Picaresque Elements of Huckleberry Finn and Little Big Man

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The stories of “Little Big Man” and “Huckleberry Finn” are both picaresque novels due to their realistic characters and episodic adventures that the main characters go through throughout the stories. Picaresque stories also bring in satiric humor to criticize practices of society. The bulk of the entire story is told through these episodic adventures instead of focusing on a set goal. In “Huckleberry Finn”, Huck Finn finds many adventures with his runaway slave friend Jim while traveling on their raft. Jack Crabb also goes through many adventures ranging from watching comrades falling in battles to finding his supposed relatives in brothels. One of the features of a picaresque novel is a main character that can be sometimes dishonest. In “Huckleberry Finn”, Huck uses dishonesty to his advantage. This can be seen in such instances as lying to the slave hunters to save Jim. “because it’s pap that’s there, and maybe you’d help me tow the raft ashore where the light is. He’s sick.” (Huckleberry Finn, pg. 81) Other examples may be seen as when Huck pretends to be someone he isn’t such a...

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