Huck Finn Sailing Down The River Analysis

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The experience of Huck sailing down the river helps to demonstrate the level of maturity that Huck undergoes. This happens on multiple levels. One distinct notion of change that comes out of Huck traveling down the river is that it shows the level of change he had undergone. This helps him understand the world and his place in it. Huck's experience down the river is a separation between he and society. It enables him to better understand the hypocrisy that exists in society. Such reflection is where maturation in Huck's character becomes evident. As Huck reflects about his own condition in the world, his experience on the river enables him to better understand his place in the world. Part of this experience involves Huck coming to terms …show more content…

This experience of recognizing what might be wrong with socially dictated notions of the good is where maturation exists. To a great extent, Huck understands that freedom is about speaking out against that which is perceived to be wrong. Huck's maturation lies in the recognition that he needs to escape from a world that is "so cramped up and sivilized [sic] as they call it." At the same time, Huck also realizes that he cannot stay with his father. In recognizing the need for Huck to find his own path, he becomes mature. Maturity is seen in such an action. It is something that Huck gains as a result of him leaving conformist notions of the good. Traveling with Jim and eventually freeing him is what defines his character. Taking such moral action in the name of another human being and in the name of what is seen to be right are both examples of maturation. Even if the act itself was not significant, Huck recognizes the need to take it, thereby experiencing a level of maturation. Leaving into "the real world" is where this experience causes Huck's maturation. Dong so allows him to become a more actualized human being, and demonstrating that all people are capable of maturing no matter how old they