Huckleberry Finn Character Analysis

Throughout Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, readers watch Huck, a 13 year old in pre Civil War America, grow beyond the social norms. Huck embarks on a daring trip down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave, Jim. During his adventure, he learns a plethora of unforgettable life lessons. When starting this journey, Huck is wary of slaves, but through tribulations he learns that there's more to meets the eye than just skin color. To further build on this, Huck learns how sinister white people can be. In dealing with a pair of con men, he learns that greed and fraud can have devastating effects on people. Above all, Huck takes these lessons to heart and rises above the one person that Southern society accepts: his

He believes that they're nothing more than property and should be treated as such. That's why it's not a surprise Huck is shell shocked when he observes from Jim that slaves are so much more. Jim teaches Huck that slaves have emotions, they love their families, and that they're people. Huck first sees this when the two separate in the fog. Thinking it would be funny, Huck convinces Jim that he imagined the whole scenario. Jim, however, thinks the joke is nothing but cruelty. (JIMS QUOTE ABOUT HUCK PULLING THE PRANK ON HIM IN THE FOG) This shows that Huck feels remorse for treating Jim poorly, and that even though he was a slave, he deserves better. Later, when Jim is captured, Huck faces a difficult choice: should he get help for Jim but have him exposed, or risk going to hell and save Jim himself. In an act of true friendship, Huck decides to risk his own salvation and save his friend. Through this decision, the author shows that the Jim is teaching Huck that slaves are not just property, but

On their journey, Huck and Jim run into a pair of con men, who are nothing but dishonest. He sees the full extent of their cruel intentions when they attempt to scam a dead man's family of their money and property. (WHOLE BODY ASHAMED QUOTE). Mark Twain writes this to make the statement that, contrary to the South's belief, a slave can be a hero and a white person can be a villain. Huck doesn't stop learning from the con men at that moment, but he continues to grow up to the final chapters. When he sees the two tied up with tar and feathers stuck to their body, he feels sorry for them. From these two, Huck learns to have compassion for those who are only looking out for their own