Similarities Between Kuusisto In Huckleberry Finn

One book in particular, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, depicts an outsider leaving his home to escape his society. During the adventure Huck faces difficult challenges and, essentially, accomplishes everything Kuusisto dreamed of as a child. Huck escapes a society that does not support him to travel up the Mississippi River with an escaped slave. During his journey meets two conmen that call themselves the king and the duke. The two conmen force Huck into many different situations where danger is looming over them. At one point, Huck has to save three girls who recently lost their father from losing their fortune to the King and the duke. He decides to “tell the truth” to the three girls because “the truth is safer” (Twain 239). By telling the truth the three girls are able to escape the conmen. Throughout
Huck proved that he was smart and clever enough to do anything in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These differences are important, however, the similarities between Kuusisto and Huck create another strong emotional connection that Kuusisto would have felt for Huck. Like Kuusisto, Huck is “the juvenile pariah of the village” who is thought lower of due to circumstances outside of his control (Wexman 3). Teachers believe Huck is of a lower intelligence due to who he is related to, much like how teachers thought Kuusisto was of a lower intelligence due to his disability. Kuusisto “fail[s] tests in biology” and his chemistry teacher ridicules him (Kuusisto 52). Huck and Kuusisto are both not truly accepted by the people they live with. Huck lives with a woman who will try to convert him and control him whenever she can and Kuusisto’s parents do not mention his blindness. These similarities would create a special connection for Kuusisto and he would most likely turn to this book as a way to experience an adventure where the protagonist is similar to