Thoughts on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a true American classic. Twain creates a tremendous story about a boy, Huck, and a slave, Jim, who together overcome obstacles, and eventually reach their goals. Huck helps so many others despite leading a terrible home life.

Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life of absolute freedom. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him; his mother is dead and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not used to following any rules. Huck is boy who was made for the frontier, where he grows up. He is very practical, and has alot of common sense, allowing him to think situations through, and decide on the best path to choose. Yet Huck's best quality is his deep caring for other people, and this is what makes him such a classic character.

Huck will stop at nothing to help other people, as shown in his aiding the king and the duke from escaping the posse, who wanted to kill them.

The most important show of his character is his desire to bring Jim from slavery. Huck has felt freedom from being on his own. Even though Jim is the other major character of this novel. He is a slave who is befriended by Huck, and with Huck's help, he escapes slavery. Huck shows his charity to others in his aiding Jim, and together they become inseparable friends, and show that despite differences amongst people, everyone is human, and deserves to be treated equal.

Society believes that slaves should be treated as property; Huck, who had befriended a runaway slave, sees Jim as a person, not property. At the conclusion of chapter 11 in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim are forced to leave Jackson's Island because Huck discovers that people are looking for the runaway slave.

Prior to leaving, Huck tells Jim, "They're after us." Clearly, the people are after Jim, but Huck has already identified with Jim and has begun to care for him. This remark shows that the two will have a successful and rewarding friendship as they drift down the river as the novel continues.

In the end, Huck Finn decides that he would rather disobey society's teachings about slavery, than betray his friend by returning him to his previous condition of servitude. The value of friendship has been a common theme throughout both literature and history. Authors representing several eras have addressed the moral dilemma of friendship versus loyalty to one's country. Governmental leaders and their policies are subject to change; friendships last a lifetime.

Word Count: 441