Huck Finn
Huckleberry Finn: The experiences of an endangered childMark Twain created a character that expresses freedom within American society. Huckleberry Finn lives on the margins of society because he is the son of a town drunk. He sleeps where he pleases and eats where he pleases. No one requires him to attend school or church, bath or dress respectably. Years of having to fend for himself have invested Huck with solid common sense. Huckleberry Finn's background is as important as his personality in this novel. He is only thirteen years old when he sets out on his own.
He and a friend, Tom Sawyer cross paths in the wilderness and decide to travel together. Widow Douglass and Miss Watson reform him throughout the novel. He believes that is not acceptable and not morally right to hold Jim as a slave and property of Miss Watson. Through Huck, Twain weighs the costs and benefits of living in society against those of living independently of society. Adult societies disapprove of Huck, but because he appears to be a likeable boy, the adult's disapproval of Huck generally separates the readers from them and not from Huck himself. That same distrust and his experiences as he travels down the river force him to question the things he has been taught. Since he is a child, Huck is always vulnerable; any adult he encounters has power over him. Huck's childhood leads him to often distrust people. Both use a raft to escape the bondage of the land. This allows Twain to compare Huck to Jim, who is a slave and also vulnerable to whites, even a poor white child such as Huck. His father was a drunk and he is often dirty and frequently homeless. Throughout the novel, Huck becomes skeptical of the world around him and constantly looks to distance him from it. Huck's sense of logic and fairness, encourage his tendency to lie on behalf of his friend, Jim. He feels society and enters the natural world where he feels most at home.
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Acceptance Essays
