Why Is Huck Finn Selfish

Would Huckleberry Finn fit in on Kwajalein? No. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Huck is taken in by the Widow Douglas, and she tries to teach him good manners and to “civilize” him. Huck rebels against this and disobeys her at first but then he doesn’t mind it. Huck’s father, an abusive drunk, returns and takes Huck away from the Widow. His father beats him and locks him in their cabin and Huck decides that he is going to run away. Huck leaves on the river and finds Jim, a runaway slave and they continue on a journey together. They float down the river and meet some good people and some not so good people and get into a lot of predicaments that show their morals and their personalities. Huck is very rebellious in nature and does not like to follow rules; he is also worldly and always surrounded by crime. I believe that Huck would not fit in on Kwaj because most “Kwaj-Kids” are well behaved and sheltered, which Huck is not.
On Kwaj, most of the kids are well behaved, but Huck is not behaved at all.
Huck runs away from home, he smokes, drinks, and breaks many other rules. When Jim is in captivity on the sawmill and Huck decides he is going to help him escape he says “for a starter I would work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think u anything worse, I would do that too” (210). Not only is he helping a slave runaway, which was not acceptable in society back then, he wants to break any other rules he can. Consequently, on Kwaj if you don’t follow the rules you are kicked off the island but most of the kids are just well behaved in general. They understand the consequences of breaking the rules but most are just good kids. Huck is just rebellious in nature which would not work on Kwaj. Huck also says how he is going to go out west so he doesn’t have to be civilized. On Kwaj there is nowhere to run from the rules and they can’t be avoided. Huck is too rebellious in nature and disobedient to fit in on
Kwaj.
Another reason that Huck would not fit in on Kwaj is because most Kwaj Kids are very sheltered. There are no drugs on Kwaj, kids don't need to worry whether their parents can pay the bills, there is no crime, and it is a very safe place. Huck is a very worldly person, he smokes and drinks, his father is an abusive drunk, and he is living on his own with a runaway slave. Huck lived with his father who abused him and would lock him in their cabin alone. Huck wouldn't know when his father would return or if he would return at all. He also lives surrounded by crime, he is with a runaway slave, and he is with the King and the Duke swindling people and stealing. On Kwaj the extent of crime is someone taking your bike to get to the dock. This would be very different for Huck and Huck would be very different to Kwaj Kids. Also Huck’s father does a lot of borrowing of things. He calls it borrowing but it is really just stealing what he wants or needs. On Kwaj this would not be accepted and it would just be viewed as stealing. Huck has lived his life surrounded by crime and other worldly elements, this is very different from the way things go on Kwaj and show why Huck would not fit in. One could argue that although Huck is rebellious and worldly, he is very friendly which is a common characteristic of Kwaj Kids. Most of the youth on Kwajalein are very outgoing and can get along with anyone. This is also true for Huck. He has a great bond with Jim, a runaway slave, even though society in the setting of the book is racist. This is considered low-down to be helping an ungrateful black man runaway from his owner, but Huck sees that Jim is very kind and views him positively. Huck also becomes good friends with Buck and they build a good relationship, and he is very good friends with Tom Sawyer and his gang. This shows that Huck could fit in on Kwaj, because this is how most Kwaj Kids are. This is also shown when Huck becomes friends with Mary Jane and can’t let The King and The Duke steal all of the money from her and her family. This shows how kind and caring Huck is and how he values other people. This characteristic is in most kids on Kwaj and argues that he could fit in, but I believe that the conflicting evidence is enough to outweigh the fact that he is friendly. Despite the fact that Huck is very kind he still would not fit in on Kwaj because he is rebellious and very worldly. The qualities of being rebellious and worldly outweigh the characteristic of being nice. If you break the rules on Kwaj you are kicked off and if Huck did some of the things he did in the novel he would certainly be kicked off. He also has grown up surrounded by crime and other worldly elements that are not present on Kwaj and he wouldn’t be used to the helpfulness and sense of community that exists on Kwaj. These qualities convey that Huckleberry Finn would not fit in on Kwaj.