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

933 Words4 Pages

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, …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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933 Words | 4 Pages

Huck lives in a time and place where African-Americans are legally not human, so that influences Huck's brain, causing him to see Jim as a slave. For example, when Jim and Huck become separated in the fog, Huck plays a rude trick. He says to Jim that they were never lost and there was no fog. Jim gives a whole speech to Huck, explaining how Huck made him feel like trash. Huck believing that Jim wasn't smart enough to figure the lie out, as well as lying to him at all, shows that Huck feels as though he is above Jim intellectually.

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(220).This shows how Huck has developed from a boy who would go along with any of Tom’s antics, to someone who can challenge his ideas. As well, this helps show that Huck’s plans have become much more developed. The ideas Huck comes up with support this because they are much more practical and beneficial to Jim than Tom’s elaborate ideas. Tom’s imagination seemingly contrasts how Huck has matured into realizing that trying to achieve everything in your imagination is unwise, and is more likely to cause complications. In conclusion, I believe Huck has developed into a much more logical and mature person, and this is contrasted by Tom Sawyer immaturity and extreme

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726 Words | 3 Pages

He would not ever get the treatment Huck did, and Jim’s character was never allowed to grow. Smiley catches the audience’s attention as she recognizes the racist remarks that Twain uses through his character, Huck, and how he forms Jim’s character. Smiley says that, through the book, Twain creates Jim “more and more passive and never minds, just like any good sidekick” (Smiley 460). As Huck and Jim never cross the Mississippi to Illinois, a free state, Jim just stands in Huck’s shadows as he is along for the journey, never getting his own voice in the book to stand up for himself and his freedom.

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935 Words | 4 Pages

Huck had multiple chances to turn Jim in or not to help him when he was in trouble, but he could never bring himself to turn his back on Jim. From the time they first saw each other on the river, Huck felt a certain loyalty toward Jim. They both agreed not to give away the other’s location, this agreement brought a loyalty between them. “ Well I did. I said I wouldn’t

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1410 Words | 6 Pages

Summary: Through the voice of Huckleberry Finn, a deep criticism of racism and civilized society’s rules is narrated to the reader as Huck and Jim, escape from civilized society and set sail on a raft down the Mississippi river to slavery-free states. Both characters share a common goal: to be free of the rules that a civilized society places. Huck and Jim form an alternative family as they head down the river along with two white adult conmen they rescued, who commit many scams . These conmen are responsible for turning Jim into a local farmer

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266 Words | 2 Pages

Human history came about differently all over the world for the last 13,000 years because of simply of the environment in which each continent is located. Many people believe it is because of biological differences among the people around the world, but now we know that isn’t correct. The environment of each continent means different forms of language, diseases, political, religions, ect. They also have different species of animals and plants that one continent may not have come across. To get deeper into the subject, an example of how the environment created the differences is how the Inca and Aztec empires were overthrown by the 2 spanish explorers named CorteŽ and Pizarro and there crew of a couple hundred.

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Huck sees Jim like a parent because his Pap was not always there for him. Another instance we see Huck evolve is when he starts to feel bad about lying to the three daughters of Peter. He makes the situation more difficult by planing to expose the two con artists with Mary Jane, the oldest sister. His plan was to hide the gold from the fake brothers and this works somewhat because the actual two brothers come. So these changes we see from Huck are that he starts to care about what someone thinks of him and he will make things difficult for himself so he can make things

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650 Words | 3 Pages

No matter what happened, Jim was always there for Huck, and Huck was always there for Jim. Even though in the beginning of the novel Huck started questioning what he was doing. Jim showed Huck that you don’t have to be the same skin color or ethnicity, or anything to be friends and care about one

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1266 Words | 6 Pages

After Huck finds out that Jim is captive, Huck “set down and cried. [He] couldn’t help it” (210). After returning to the raft and not finding Jim there, Huck is overcome with emotion. The fear of Jim not being around causes Huck to realize how important Jim is to him. The friendship they developed on the river and through their adventure causes Huck to be more concerned for Jim’s safety than society’s need to keep Jim captive.

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1418 Words | 6 Pages

William Harrison Ainsworth’s Jack Sheppard , serialised in Bentley 's Miscellany magazine, an affordable means of entertainment for the lower classes, from 1839-40; the story fictionalises and sensationalises the events of a notorious real life housebreaker written to entertain. William Makepeace Thackeray’s ‘Going to See a Man Hanged’, published in Fraser’s Magazine, a general interest periodical aimed at the middle-classes, in 1840; written to express Thackeray’s discontent with capital punishment and gives a graphic but factual depiction of a hanging ‘to see the effect on the public mind of an execution’. Thackeray’s essay can be read against the last two chapters of Jack Sheppard where Ainsworth gives a very accurate representation of a

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821 Words | 4 Pages

Huckleberry Finn is a story about a rambunctious young boy who adventures off down the Mississippi River. “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain demonstrates a situation where a Huck tries to find the balance between what is right and what is wrong. Huck faces many challenges in which his maturity will play a part in making the correct decision for himself and his friend Jim. Huck becomes more mature by the end of the novel by showing that he can make the correct decisions to lead Jim to the freedom he deserves. One major factor where Huck matures throughout the novel is through his experience.

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout their journey, Huck is aware that Jim has escaped but does not know whether or not to turn him into the authorities. Huck’s mentality about society matures and he realizes his need to protect Jim from dangers. As the novel progresses, Huck begins to realize the flaws in society. Huck ultimately chooses to follow his own

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

Naturally, as his bond with Jim cultivates, Huck unknowingly treats him as a human. Through Huck’s sensibility, he states, “It didn’t take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all … I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family; and it warn’t no use to tell Jim, so I didn’t tell him” (Twain 125). Correspondingly, Huck gains a consideration for Jim and his personal feelings, which he expresses nonchalantly through motley aspects of their journey.

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1420 Words | 6 Pages

trying to run away from all of his problems and in the process runs into an escaped slave, Jim. Instead of turning Jim in, Huck helps him on his journey to the north. During the book Huck grows from a immature boy to a more respectable young man. Huck begins to see how different people can be. Throughout the story Huck grows as a character and that is because of the people he meets along the way.

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1152 Words | 5 Pages

Undoubtedly, each individual, as a living organism, is a small part of nature. A perfect world would be consisted of a perfect society, which would be in a full harmony with nature that is complete starting from the day that the world was created. However, it can be seen that the harmony does not seem to be real. The problem does not relate only to the modern world. This has been an issue since human civilization developed it’s roots and stable societies started to exist.

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