Similarities Between Billy Budd And Huckleberry Finn

Bildungsroman tells that tale of an adolescent boy, who goes on a journey where he grows and develops. Billy Budd in Herman Melville’s Billy Budd and Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn both present heroes that do not fully develop by the end of their respective novels. We are to conclude about each with regard to the world of adult authority that there weren’t many respective role models around to guide them otherwise. Billy and Huckleberry both go on different courses through their novels, surrounded by adult figures. And yet, neither of them fully develop (and in the case of Billy, will never get the chance to). In Billy’s case, he was abandoned and grew up on a ship. He was simple-minded, with a stutter, and yet because

When confronted with the problem in Vere’s office, Billy resorts to violence after he is unable to clearly state his thoughts and ends up killing Claggart. Billy lacked the ability to decipher what a full-fledged adult would be able to. We can conclude that without ever having the chance to properly develop, especially with the help of those around him, Billy never stood a chance. For Huckleberry, the Widow Douglas is his authority in the beginning of the novel. But despite learning how to read and being educated, Huck wishes to leave because the Widow is trying to “sivilize” him. The authority figures he’s surrounded by through the rest of his novel include his pap and possibly the Duke and the Dauphin. His pap is an abusive drunk and the Duke and Dauphin were lying, corrupt crooks. He has no central authority figure around him and that’s why he doesn’t fully develop by the end of the novel. The only figure one could consider the adult authority around him would be Jim, but Huckleberry views him more as a friend by the end of the story. And it’s his helping Jim escape that helps Huckleberry refute the adult authority around