Huckleberry Finn Character Analysis

People have a general belief that they know right from wrong, but how does one truly know the difference? In the fictional works of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain expertly portrays this through his main protagonist Huck. Huck begins this novel with mainly the ideals and beliefs that society has forced upon him with a both figurative and literal black and white way of thinking. Before Pap comes along and forces him to run off, he thought of Jim as one thing; a slave. The longer Huck spends time away from society, the more he begins to realize that his original way of thinking may not be the best. Throughout his adventures, Huck slowly molds himself into a person guided by his heart rather than a person guided by his own conscience

When the Duke and King come aboard their raft, Huck refrains from telling Jim that they aren’t actual royalty in order to keep him safe. “But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it’s the best way; then you don’t have no quarrels, and don’t get into no trouble,” (Twain 128). Even though Huck realizes that the men aren’t actually royalty, he doesn’t want the men to start a fight and possibly hurt Jim. He knows that if Jim were to discover that the men were frauds, he might ask them to leave, which could prove dangerous. This shows that Jim’s well being now comes first in Huck’s mind, and he will do anything for him. Huck hides the money that the Duke and King steal so that the girls won’t end up penniless, even though it is putting himself at risk. “I got to steal that money, somehow; and I got to steal it some way that they won’t suspicion that I done it,” (Twain 179). He admits here that he knows that the feat will be dangerous, but he will hide the money because he knows that if he doesn’t, the girls would be in pain from not only their father dying, but also from the frauds that claimed to be their family. If he were as self centered as he was in the beginning of the book, he wouldn’t have hidden the money at all because of the risk to himself. He is acknowledging the pain that could come to him, but he is ignoring it because he now knows that it is the right thing to help

When the Duke and King are tarred and feathered, Huck explains that he doesn’t understand why people treat each other so cruelly, showing how he has grown as a person. “It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another,” (Twain 233). This can symbolise Huck’s step back from society and the people it holds in it’s grip. He refers to the crowd that tarred and feathered the Duke and King as “Human beings,” which comes across as an unaffectionate, detached term. Instead of referring to the people as people, he refers to them almost as if he does not associate himself with ‘human beings. Huck admits that he is willing to go to hell for Jim, showing that he has cast aside society’s views and his own conscience and is now completely led by his heart. “‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell,—and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming.” (Twain 217). Here is the true moment that Huck gives up the twisted views that society has forced upon him. He now truly knows in his heart that all people are equal, regardless of race, sex, or age. This is where Huck adopts the idea of true equality, because he knows his life has equal value to Jim’s. When Huck tries to convince Tom to go along with his plan to free Jim, he says that he knows it is low down and dirty, but he is too. “‘I know what you’ll