Characteristics of Huck in The Novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

The characterization of Huck specifically plays a huge part in this novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain had multiple different aspects of fiction that contributed to the remarkable and controversial story that it has come to be known as today. Within this paper assignment, I will seize the opportunity to show not only their ingenuity of Huck, but his bravery, compassion, and logical thinking that guided him throughout the entirety of his quite amazing journey. I hope, that you can appreciate what is thought to be one of the greatest works of American literature, as well.

Throughout this book, Huck goes through what most today would say is traumatic for an assumed to be a fourteen-year-old boy. Along with the adventures that Huck ensues, his journey is not only physically tasking, but as well as internally evolving. That said, his opinions, thoughts, feelings especially, and views on societal norms of the time dramatically changed by the end of the book.

Huck was going through a process of maturing one could say. His morality began to change and almost surpass those views of what is considered correct in that era the further along his adventures continued. He questioned many morals and values that were instilled from a younger age and challenged the views of what is right in a larger society.

When beginning this novel, right away one can realize just how uncivilized Huck is comparable to Tom Sawyer and his other friends that make a scant mention. However, with this background knowledge, one can see where his resourcefulness comes into play when it comes to his life on his own with Jim.

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Although Jim is an adult, he has very little to no education and cannot read or write. The two together do not make the most refined or assumed to be a capable duo for their escapades. But Huck shows a better if not more elated satisfaction for the rough & tough living with Jim than life with either Ms. Watson or his pap. That being said, Huck being resourceful would be all the lying he had to construct to get out of plenty of sticky situations. For example; At the beginning of the story he had gone back into town to see what all was going on, and he made that trip impersonating a little girl. The lady he had come into contact with eventually cracked his charades and Huck was exposed. However, luckily enough, this woman did not know of Huck and so he had begun to compose another story of how he had come to be in her presence. A reader will very well see all the lying Huck chose to do throughout this novel to continue not only his adventures but his life, as well.

Brave is another great word to describe Huck throughout this book. His character alone stands solid against the others that make mentioned. Previously stated, he is an assumed fourteen-year-old boy and with events that would make any grown adult scared, solidifies his stance of being so very open to all the adventures being thrown at him and demonstrates all the hardships he must overcome. This paragraph below shows proof of that:

“Quick, Jim, it ain’t no time for fooling around and moaning; there’s a gang of murderers in younger, and if we don’t hunt up their boat and set her drifting down the river so these fellows can’t get away from the wreck, there’s one of ‘em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find their boat we can put all of ‘em in a bad fix – for the Sheriff’ll get ‘em. Quick – hurry! I’ll hunt the larboard side, you hunt the starboard. You start at the raft, and -” (Twain 152).

This excerpt above about the steamboat shows a prime example that demonstrates Huck’s bravery and ability to adapt to different situations. Huck does not get frightened or even startled by the corrupt men, and rather decided to quickly get out with Jim and scheme a way to make sure they do end up getting caught for their crimes. Most kids would be scared and would make their way out of that situation swiftly. But for Huck, not only was he collected, but he chose to do an admirable thing in place of letting happen something inhumane. As well, he made a decision that would affect himself and Jim, and that started with him saying, “we”.

When it comes to Huck’s character, throughout the story he goes through a personal development internally that truly encompasses his morals, values, and feelings. Although he does come off quite uncivilized and does not have an upbringing that showed much attachment or caring for others on a deeper level, Twain had quite an ability to show Huck’s morale rising. At the start of the novel, Huck cared about his feelings and what would be best for him as he began a quest for life on his own. Nevertheless, the further you read along Huck began to have a budding attachment when it came to Jim. His overall attitude and what he said in the novel began to change from ‘I’ to “we”, starting to include Jim in his decisions instead of completely leaving him out. He cared about what Jim had to say and what he felt when it came to certain situations. Thus, instead of Huck coming across as a rough, tough, hard little boy, his compassion for others than himself began to show with such ferocity. The passage preceding this paragraph is not only a great example of his bravery but Huck’s growing compassion when it comes to another’s feelings and especially towards Jim.

Now, just because Huck may not have had the standard upbringing as others or the schooling to equate to his peers, he sure did have an uncanny way of showing his intellect. His way of going about certain situations overall takes an amount of intelligence that not an everyday person cannot even begin to parallel. Huck’s intellect comparable to others is more on a scale of skillfulness and not of common core. Throughout this novel, Huck does many things and chooses routes that may differ from what may be a common answer. However, within this story, his logical thinking and outlook on his adventures are what help Huck and Jim continue so far in this novel. For a fourteen-year-old boy and an uneducated slave at the time, his unusually quick but well-thought-out responses and schemes always had such a great outcome. Huck Finn is a smart boy even if it is not in the sense of a classic book test per se.