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Character of Huck in Huckleberry finn
Analysis essay character of huckleberry finn
Relationship between huck and jim in huckleberry finn
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Villains are terrible people but they are everywhere in our lives. Every book we read has a villain, every movie we watch has a villain, and there is even villains in our own lives. Villains are scary and often people we fear, but they make us stronger, and they make us the people we are. In Mark Twain’s fictional story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses characters and society as villains to show how Huck is changing throughout the story.
Huck’s father, Pap, is a drunk and abusive man that abandons Huck, but comes back only for his money. Pap is a drunken, older man. He left Huck when Huck was younger, but when he hears about Huck’s fortune he comes back for him. Pap is always angry and hateful, but when he cannot get Huck’s
The first sign of Tom’s evilness is when he wants to tie Jim up to the tree. The readers learn this when Huck says, “Tom whispered to me and wanted to tie Jim to the tree for fun;” (Twain 5). At first, one may think that this is just Tom being a kid, but it is not. Tying someone to a tree is just cruel, and nobody does it just because they are a kid.Thank goodness Huck is there to tell him that it is wrong, or else Jim might have woken up that night tied around a tree. Tom wants to do this simply just because he hates African American people, especially slaves. When Tom finally sees Huck again at the Phelps’ farm, Tom decides to help Huck free Jim, which is shocking. This makes readers think he has changed, but when Tom complicates the plan, it shows readers that he is just seeking adventure and is doing this for fun. Huck wants to just go through the door but Tom says, “We’ll dig him out. It’ll take about a week!”(Twain 236). Of course, Huck goes along with it but does not get why they cannot just use the door, but whatever Tom says Huck goes with it. Digging Jim out makes absolute no sense, but Tom wants to do it because he think it will be fun, and does not care that it will take longer. Freeing Jim is not his main focus, having an adventure is. When they realize Jim only has a couple more days until they can get him
As they first come on board, they tell Huck and Jim that they are royalty. As the readers are getting to know these two convicts, the younger man claims “By rights I am a duke!” (Twain 123). After the older, bald headed man hears this he says “Bilgewater, I am the late Dauphin!” (Twain 125). After hearing this, Jim is fascinated. He thinks he is in the presence of royalty, but Huck is not fooled. These con men kept talking and acting like they were royalty, and Huck says “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes, at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds.” (Twain 126). Huck realizes how unlikely their story is, but does not tell Jim. Huck keeps it to himself because he does not want to start a quarrel amongst them, so he lets them have their way and be called whatever they want as long as it does not start any issues. He never plans on telling Jim because it is useless to Jim. As Huck, Jim, and the cons arrive at a new town, the con men want to come up with a way to get money. They decide to perform a Shakespeare play, or more like Shakespeare jumbled up play, and they name it Royal Nonesuch. As they prepare for the play they hang up signs and posters everywhere around the small town. They charge 50 cents for each person who comes. The performance goes very well and Huck states “Next day you
When Huck and Jim sink the boat they start to gather some valuables on the robbers boat. They noticed that everything that are taking is just almost everyday materials such as clothes, cigars, and a bunch of books. Huck and Jim bring their raft to the shore and stop and sleep in the woods for the night. When they were just sitting their Huck opened up one of the books and started to read it. As he was reading it, he thought of Widow Douglass and how she would be proud of Huck for reading. While reading the book, Huck also realizes a name in the book the name is Dauphin, and was told that he is out in America wandering around. But Jim just sits back and doesn’t believe what Huck is saying at all.
Huck Finn thinks about his father in an unusual way. Huck does not like his father, which makes sense because his father is a greedy drunk, however Huck still looks up to his father as a role model. Pap is not a good role model for Huck because of his history of abusing Huck and his random disappearances. When Pap tries to gain custody of his Huck, the judges side with him just because he is the father. This is shown when Huck says “The judge and the widow went to law to ge...
...all along Jim was free but being the adventurous boy he is he wanted Jim to turn out and be a hero like the one’s he reads about. Tom knows Jim could have been freed multiple times if he didn’t put him up to all of the childish games. Jim had stayed by Tom’s when he almost died and would do anything for him but Tom couldn’t give Jim the same respect back. His foolishness behavior caused Jim more pain and almost didn’t get him freed. Jim was a father figure to both boys and he stood by Huck’s side since the beginning of the novel.
Along the river, Jim and Huck run across two scam artists who claim to be a runaway King and Duke. Their raft is overtaken by these two men who force Huck and Jim into their dangerous, yet comical scams. Their last scam proves t be too much of Huck. The King and Duke claim to be the brothers of a quite wealth, but conveniently deceased man. Because of their acclamation, the two men are guaranteed a large inheritance. However, when Huck falls for the beautiful heart and kindness of one of the dead man's nieces he can't imagine stealing the money form her. Huck tells the niece the whole story, and admits who the "brothers" really are. The King and Duke are eventually discovered by the town to be impersonators, and are tarred and feathered.
When Huck and Jim first meet each other on the island they are just acquaintances who had little history together but the decision they make to help each other foreshadows their relationship later on in the story. When Jim first finds Huck he states, "Goodness gracious, is dat you, Huck? En you ain' dead—you ain' drownded—you's back agin? It's too good for true, honey, it's too good for true. Lemme look at you chile, lemme feel o' you. No, you ain' dead! you's back agin, 'live en soun', jis de same ole Huck—de same ole Huck, thanks to goodness!" (Twain ). By this time, Jim has heard the news of Hucks “death”, so when they find each other on the island it comes as a surprise to Jim. “People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum--but that don't make no difference. I ain't a-going to tell, and I ain't a-going back there, anyways” (Twain ), Huck thought. After Jim told Huck that he was a runaway, Huck promised not to tell anyone, which shows his values and foreshadows their relationship later on in the story. After leaving ...
In nature, on the journey down the river, Huck decides to help Jim obtain freedom from slavery. In that time period, it was frowned upon to think of blacks as more than slaves, but Huck does not conform to that idea, befriending Jim, a slave. As soon as the bond between the two sparks, Huck wants to help him escape slavery. Huck thinks to himself that he should write a letter to Miss Watson explaining how the Phelps family is keeping Jim, but then he quickly decides against it. Thinking about the repercussions of what would happen to Jim and himself he ponders, “And then think of me! It would get all around that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom; and if I was ever to see anybody from that town again I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame” (223). If word got around that Huck helped Jim, he would receive negative remarks for going against the common belief. With the use of Huck’s inner dialogue, Twain is able to express his opinion of how society causes conformity. Huck has knowledge that his going against the beliefs of society would have great consequences and Twain emphasizes its impact with Huck’s indecisiveness towards this situation concerning Jim. At the end of the novel, once Jim gains freedom for risking his own freedom to help nurse Tom back to health, the discussion over who Huck is going to live
While Huck is traveling down the river with Jim, he must lie and often disguise himself to survive on his own to conceal his identity. Huck rebels because he does not want to follow his aunts house rules or live up to her expectations which are to conform to social norms. This means he has to dress cleanly and neatly, use manners, go to school, and be polite to everyone. Huck also is confused because he wants to get away from his abusive father who excessively drinks. Huck is afraid of his father who has beaten him and verbally abused him repeatedly therefore, his only solution is to run away. He does this by faking his own death. Curiousity overwhelms him and he wants to know how society has taken to the news of his death. In order to get some information Huck disguises himself as a girl. He meets with Judy Lawson, a local woman, and asks about the disappearance of Huck Finn. Although his disguise works well, Judy Loftus starts to test him to disguise whether Huck is really a girl. As soon as Judy says, "What's your real name? Is it Bill, or Tom, or Bob? -or what is it?"(Twain 70) Huck realizes he has no chance in pulling such pranks. When confronted with his lie Huck tells the truth and ends up making a friend who says he can count on her. Huck also tries to protect Jim from being captured by lying about himself and his situation.
...n contrast to those of the King and Duke expose the dichotomy between good and evil present in everyday life. Traditionally, a dark shadow has loomed over the art of deception, and rightfully so in regards to the King and Duke. However, when in the face of a greater evil, a small number of noble people can use lies in a dignified manner, as demonstrated by Huckleberry Finn. By observing the motives someone has for straying from the truth, the morality of that person emerges, becoming ever more discernable . Lying, however, has evolved into an archetype for immorality and evil, only to be slightly redeemed by those who are fighting for a greater good. In this light, Twain portrays the dichotomy nested within deceitfulness within numerous characters in his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a dichotomy that is too often slanted toward one, immoral side.
... he now realizes that stealing property is bad. Since Huck and Tom, although in a drawn-out manner, free Jim it is implied that he regards Jim as a fellow human being, not a slave. Showing Huck this equality and fostering a friendship between him and Jim could only be done by this kind of physical journey, as the idea of equality was only in its infancy at the time and had not taken root with any southerner.
Pap Finn instills a "Southern race prejudice" and leads Huck to believe "that he detests Abolitionists" (374). Huck comes into conflict with this philosophy as he journeys on the raft with Jim. He can not decide if he is wrong in helping Jim escape slavery, or if the philosophy is wrong. The education of Huck also stirs some values from Pap. When Pap tells him that education is useless, Huck is confused because the Widow Douglas told him that education was important.
Almost immediately we are introduced to the drunken, deranged man who is Huck?s father, Pap. Pap is an alcoholic who roams from place to place buying up booze and sleeping wherever he can. Huck has never viewed him as a real father figure because Pap has almost never been there for Huck, except when he is ?disciplining? him. Pap is uneducated and disapproves of Huck attending school. Pap tells Huck, "you're educated...You think your're better'n your father, now, don't you, because he can't?" (14) Huck puts up with Pap?s numerous beatings because he does not want to be the cause of any more controversies between himself and Pap. Huck explains, "If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way" (95). Pap?s addiction to alcohol is how Twain views the affect that alcohol can have on a person. He believes that alcohol is a money waster, can affect the sanity of people, and how it can turn even decent men into complete scoundrels.
Throughout the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there are numerous crimes. The violence of these crimes is described vividly by Huck, the narrator, which shows their impact upon him. By showing Huck's shock over these events, Twain is showing that there is no real justice in the South, except for the hollow and often inappropriate excess found attempts to obtain personal justice. During these scenes Huck's turmoil reflects what Twain wants the reader to feel. Ultimately, this novel is a sharp criticism of a Southern lifestyle where justice is unobtainable.
While Huck’s constant lies while narrating the novel makes the authenticity of certain events doubtful, it serves a much greater purpose of allowing the reader to indirectly see the continued improvements and declines of Huck’s moral judgment. At some points, he serves only himself; at other key events in the story, he creates elaborate lies that help others. The moral development of Huck makes itself apparent in the changing lies of Huck, allowing readers to observe the events taking place within Huck’s mind with ease.
The way Huck and Jim encounter each other on the island, draws parallels in their similar backgrounds. Huck is torn between a life of manners and etiquette and a dangerous life a freedom, and while Jim at an impasse because he is being sold into slavery farther away from his home and away from his family. Each choice, for both characters comes with a cost so they both decide to runaway, in an attempt to assert some control over their lives. After spending much time together, the pair establish a connection which at times Huck feels guilty about since it violates everything he was raised to believe. At a certain point, Huck considers turning Jim in by, writing a letter, but after recalling the goods times they shared, Huck exclaims, "All right, then, I 'll go to hell!” (Twain) and quickly tears up the letter. Twain depicts Huck and Jim 's eventually friendship as a source of emotional strife for Huck and Huck constantly has to decide whether to abandon Jim and turn him in or abandon his religious beliefs and stay with Jim. The ripping up of the letter that would have turned Jim in symbolizes the choice Huck 's has selected. For this moment onward, Huck is dedicated to keeping Jim from being sold back into slavery and has no intent on going back on his choice. While there are times, Huck pays attention to the color of Jim 's skin he believes that
So when Huck fakes his death and runs away to live on an island he is faced with yet another problem, which revolves around the controversial issue of the time of racism. While living on the island he meets Jim, who was a slave, but Huck soon learns that he has run off and now in the process of making his way up north to Canada. Here Huck is faced with his first tough decision, to go with Jim and help him, or just go and tell the officials of a runaway slave and get the reward. Huck reluctantly joins Jim and promises to get him to free land for the sake of a good adventure, but he still feels guilty to be conversing with a runaway slave, let alone help him escape. Along the way Huck has many challenges, which are just like this one.