This essay is on the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. It analizes twains themes, structure and the social change that it brought about. AP English

Essay by intense77High School, 11th gradeA+, May 2002

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The Late 19th century was an era in which writers began to challenge the traditions, ideas and stereotypes of society. It was a time when people began to take the time to question the age- old traditions and work towards change. Written in pre -Civil War America, Mark Twain was a champion of this individual thought in his novel The Adventures of huckleberry Finn. He Remarkably creates a character Huck who transcends the expectations of society on his escape to the river. Twain begins by presenting Huck as an individual who stands up against his social conscience. The reader is left to praise him for this, and is extremely disappointed in the end when Huck falls back into the role of an obedient, 'small' person, overshadowed by the nonsense of Tom Sawyer. Twain has this fascinating and yet maddening way of exposing the truth only to conceal it once again.

The role of the novel seems to fall back into the stereotypes in which the ignorant society sees things. Huck looses his idiosyncrasy; Jim loses his humanity and 'strong head.' He becomes the "nigger" again. This is all obvious yet what is not too clear to see is that the relationship between Jim and Huck is the same as Huck and Toms. The reader sees that Jim is a humane, intelligent capable human being, and yet he continues to see himself as inferior to whites and listens to everything tom says, no matter how absurd it is. Likewise, we see that Huck has heroic, individual qualities, yet he thinks he shall go to hell and looks up to Tom in awe.

"If you read it you must stop where the nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. That is the real end." -- Earnest Hemmingway

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