Huck Finn Individualism
Huck Finn
Mark Twain has produced from his imagination one of the most beloved and renowned characters in all of American literature. This persona is ranked by many Americans today to be among the most beloved and adored individuals known across the country. He has found his place eternally in American literary works next to others like Jay Gatsby, Atticus Finch, and Holden Caulfield. Of course I'm speaking of Huck Finn, the prime example of "poor white trash" of 1800's Missouri who is much more than meets the eye. This teenage boy has become the embodiment of free thought and individualism by the end of his novel, especially in comparison to his fellow citizens. However, that's only one of the reasons why he's so favored among avid readers.
Above all things, Huck is human.
Throughout the majority of his novel, Huck Finn deals with many divisive internal conflicts. Whether it be a problem where his decision will have a decisive impact (such as choosing to follow the morals of the Widow, Pap, or Jim) or deciding whether stealing food was morally right:
Pap always said it warn't no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it. Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly right and pap was partly right; so the best way would be for us to pick out two or three things from the list and say we wouldn't borrow them any more—then he reckoned it wouldn't be no harm to borrow the others. So we talked it over all one night, drifting along down the river, trying to make up our minds whether to drop the watermelons, or the cantelopes, or the mushmelons, or what. But towards daylight we got it all settled satisfactory, and concluded to drop crabapples and p'simmons. (12)
Huck's mind is almost constantly occupied by some pressing matter. A boy of only about thirteen or fourteen, we can compare such a state of mind to someone much older (or more troubled) than he should be.
Mark Twain has produced from his imagination one of the most beloved and renowned characters in all of American literature. This persona is ranked by many Americans today to be among the most beloved and adored individuals known across the country. He has found his place eternally in American literary works next to others like Jay Gatsby, Atticus Finch, and Holden Caulfield. Of course I'm speaking of Huck Finn, the prime example of "poor white trash" of 1800's Missouri who is much more than meets the eye. This teenage boy has become the embodiment of free thought and individualism by the end of his novel, especially in comparison to his fellow citizens. However, that's only one of the reasons why he's so favored among avid readers.
Above all things, Huck is human.
Throughout the majority of his novel, Huck Finn deals with many divisive internal conflicts. Whether it be a problem where his decision will have a decisive impact (such as choosing to follow the morals of the Widow, Pap, or Jim) or deciding whether stealing food was morally right:
Pap always said it warn't no harm to borrow things if you was meaning to pay them back some time; but the widow said it warn't anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it. Jim said he reckoned the widow was partly right and pap was partly right; so the best way would be for us to pick out two or three things from the list and say we wouldn't borrow them any more—then he reckoned it wouldn't be no harm to borrow the others. So we talked it over all one night, drifting along down the river, trying to make up our minds whether to drop the watermelons, or the cantelopes, or the mushmelons, or what. But towards daylight we got it all settled satisfactory, and concluded to drop crabapples and p'simmons. (12)
Huck's mind is almost constantly occupied by some pressing matter. A boy of only about thirteen or fourteen, we can compare such a state of mind to someone much older (or more troubled) than he should be.