The Narrator In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

In Mark Twain’s renowned novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain uses an unlikely character as a narrator as well as putting his characters in unlikely situations. Throughout the novel, Mark Twain puts the main character, Huckleberry Finn, also known as Huck, in a variety of situations where he faces troubles and hardships which he overcomes with light-hearted humor and wit. Although this novel is seen as controversial in many ways, it has become a staple of literature through its use of characters, hijinks, and unique narrator. Huck is an effective narrator in a sense that a narrator of this background has never been seen before. The majority of narrators in literature during this time period were of high-regarded esteem and background,

Jim is a family man while Huck is becoming a man without a family. In addition to Jim’s challenges being a narrator, he is known to misinterpret things. Looking earlier into the book, there was a story about King Soloman who had wives who quarreled about whose child was whose, so Soloman made a decision to cut the baby in half to see who cared. Jim took from this story that it’s wrong to cut babies in half; although Jim isn’t wrong, he misinterpreted the main point of that biblical passage. In terms of Jim being a reliable narrator, he would be as reliable as he could be, being Jim. Aside from misinterpreting a few events here and there (as seen in the King Soloman story), Jim would make a very reliable narrator for a group of people who could actually understand what he is

Huck, being the main character, is faced with a plethora of different opportunities to become a changed person; the situation of stealing fruits, leaving from his father’s home for the second time, going to church with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons, even an opportunity as little as stealing the money back from the Duke and the King. Jim’s story is also one of many opportunities to change. Jim’s overarching opportunity for change comes through escaping as a slave and being a father figure for Huck. Whether it be they are on the raft together, or fiddling around with the Duke and King, Jim was the much needed father figure for Huck and this changes Jim’s mindset from being Huck’s friend and accomplice to more of role model in Huck’s life. As for Tom, Tom has one major chance to change his ways. Towards the end of the novel, Jim is released from slavery due to his owner dying and her will releasing him and Tom is aware that he is free. Huck does not know that Jim is free, and makes a plan to free him. Huck asks Tom Sawyer, and Tom does not tell Huck that Jim is already free, but rather makes an adventure out of it. One of the only opportunities that Tom is faced with to change and he does not take it. This shows Tom’s type of character is static rather