ipl-logo

Huck's Maturation In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

1597 Words7 Pages

The maturation theme is present in almost all great works and social commentaries. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the protagonist Nick Carraway matures throughout the novel to the conclusion that he does not want to be a part of his society. Mark Twain, in his American Realistic novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn utilizes maturation in order to comment on the state of American backwoods society, through Huck’s compassion, Huck’s growth towards his view of the world, and lastly Huck’s acceptance of his responsibility. Just as Nick Carraway, the beginning of the text shows Huck as a care-free happy boy. Unfortunately, Huck is very much a product of his time, and has little respect for black people. We can see one such example of his childishness …show more content…

Huck is looking for a father, and Jim is looking to join a family. The two complement each other well (4). Helping an escaped slave is a criminal offense during this period of time. It could be argued that Huck is not fully aware of the consequences of his actions, but as the reader sees time and time again, Huck is a very wise, very practical, very street-smart boy. It is rather unlikely that Huck makes this decision lightly: like Jim, he too wants to run away. Perhaps Huck feels closer to Jim because of this, and it rationalizes his reasons for helping him. Huck understands Jim’s plight, even relates to it, and he feels Jim’s pain. Similarly, one of the greatest testaments to Huck’s compassion was the river episode and Huck and Jim’s encounter with the sinking steamboat Walter Scott. The protagonists chance across a sinking steamboat, and happen aboard to take a look. Once aboard, they realize that they are in the company of a band of robbers, this time much more deadly than those fixated with Sunday school picnics. After escaping the raft, Huck immediately notifies local authorities of the robber’s calamity. When pressed on the identity of these unlucky crooks, Huck responds that they are his family so that they will be rescued with the utmost haste. Kolb notes that most of Twain’s characters, such as Jacob Blivens from The Story of a Good Little Boy, operate …show more content…

Claiming to be an escaped English Duke and the exiled French king, the escapades of these two are a source of amusement throughout the book. However, as they outstay their welcome, their shenanigans turn from simply humorous to downright dastardly. Through them, Huck gains a better view of the world. In their first encounter, Huck innocently asks the Dauphin to speak French. Failing to – he claims it’s been too long since he lived in France - Huck makes up his mind that this pair of liars “warn’t no kings nor dukes at all”, just a couple of low-down humbugs and frauds. He decides not to challenge them, if they wanted to be kings and dukes, let them. Huck decides its best not to cause any trouble (Twain 142). In his critical essay Spontaneity and the Quest for Maturity in Huck Finn, author R. J. Fertel posits that Huck actually likes Duke and Dauphin because they are so alike. Both the con men and Huck are improvisers, always ready with a scheme or tall tale to get out of trouble. The difference is, Huck’s improvisation is relatively harmless and always to get him or someone else a greater good, while the Royal Nonesuch’s schemes are designed for their benefit, and their benefit only (12). The arrival of the Duke and Dauphin in the text marks the transition from a commentary on race to a commentary on society, and

Show More
Related
604 Words | 3 Pages

The irony is that nobody went to rescue Huck from Pap's cabin, yet a crowd gathered to search for his supposed remains. One would expect that one would have tried to stop the search party from being necessary. They didn't want the responsibility of having to care for when Huck was alive, but are more than willing to help now that he's dead. The difference in the amount of reward money for Paps and Jim’s crimes or also ironic. One would expect that the homicide of a child would be a greater offence than a simple run away.

Read More
762 Words | 4 Pages

The old saying goes, “People can’t change,” but we can, just like Huckleberry Finn changes. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn is a young boy with a big imagination. He loves adventures, and playing tricks, but throughout the book, he starts to change. Huck changes in several ways; he sees African-Americans differently, he starts to believe in superstition, and he also changes the way he acts toward people. One of the ways Huck has changed, is the way he sees and treats African-Americans.

Read More
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.

Read More
819 Words | 4 Pages

Friendship as Portrayed in the Book the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn This story holds a moral teaching that true friendship in human beings is ineptly achieved despite the numerous hurdles that the relationship may need to overcome. Huck’s story depicts true friendship that existed between Huck and Jim despite their differences and fates in life. Jim is the slave owned by Miss Watson, a sister to Huck’s adopted mother Widow Douglas (Twain, 12). The mere aspect of a black slave having a strong bond with a white boy was unimaginable during these times.

Read More
1518 Words | 7 Pages

Ch 13 “I judged she would be proud of me for helping these rapscallions, because rapscallions and dead beats is the kind the widow and good people take the most interest in” (pg 53) Ch 13 Although Huck has left his home, he still follows her rules, and keeps her ideals close, as shown in the quote. Huck sees people like the widow as fixers.

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

While Huck is trying to get food for the trip from a nearby farmhouse, someone tells the lady who is being kind to him because she thinks he’s a nice little girl, that a runaway slave has killed Huck Finn! They’re gathering up townspeople to go hunt him down. Huck escapes after the lady figures out he’s a boy in disguise, and runs for his life. He finds Jim, tells him a posse is chasing him, and that they should travel at night to avoid being caught. Huck and Jim find a wanted reward poster for the capture of Huck’s

Read More
1339 Words | 6 Pages

Huck goes against the law to help his friend become free, something that if he were to be caught he would be tarred and feathered or thrown in jail. Huck’s loyalty to Jim is a significant sign of true family and Jim's feelings towards Huck reciprocate as Jim says "Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn' ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de only fren' ole

Read More
347 Words | 2 Pages

Huck’s Maturity Throughout the Novel In the novel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark twain creates one of his best characters, Huck Finn. Hug has matured tremendously throughout the novel. One of the most obvious ways that he matured is through his relationship with Jim.

Read More
464 Words | 2 Pages

The novel of, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain is a famous novel about a boy named Huck Finn and his adventures. There 's a great amount of unique quotes in the novel and one of them is, “ Each person had their own nigger to wait them-Buck too. My nigger had a monstrous easy time, because I weren 't used to having anybody do anything for me, but Buck’s was on the jump most of the time” ( page 109). This quote shows something about Huck 's character, which is by the way, different from everybody else’s at that time. This quote also shows some things about history, which is the slavery of course.

Read More
1753 Words | 8 Pages

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (Huck Finn is a story of friendship, of overcoming adversity and of doing what your heart tells you, rather than what society says is the right thing to do.) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” describes the story of a young boy, Huck Finn, and an escaped slave, Jim, traveling down the Mississippi River together. As the story progresses and the characters develop, Huck builds a friendship with Jim and is forced to reevaluate how he perceives slavery. Overcoming adversity Huck’s journey down the river is not only in search of Jim’s physical freedom, but is also in search of his own moral and mental freedom. It is by overcoming such adversity that Huck begins to find freedom and to grow into a wiser and more mature person.

Read More
859 Words | 4 Pages

Jane Smiley argues that Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn suggests only “a recognition of the obvious -- that blacks, slave and free, are human” and therefore does not deserve to be shelved on the western canon nor taught in schools (Smiley). Contrary to Smiley’s statement, the story educates on many more morals and philosophies in addition to racism and depicts the protagonist Huck fighting against deeply rooted societal conventions at the time (and even in places today) that a black person amounts to less value than a white person. This novel deserves to be on the western canon as it is far more nuanced than Smiley suggests; Huck’s fighting societal prejudices, teaches people to defeat stereotypes and value people not

Read More
1768 Words | 8 Pages

Huck and Jim knew that the Duke and King were no good, but they did not want to ditch them at first because they were making them rich. On more than one occasion, Huck nearly compromised his personal values for what society deemed appropriate. For example, when Huck became overburdened by guilt because he was helping Jim escape, he almost turned Jim in even though he felt that it was wrong (161). After a moment of contemplation, Huck determines that his conscience would also make him feel just as bad if he went through with it because he had developed a friendship with Jim (162). Twain's depiction of Huck's constant, inner conflict between turning Jim in and helping him escape sheds light on how Huck's view of morality was changing.

Read More
1767 Words | 8 Pages

The duke and the dauphin lies involved stealing money and even willing to sell Jim (the thing Huck was risking everything to prevent). There is a division between what would be classified as a “good” and “bad” lie. Huck and Jim’s actions prove that sometimes lying is the only answer for survival; while the duke and dauphin show how terribly

Read More
1346 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the novel, Pap abused the beloved Huck, so readers learned to despise him. So, when pap ranted about how he would “never vote again” (36) when he saw an African American man vote, readers are given the choice to be like pap or change their racist views. Twain uses the likeability of Huck and the hatred of Pap to change racist views. Mark Twain also used the king, another dislikeable character, to change racist attitudes. After the scam with the Wilks family money, the king and the duke went to a different town to get money.

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

Individuals often say that the right way may not necessarily be the popular way, but standing up for the right thing, despite it being frowned upon, will be the true test of one’s moral character. This relates to the moral growth that Huck Finn experiences throughout his journey. Mark Twain’s controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, can be said to be a compelling story about how one individual, Huck Finn, goes against society’s ideals. Huck’s moral development can be said to be based primarily on those around him, especially Jim. Many instances also influence Huck’s morals, particularly during the raft journey that will change his beliefs and morals.

Read More

More about Huck's Maturation In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Open Document