Similarities Between Huck Finn And Invisible Man

863 Words2 Pages

Juan Caldas
Professor Michael Marzell
AML2020
21 April 2014
The Invisible Huckleberry
Invisible Man and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn two American novels that may have something in common besides being two of the greatest American novels; both of the writers represented the novel through the protagonists being travelers, in both cases the protagonists were on a somewhat educational journey. Even though the boy in invisible man is just a boy without an specific name it may represent more than just one person likewise Huck Finn may represent another group of people who struggle through life as well. Even though the novels were set in different timelines (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is set before the American Civil war and Invisible man is set in the mid 1930’s) the both novels are set with a racial oppression problem.
Both of the protagonists are on a journey, an outside physical journey and a inside self discovery/emotional journey; Huck’s trip it’s just as the one that the boy in invisible man has, the boy it’s a young boy in a southern state, college student in a southern negro college he is also an employee of a paint factory and he happens to be the leader figure on a group called The brotherhood. Huck is also a boy that lives on the lowest possible level of society; he is sometimes dirty and frequently homeless.
Both of the characters are unprotected from society we see that throughout his journey Huck is seem to be forced to question what society has taught him while the boy in invisible man thinks that he is trying to change the way society thinks. They’re both innocent in some way, the boy in invisible man has been educated with a with version of American history, he hasn’t learned a single thing about the co...

... middle of paper ...

...to find and envelope, within an envelope, within an envelope, within an envelope just to find a letter that said “to Whom It May Concern . . . Keep This Nigger-Boy Running.” The narrator wakes with his grandfather’s laughter ringing in his ears, making it seem that he is the clown on the white society circus (or that he is the puppet on the white Americans show).
In both novels the heroes seem to go through a phase of initiation, on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the protagonist (Huck) goes through a growing up process and in a moment of crisis he is forced to make the decision that will serve as the transition from a child to a man; while in Invisible Man after the battle royal, he gets to make his speech as his mouth is bleeding. The white men make fun of him because they can't understand him. This speech represents the invisible man's initiation into manhood.

Open Document