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Huckleberry Finn Change Analysis

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How does Huck change? In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck's actions change throughout the book. Not following his conscience, alters Huck's actions. By not following his conscience, he alters his actions when he starts telling the truth, views the world differently, and helps Jim escape. This leads to his actions changing because of all his new experiences and maturing on the way. Huck did not follow his conscience and this causes him to start telling the truth. After Huck sees what the King and Duke have done to Mary Jane, her family, and all the others, Huck decides to tell Mary Jane the truth “These uncles of yourn ain't no uncles at all; they're a couple of frauds- regular deadbeats.” (Chapter 28) After she finds out, they make a plan to make sure her 'uncles' pay for tricking them. He decides to tell Mary Jane and let her spread the word about who they are and then get the Duke and King jailed and get rid of them. Huck's conscience “spoke” to him to not tell Mary Jane because it would be better if he kept it to himself. “I hadn't no objections, 'long as it would keep peace in the family” (chapter 19) Huck not following his …show more content…

After all his bad experiences with the Duke and King, he stills feels bad for them being tarred and feathered. “Humans beings can be awful cruel to one another.” (chapter 33) Yet through everything, he still cares about the Duke and King even though they caused so much trouble on the raft. Talking about it with Tom he figures that “a persons conscience ain't got no sense, and just goes for him anyway… it takes up more room than all the rest of a person's insides, and yet ain't no good, nohow. Tom Sawyer says the same.” (chapter 33) Huck doesn't find the point in a conscience, he thinks that the whole thing is pointless because he believes it leads you in the wrong direction. This helps him alter his thoughts and help Jim

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976 Words | 4 Pages

By the end of the book, he had started to realize that he really did care about Jim. Huck is writing Miss Watson a letter towards the end of the book talking about where Jim is and how she can get him back. After writing the letter, Huck starts to think about the good times he had with Jim and says that “...somehow I couldn’t seem to strike no places for me to harden against him, but only the other kind.”(213). This was the most powerful part in the book for me because after thinking of all the good that Jim has brought him, he tears up the paper and says “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”(214). In Huck’s mind, he had the choice to send the letter and go to heaven or to try to save Jim and go to Hell for doing the wrong thing as far as the widow taught him.

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489 Words | 2 Pages

When Huck hears this from Jim, it tares at Huck. He decides not to turn in Jim (which he could have done easily.) Huck’s conscience basically ate him alive. Huck was on the verge of turning in Jim, and seemed that was what he should do. However after thinking about it, Huck decided he would feel worse if he turned Jim in as opposed to keeping him free.

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752 Words | 4 Pages

 When he and Jim encounter the “Duke” and “King”.  Huck states that it “didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all” (127).   Both Huck and Jim can clearly tell that they are frauds, and for several chapters heed to their every whim just to keep the social balance and to not get beat up by them.     In the end of the book, Huck has reached his moral peak, and completely goes against what society tells him.

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1124 Words | 5 Pages

Jim displays many father like characteristics towards Huck while on the river. Jim has a strong desire to keep Huck safe. During their trip Huck is approached by men who are searching for runaway slaves, and this makes him contemplate whether he should turn Jim in. Yet, Huck feels extremely guilty for even being curious on the topic and says, “S’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you feel better than what you do now? No says I, I’d feel bad” (Twain 69).

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680 Words | 3 Pages

That evening, Huck decides that the duke and the king are “frauds.” However, he “never [says] nothing, never [lets] on…” in order to “keep peace,” and ignores the issue. Huck only changes in regards to his opinions of the duke and king. In spite of that, Huck’s treatment of them does not change, therefore his character does not grow. Because Huck chooses not to say anything about the suspicious behavior of the duke and the king or present the issue, Huck’s dismissive nature is

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1481 Words | 6 Pages

This part of the book reveals a change in heart in Huck’s morals

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1266 Words | 6 Pages

Huck decides to act on his morals rather than be held captive by society; Huck believes that he has to act in the best interest of Jim and does not consider what society believes is acceptable behavior. By stating that he will “go to hell,” Huck reiterates what he promises Jim in the beginning- that he rather be a “low down abolitionist”; these statements combined supports his feelings to protect Jim from society. When Huck and Tom get back to the house, Huck states, “...it don’t make no difference whether you do right or wrong, a person’s conscience ain’t got no

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1603 Words | 7 Pages

In this scene, instead of battling between his moral compass and society’s expectations, he is actually making a decision on whether he is going to conform to civilization as it is represented by the Widow. They finally choose to take some fruit after careful consideration, as Huck puts it “We warn’t feeling just right, before that, but it was all comfortable now” (56). The fact that they considered thoroughly whether to take the fruit or not shows that Huck starts to think about the consequence and the nature of things as well as his ethic progress. Furthermore, the major turning point of the formation of Huck’s ethic values occurs when he meets the white person on the steamboat who is looking for runaway slaves. Huck feels “so mean and so miserable I most wished I was dead” (75) because Huck does not know whether he should tell the white man about Jim.

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466 Words | 2 Pages

In this selected passage Huck decides he is not going to send the letter he wrote to Miss Watson with the intention of turning Jim in. Huck initially writes the letter because he is thinking about God and his state of sin, as he believes he is committing a sin by stealing another person’s property. He never sends the letter because he realized how much he trusts Jim and doesn’t see him as his property, but rather as a best friend. Previously he has stayed with Jim because it was easy, but this scene marks the time when he is able to stay by Jim’s side even when he believes it will come at a great personal cost.

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738 Words | 3 Pages

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic novel that takes the reader on a series of thrilling adventures full of life threatening situations, racism, and slavery. The author Mark Twain, uses the novel to highlight the flaws in society by creating a character like Huck, whose personal sense of morals and justice are more noble than those of the very people trying to civilize him. Throughout this captivating novel Huck endures his fair share of trouble and morally challenging decision but he always comes out on top by following his heart and doing what he feels to be right.

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1767 Words | 8 Pages

Once Huck met Widow Douglas, her Bible teachings is what possibly changed the morals behind his lies. Huck’s lies were always designed to save a life and to continue the adventures to freedom. As Twain

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Huck has been burned with the idea that he is to blame for Jim’s escape. Huck ultimately feels guilty because he knows he has not done wrong but he has no reason not to believe what society thinks because he was only taught one way. Huck imagines an alternate scenario, thinking “s’pose [he]’d’ a’ done right and give Jim up, would [he] felt better... No…[he'd] feel bad” (91). Huck is aware that the right decision based on society is to give up Jim.

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1141 Words | 5 Pages

Although there are numerous instances where Huck’s moral growth can be seen, the individuals around such as Jim, will influence his moral growth greatly. Jim, a runaway slave, is the most influential individual when it comes to Huck’s moral development. During the beginning of the novel, Huck’s morals are primarily based on what he has learned from Miss Watson. Huck begins to become wary of such ideals that Miss Watson has imposed on him, and decided all he wanted “…was a change” (Twain 10).

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1202 Words | 5 Pages

Huck thinks about Miss Watson and how he is betraying her by helping Jim escape. Huck encounters slave catchers and he is internally whether to tell about Jim but decides not to and says, “They went and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low, because I knowed very well I had done wrong, and I see it warn’t no use for me to try to learn to do right; a body that don’t get started right when he’s little ain’t got no show -- when the pinch comes there ain’t nothing to back him up and keep him to his work, and so he gets beat” (Twain 102). Then later in the novel Jim is sold by some con men for $40 which upsets Huck and causes him to realize he cares about Jim and says, “All right, then I’ll GO to hell” (Twain 225). Huck is defying society’s laws by deciding to help captured Jim. Huck is maturing significantly because his perception of Jim has changed.

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey.

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