A Personal Narrative : The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn by: Mark Twain has many examples of the Hero’s Journey. The main ones that stuck out were challenges, mentors, and return. First, the challenge was to escape his father. Second, his mentor for his journey was Jim. Finally, his return was when he got caught when he was getting the doctor for Tom. In conclusion, There are a lot of examples of the Hero’s Journey in Huckleberry Finn by: Mark Twain.

From Star Wars to the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn timeless classics exist in multiple contrasting formats and outlines. They all come in with their own unique stories and differences that make each one a must read. However, there are many things that make one timeless classic similar to another. Two important criteria that make a timeless classic include the kind of experiences it presents and the well-rounded symbols it uses to enhance the theme. These two criteria are important for a timeless classic to be relevant because they can directly correlate with the life of a reader or send them a valuable message; this is exactly what Harper Lee presents in To Kill A Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is undoubtedly a timeless classic as depicted through the vivid and well rounded symbols it presents to enhance themes and the relevant, relatable experiences the protagonist Scout undergoes, which can directly be applied to any person even in the present day.

An early indication of Huck maturing is when he feels guilty about playing a joke on Jim. This acceptance of knowing he did something mean shows that he has gained a sense of responsibility. Another major step in Huck's maturity is when he decides to give Mary Jane back her stolen money. Huck footnotes, “I felt so ornery and low down and mean that I says to myself, my mind’s made up; I’ll hive the money for them or bust”(177). By saying this, it shows guilt in Huck's heart for the King and Duke’s criminal activity, and it shows a sense of morality that is developing inside of Huck. This morality developing in Huck blossoms when he decides to go after Jim. Huck then and there concludes, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” (215). This display of a moral compass is one of the novel's most important representations of Huck's growing maturity. A continuation of Huck's moral compass is his empathetic reaction when he sees the Duke and King tarred and feathered running from an angry mob. Huck remarks, “Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldn’t ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. It was a dreadful thing to see. Human beings can be awful cruel to one another” (232). Even though the Duke and King were criminals and liars, because of Huck's now established maturity, he feels sorrow for the

They see a town and decide Huck should go and see if this town is Cairo. Huck plans to give up Jim when they get to the city but Jim says, “Huck; you’s be de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now” (Twain 135). Huck struggles with whether or not he will turn Jim in. As Huck is paddling to the shore, he meets a few men who want to search his raft for escaped slaves. Huck concocts an elaborate lie and acts grateful to the men, saying no one else will help them. He convinces the men that his family on that raft has smallpox. The men, deathly afraid of smallpox, leave Huck forty dollars out of pity and leave. Here, Huck actively decides not to turn Jim in. Huck gets closer to realizing that Jim is a person that deserves rights. Huck struggles between what he thinks is right and what society thinks is right. Huck starts to think for himself, branching out from what society has told him to do from when he was a boy. This is a great leap for Huck in his growing maturity and morality.

His father yells at him for being able to read and go to school. He dislikes how Huck is trying to be better than he will ever be. Huck is forced to move in with his father in a cabin away from the Widow Douglas and Mrs. Watson. Hucks dad continues to torment him and take money for alcohol. One night Huck’s father is so drunk he almost kills Huck, in defense he holds a gun all night just to be safe. With no other way out, Huck fakes his death by making it look like Pap killed him and runs away without telling anybody. This stop is significant for Huck because it reminds him of what his old life was like. Just as he was starting to like his new life and getting used to being civilized, he had to revert back to his old ways. Finally, this stop showed that Huck was so desperate to get away from his father that the only thing he could think of doing was to fake his own

When Huck disguised himself a girl, he found out how much people really wanted to capture Jim. Instead of telling these people Jim’s locations, Huck did the right thing by letting Jim know that they need to leave the place and move. “Git up and hump yourself, Jim! There ain’t a minute to lose. They’re after us!” (Twain 143).

“If I get away, I sha’n’t be here,” I says, “to prove these rapscallions ain’t your uncles, and I couldn’t do it if I was here”. (142). When Huck tells Mary Jane the truth about the duke and the king he feels better about himself. Once he proves to Mary Jane that the duke and the king are frauds he tells her to leave town for a few days. “I got to steal that money somehow; and I got to steal it someway that they won’t suspicion that i done it”.

Huckleberry Finn’s crisis of conscience on the raft is a major turning point for Hucks personal journey in the story. The crisis scene and the Phelps farm reinforces the meaning of his journey by adding a conclusion to it. While a reason for Huck and Jim's journey was to get to freedom, Hucks personal journey was to find a home. Yet every time it seems that Huck has found a home, society’s ridiculous flaws keep him from staying too long. For instance at the Grangerfords home, Huck was happy there but he had to leave because there was a shootout. Hucks exposure to the flaws leads him to believe that not everything about society is right. The build up of these flaws lead us to the crisis of conscience moment where he has to choose between saving Jim and condemning his eternal soul to hell or writing a letter to Mrs. Watson explaining what happened. Although the crisis scene outcome was greatly influenced by Hucks love of Jim, this scene is important because it gives him the

    “I couldn’t just let you wander off from the group. I am the leader so it is my responsibility to make sure that you are safe from beginning to end.” responds Meriwether

After a long raft-ride, Huck and Jim are finally about to reach Cairo, which on their arrival would make Jim free. With the smell of freedom, Jim rambles on about how he would buy his wife and then steal his children. This sets off a spark in Huck, igniting his conscience and making him very uneasy. Huck couldn't believe that Jim would steal property from a man that hadn't done him any harm. Huck then begins feeling guilty about helping Jim escape from Miss Watson, since she had never done anything to him and didn't deserve for Jim to be stolen from her. At his departure for the town, on a mission to turn Jim in, Jim leaves Huck with these words. " Pooty soon I'll be a shout'n' for joy, en I'll say say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn't it ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de only fren' ole Jim's got now". (pg.86-87) Hearing these words, Huck realizes how much Jim's friendship means to him and decides not to turn in Jim. Finally, the last test of Huck's conscience comes when he finds out that the "king" and the "duke" have sold Jim. Huck gets to thinking about how wrong he was to help Jim escape, and decides he should write a letter to Miss Watson. He then changes his mind, seeing that Jim would be worse off as a runaway slave because he would be treated horribly, and Huck

One component of these chapters that I felt was extremely prevalent was the character development of Huck. There were multiple instances when Huck had to make certain decisions that would effect him in the long run, and with most of those decisions came a moral struggle. It seemed as if within these chapters, Huck is trying to find out who he truly is as a person. One example of these moments is in chapter 16 when he is having an internal battle, trying to convince himself that helping Jim gain his freedom is in fact the right thing to do. The quote reads, “I couldn't get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way. It got to troubling me so I couldn't rest; I couldn't stay still in one place…I tried to make out to myself that I warn't to blame, because I didn't run Jim off from his rightful owner” (Pg. 87). In the quote stated above you can clearly see the internal struggle that Huck goes through, trying to find himself along the way. He looks at the situation with 2 different perspectives, one of them being that taking Jim to gain his freedom is immoral and the wrong thing to do, the other being taking Jim to gain his freedom is the right thing to do. Although Jim knows that either way he will feel guilty but he ends up choosing to take Jim's side because of his loyalty. Jim shows his appreciation to Huck by saying things like, "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim”(Pg. 92), causing Huck

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been labelled as a picaresque novel. A picaresque novel is an adventure story that involves an anti-hero or picaro who wanders around with no actual destination in mind. The picaresque novel has many key elements. It must contain an anti-hero who is usually described as an underling(subordinate) with no place in society, it is usually told in autobiographical form, and it is potentially endless, meaning that it has no tight plot, but could go on and on. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has moulded itself perfectly to all these essential elements of a picaresque novel. Huck Finn is undeniably the picaro, and the river is his method of travel, as well as the way in which he wanders around with no

As human beings, we all have the right to be our own independent individuals; we are all entitled to our own beliefs and rights under the constitution and declaration of independence. Throughout all the writings studied by different authors, they all reflect the spirit of individualism in the wake of cultural and political change. Depicted in Mark Twain's satiric novel,The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the 14 year old advocate huck exposes the hypocrisy of white society's morals during his childhood in the Antebellum South widow douglas his care taker attempts to civilize him by trying to save his soul, because she believes that she has to help him live a better mannered life like herself but, he will not conform to society he rather be himself. The author's purpose for authoring his writing is to inform individuals about racism also to show individuals that it is wrong and how people use religion as an excuse to justify it. Illustrated in Walt whitman's poem ¨Song Of Myself¨ from book Leaves of Grass the poet explains that every individual has a purpose and a journey they must follow and find, also that every individual is made up of the same things so there should be no reason for anyone to feel belittled.the author's main purpose for writing this was to get individuals to enjoy life and not fear death. James McPherson published a nonfiction novel called What We Fought For to help Americans understand why Union soldiers fought against the

He's my huckleberry Finn was a head turner. Not just for the looks but for the performance. This horse was a special one, one that had so much of my hope in. Finn was a difficult ride, and not always cooperative. Always wanting his way and would always work him self up over nothing.

The following paper will briefly show arguments, and conclusions within the writings of Mark Twain’s story Huckleberry Finn. I will discuss the various themes that Mark Twain is bringing to light within his story. This paper will show how Mark Twain uses those themes within the story, and how they are specifically used. I will also briefly discuss the life of Samuel Clemons, the author known as Mark Twain, and give the reasoning behind choosing the name of Mark Twain when writing his novels. Themes of escapism will be discussed.