The classic, Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, is an excellent illustration of a bildungsroman novel, which deal with the struggles of a young person or spiritual education; both of which are addressed in this novel. The archetypical hero, Huck Finn, struggles with accepting who he is, which goes against society's norms. Throughout Huck’s story, he must decide what adventures to pursue, which lead to obstacles to overcome with an unsuspecting mentor, all guiding Huck towards his transformation. Huck follows the archetype for a hero perfectly until he is faced with how to deal with what he has learned. His entire journey begins with being oppressed by two old women, who want to throw him in church.
In this first stage of the novel,
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Huckleberry Finn is the perfect bildungsroman novel, but it does not complete the hero’s archetype. In a perfect world Huck would have returned to society, spreading his story and how to overcome to social implication that is slavery. Unfortunately, Huck does not return to spread his new philosophy, but instead turns to the west so that his Aunt Sally can not civilize him. This is definitely an odd ending; most novels end with the hero returning to their family or teaching others how to live the way the hero has months. The hero typically scatters their story and morals out to others, but Huck does not. Mark Twain has decided to write in a hero who turns out cowardly, being too afraid to go back and tell his story, one who instead turns to seclusion far away from what he knows. Which, in a way, is what Mark Twain did during his process of writing Huckleberry Finn. Huck turns out to be somewhat relatable to the man who is afraid of what people think, but that is not a true hero. A true hero is willing to do whatever it takes to do the right thing morally. Huck’s morals have changed for the better as seen in the novel; making it all the more curious when he does not follow the archetype laid out for him. Though, the more it is discussed, Huck typically does not follow plans that are written out for him perfectly. So, while this ending is not what the reader wants, it is exactly what Huck would do, which is making his own path and breaking social