Evolving Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

When a child is born it’s actions and morals are solely based on the environment it’s parents set for it. The child is unable to move, eat, learn and speak without the guidance of an individual. However as the child progresses in life it starts breaking away from the environment that is set for them and engage themselves in the environment of their choice. The child starts to develop it’s own morals and an identity for themselves overtime, similar to Huck Finn. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a story about a 13 year old boy who heads out on a journey through the Mississippi River with a black runaway slave, Jim. Through the trials they went through during the adventure, it opened up a new sense of understanding for the world. Twain manipulates Huck to be an evolving character in the novel supported by his changes in maturity and morals.

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...

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...ays a sense of maturity. In addition to this, Huck was able to create his own morals rather than the ones given to him by society enabling him to conceive his own identity.

As a result, Twain utilizes Huck to depict an evolving character in the novel. This is made prominent by Huck’s changes in morals against racism and maturity by being able to understand what is right and what is wrong. Which is displayed through the experiences that Huck goes through in the novel. Just as a child gets older and starts to break away from the environment that was given to him and the morals bestowed upon him. When the child begins to create it’s own morals and starts to realize what is right from wrong the child is no longer a child it becomes a mature adult of it’s own in a society. Paralleling to Huck going from an immature child to a mature young adult in the end of the novel.