Huckleberry Finn Analysis – Term Paper

Huckleberry Finn Character Analysis

Huckleberry Finn is the main fictional character in a novel written by Mark Twain known as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is the poor boy who has an alcoholic father; on the other hand, his close friend Tom Sawyer has an exaggerated imagination which eventually gets him into trouble (he finds a stash of gold that belongs to robbers). Eventually, Huckleberry Finn is adopted by Douglas (a widow) who is kind but stifle. Due to the fact that Huckleberry has grown up in poverty, he is unwillingly prompted to become dishonest about his life and identity most times because he is protecting Jim (Francis and Mark 45). Therefore, this essay will focus on Huckleberry Finn extensively in order to understand his character while linking it to the story.

At the beginning of the novel, the author clarifies that Huckleberry is the boy who has come from poverty within the white society. Furthermore, his father is an alcoholic drunkard that goes missing for long periods of time. Huckleberry is usually homeless and dirty because of the neglect he receives from his father. Even though his adopter Douglas tries to reform him, he blocks her attempts while maintaining his independent mannerisms. Huckleberry is eventually taken to school by Douglas but he still fails to sync with mainstream society because he is skeptical of the world as well as the ideas and opportunities it presents to him.

Huckleberry Finn Essay

Huckleberry’s instinctual distrust as well as his experiences while he travels along the river leads him to question things society has offered and taught him (Francis and Mark 32). Besides the fact that Huckleberry is still a child, his surroundings and the world seem new from his point of view; this is because all the events he encounters leads him to think more about the situation. Owing to his background, Huckleberry does not just abide by the rules he was taught, rather he forms new rules along the way. However, Huckleberry still has to come to terms with some preconceptions about the black society in terms of how they were ingrained in him whereby he eventually willingly follows Tom Sawyer’s lead. As a result, he ends up becoming sympathetic and more appealing. This shows that despite his shortcomings, he was capable of becoming a sensible individual that did not just abide to whatever society demanded.

Huckleberry’s wit as well as his deceitful ways assisted him to escape most difficult situations. He cheated, lied and deceived other people so that he could survive as he travelled down the river. Nevertheless, he still felt conflicted about acting the right way especially because he observed inadequate human mannerisms around him (Twain 207). It is important to note that Huckleberry managed to undergo a moral transformation after he had to make life transforming decisions as he went through his new life journey. He first began without any trace of morality but due to the help of Jim, he slowly begins to attain his personal concept of morality.

As Huckleberry experiences his adventures, he finds himself in many situations that require him to search within himself as well as utilize his judgment to make the significant decisions which would influence his morals forever (Twain 205). Through the help of Jim, who acted as Huckleberry’s moral guide, Huckleberry was able to go through a moral transformation to utilize his judgment so that he could truly progress.    

Works Cited

Francis, Pauline, and Mark Twain. Huckleberry Finn. London: Evans Bros, 2007. Print.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (tom Sawyer’s Comrade). Champaign, Ill: Project Gutenberg, 1990. Internet resource.