Is "Huck" in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, a good literary character for young readers today? He is seen at the outset of the novel as a troublesome young child who needs to be taught how to act in a civilized manner and Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, models of conventional society take him in, attempting to educate him. His father however kidnaps him, and Huck is no longer trapped by the conformity of society, but rather by the harsh treatment of his abusive father. Still seen as a misfit child, his character gains some respect from the reader when he is able to fake his own death and escape from his father's jail. When Huck and Jim, Miss Watson's runaway slave, first encounter one another after both of them have escaped from society, Huck views Jim as property, but decides to help him anyway. At this point Huck's character is developing along with the reader's respect for him as a young adult.
The cover of the first edition of Adventures of Hu...
Illustration of Jim and Huckleberry Finn, by EW Ke...
mark twain Category:Mark Twain imagesHis important decision to help Jim escape from slavery foreshadows Huck's moral change that will eventually occur in the novel. As the story progresses, Huck and Jim spend significant time together traveling down the Mississippi River, where Jim's individual character begins to develop along with the two fugitives' personal relationship. By the end of the novel Huck sees Jim as an equal, believing deep down in his heart that Jim is a free man. Due to his departure from conventional society as well as his personal relationship with Jim, Huck is able to undergo extensive moral development as the novel progresses.
Although by the end of the novel Huck has become an individual with his own opinions and morals, throughout the first section of the story he is still a radical young boy being...