using many hyperboles to add drama to entertain the reader by creating description within the story without needing to pause and explain.
Huckleberry Finn – The Changes of His Character Throughout the Novel. & nbsp; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a novel about a young man's search for identity. Huckleberry Finn goes through some changes and learns some life lessons throughout his journey. Huck changes from being just an immature boy at the beginning of the novel to being a more mature man who looks at things from a different perspective now. & nbsp; At the beginning of the novel, Huck tends to have an immature side to him. There are some things in the beginning that show that Huck still has a very childish side to him. They get down on one thing when they don't know anything about it."
Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. McQuade, Donald, ed., pp. 113-117.
Samuel Clemens - or as he is most commonly referred to as, Mark Twain - was a seminal American novelist, with his works not only contributing to the general American literary canon, but in fact, greatly inspiring other such elemental writings. Twain is, perhaps, most remembered by the quintessential work, The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn, in which the eponymous character travels down the Mississippi River with his close friend, and runaway slave, Jim. In doing so, the two experience Twain’s satirical, yet quite realistic, interpretation of the South, while Huck, consequently, experiences a drastic change in terms of his own morality. When considering this novel’s content from a literary perspective, it seems to be that this notion of moral growth is quite essential to one’s understanding of the plot, as Huck’s character at the story’s conclusion highly contrasts with that of the beginning. Furthermore, and quite importantly, one shall find that evidence is abound for such a change in moral character when one is to examine Huck’s thoughts and subsequent actions in a chronological manner.
Huck Finn exemplifies the epitome of an immature character in the beginning of the novel. Huck exhibits this archetype through his childish acts and ignorance. For example when Huck asked Miss. Watson if he could go smoke a cigarette and Miss. Watson told him about how bad smoking was, Huck’s response was, “They get down on one thing when they don't know nothing about it,” (Twain 2). This exhibits Huck’s stubbornness and ignorance that many children have throughout life. He believes as if whatever he does is right and whatever anyone else says is wrong. Also displaying Huck’s ignorance in a sense that he is not willing to listen to what Miss. Watson has to say about this because she simply does not know as much about them as he does. He believes himself to be more superior and intelligent than her, which in itself displays a sense of immaturity. Another proto...
The character that ultimately presents a more important challenge to the original readers of Mark Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would be Jim because he befriends a poor thirteen-year-old boy named Huck, alongside his journey to set free and is one of the main characters who shows no mercy to what he stands for as a person. He is a black man, who is a slave to Miss Watson’s household but soon flees for his life and becomes a runaway slave. He is also an intelligent, practical and ambitious man who longs for his family especially his daughter but he must find ways of accomplishing his goals without incurring the wrath of those who could turn him in.
Mark Twain, a famous American writer-satirist wrote many books highly acclaimed throughout the world. For his masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the literary establishment recognized him as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce. This novel is about a teenage boy by the name of Huck Finn whose father is an alcoholic. Because of his violence, Huck runs away and finds a runaway slave Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck goes against society and makes a decision to help Jim break free from slavery. As they travel together, Huck learns more and more about Jim and starts to understand that the common stereotype of black people is wrong. Huck sees there is no difference between Jim and any white man he knows except for skin color. Risking his life and overcoming many difficulties on the way, Huck succeeds in freeing Jim. Focusing on racism, alcoholism and mob mentality, Mark Twain uses his enthusiastic style of writing and satirizes the three traits throughout the novel.
Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through much criticism and denunciation has become a well-respected novel. Through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, Huckleberry Finn, Twain illustrates the controversy of racism and slavery during the aftermath of the Civil War. Since Huck is an adolescent, he is vulnerable and greatly influenced by the adults he meets during his coming of age. His expedition down the Mississippi steers him into the lives of a diverse group of inhabitants who have conflicting morals. Though he lacks valid morals, Huck demonstrates the potential of humanity as a pensive, sensitive individual rather than conforming to a repressive society. In these modes, the novel places Jim and Huck on pedestals where their views on morality, learning, and society are compared.
Mark Twain’s picaresque novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (hereafter Huck Finn) gives a realistic portrayal of Southern life before the American Civil War and depicts the way companionship enables the journeyers to learn from diverse perspectives enriching the journeys power to prompt inner growth and development. This is clearly depicted through the use of first person persona, where Twain employs the uneducated vernacular voice of Huck Finn. This technique contributes to the authenticity of Huck Finn’s Southern characterisation emphasising his transformation from racial prejudice and small mindedness to a more moral and tolerant perspective. Together Huck and Jim embark on their personal quests for freedom; Huck for freedom from “sivilisation” and Jim for freedom from slavery. Together they travel down the river a motif that symbolises their desire for liberation and security. “ I never felt easy till the raft was…out in the middle of the Mississippi…we was free and safe once more”. As they travel they are not merely moving down the river but discovering who they are as they learn and grow along the way.
Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is an American classic which analyzes and satirizes most if not all of the major issues at the time of its making. These issues are viewed through the eyes of the twelve-year-old Huck who has a unique perspective on the world due to his lack of family and overall wild nature. Huck’s innocence supports the novel as a whole through supporting Huck’s perspective on people, and his innocence also helps begin his journey and transforms as he grows throughout the novel.
Society is not always right. In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy by the name of Huckleberry Finn sets off on a journey along the Mississippi River to get away from his previous lives. One of the main themes in the novel is the conflict between society and the individual. During his time with Widow Douglas, a friendly woman who adopts Huckleberry Finn, he is taught about the importance of education, what is morally right in society, and how to be civilized. On the other hand, Pap, Huckleberry’s father, taints Huckleberry’s mind with his views which differ drastically from Widow Douglas’s guidelines. The moral dilemma that Huckleberry Finn faces between moralities illuminates the main message of individuality.
The book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary element in this novel is apparent in this chapter and is primarily expressed through Huck’s sarcasm. A major element of superstition is introduced and continues throughout the entire book. This superstition is used to give insight into Huck’s character, which is very naive and gullible, as well as foreshadow events. For example the killing of the spider in chapter 1 and, in a later chapter, the spilling of the salt does result in bad luck in the form of Pa coming home. Twain puts together an interesting juxtaposition of theft with honor when Tom Sawyer establishes his robber band with Huck and the other boys and they swear to their code of ethics. Interestingly, this is also paralleled at the end of the book when Tom is able to help steal Jim “honorably” because Jim is already a free man. Throughout this section, Huck’s character and personality is established. He is revealed as humble in that he constantly underplays his own intelligence. An example is when he plans his own death and then whi...
...cal Edition, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Ed. and Trans. Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beaty, E. Hudson Long, and Thomas Cooley. New York: Norton, 1977. 328-335.
Twain, Mark, and Cynthia Johnson. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.