How Does Huck Influence The Development Of Huckleberry Finn

book Huckleberry Finn, the 13 year old protagonist defies society's values throughout the novel. In the beginning of the book Huck’s lying and manipulation seems selfish and unemotionally attached, but by the end he emotionally loves and risks his life for a black slave. Huck does this after he connects with Jim, allowing him to view slavery in a new eye. This book is set in the pre-civil war time period when slaves were dehumanized and abused. Growing up in a time like this, children were brainwashed to detach themselves from black people.

Huck thinks of Jim when he is forming an escape plan from the Whelks family. That reveals that he has changed from being selfish to selfless and protective of Jim. When Jim is sold to Silas Phelps Huck thinks about whether to run away by himself or to help free Jim and then run away. HE thinks about all of the experiences he has had with Jim and then he says, “I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath and then says to myself ‘Alright, then I’ll go to hell’” (Twain 214)

Living in the 1800's wasn't an easy task. There were many hardships that a person had to endure. In the novel, The Adventures of Huck Finn, the author Mark Twain portrays the adventure of a young boy. Huck, the young boy, goes on a journey with various dilemmas. The novel starts off in Missouri on the Mississippi River. Huck is taken from his guardians by his father and then decides to runaway from him. On his journey, he meets up with his former slave, Jim. While Huck and Jim are traveling down the Mississippi River, they meet a variety of people. Throughout the novel he takes on many different tasks which help shape his moral conscience. Taking on a new friend which society

     On Huck and Jim’s journey to Cairo, Jim begins to speak about when he is free he will go and find his children and take them from the slave owner. This rubbed Huck the wrong way; his standards of Jim had been lowered because, from Huck’s point of view, why would Jim steal his children away from a man who has done nothing to him? Huck’s conscience began to come into play and he had made up his mind: He was going to turn Jim in when they reach shore. He was sure of it until Jim began to sweet talk Huck, telling him that Huck was the only white man that had ever kept a promise to him. This comment went directly to Huck’s heart; he could not possibly

Twain does not let the reader thing badly of Huck for very long, though, having Huck?s true voice shine out by the end of the confrontation. By page 67 Huck is almost loathing to go and turn Jim in, seeing the act as an obligation rather than a moral right. He says, "Well, I just felt sick. But I says, I got to do it-I can?t get out of it." Twain wants the reader to see Huck?s change in judgment. The reader is able to see Huck?s newfound reluctance, brought on by Jim?s words of appreciation. These words bring Huck back to the realization that Jim is a friend, not property. And

In the middle of the book, Huck starts to distinguish what is the right thing to do. He starts to think if all the things he was doing before with Jim and Tom were too mean and stupid to do. One specific example is when he decides to steal the money that the king and duke have, “I got to steal that money somehow; and I got to steal it some way that they wont suspicion I done it." (Twain 133) After Huck stole the money Huck and Jim didn’t feel bad at all, and knew that they did the right thing after all. He learns that not everyone can be scammed on, that the real life is important and that you can’t do anything stupid like that. He sees eye to eye with Jim and realizes that he cant have someone taken advantage of just because of their

Huck’s major turning point was when he decided not to tell on Jim. Huck tore up the letter he was going to send to Miss Watson. It was during Chapter 31 when Huck decided he cannot listen to what society believes, which is that niggers are worthless and trash. He would rather go to jail than to send Jim back into slavery. In the past, Huck has been arguing against what he learned versus what he was experiencing. Huck was taught that niggers and slaves were bad, however, throughout the adventure, Huck begins to realize niggers, such as Jim, were kind and caring. Blacks have feelings just like white people do. When coming to the conclusion not to tell on Jim, this shows that Huck cannot accept society’s rules. He would rather challenge what society endorses and their values than betray his true feelings. In addition, Huck reached his conclusion because of the adventures he had with Jim on the raft and the Mississippi River. After writing the letter, Huck begins to feel relieved because he doesn’t have to worry about his “wrong” doings. However, Huck begins to think about Jim and the adventure they had together. Huck also realizes that if Miss Watson received the letter, she would sell Jim anyway. Based on the strong relationship Huck and Jim developed throughout this novel, Huck began to accept Jim as a father who cares for him. Therefore, this causes Huck not to give Jim back to “sivilized” society. He knew he cannot let Jim

Huck is becoming more aware that black people are actually real people, especially when Huck says “I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folk does their’n. It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so”(117). Their is no doubt that some of Huck’s innate southern ideas still exist within him, yet he is approaching the point where he is identifying “white people traits” within Jim. At this point, Huck is starting to humanize Jim and all African Americans in a way that very few white people in the south are able to do at this time. This point of Huck’s expedition can be almost seen as the hump of his journey because once Huck starts to relate Jim to his own self, there is no turning back on how Huck thinks of Jim and black people as whole.

Less subtle are Huck’s observations of Jim as their relationship progresses. Jim at first is nothing but a source of amusement for Huck, but Huck slowly discovers the real person inside. In Chapter 23, Huck states, “…I do believe that he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for ther’n.” Later, Huck goes even further to say, “I knowed Jim was really white inside.” From Huck, this naïve statement was the highest compliment he could have given Jim, and reiterates the idea that a black man can have true emotions and real feelings, something that was not commonly believed at the

Huck also shows what he learned from Mary Jane’s attitude towards her own slaves here: they have families and their own feelings, and they shouldn’t be separated from each other. He also spends a large amount of time contemplating the relationship which he and Jim have cultivated over the last few weeks. Huck now understands, through his time spent with the Wilks, that relationships are built on trust, a trust which he would be completely betraying by turning Jim in. He seems especially to realize this when thinking about how Jim “said [he] was the best friend old Jim had in the world, and the only one he’s got now” (214). After his experiences with the King and the Duke with the Wilks, Huck cannot betray Jim’s trust. Throughout the entire

Jim, who becomes Huck's friend as he travels down the Mississippi river, is a man of intelligence and consideration. "An understanding of Jim's character is by no means a simple matter; he is a highly complex and original creation, although he appears at first sight very simple" (Hansen, 388). Jim has one of the few well functioning families in the novel. Although he has been estranged from his wife and children, he misses them dreadfully, and it is only the thought of a lasting separation from them that motivates his unlawful act of running away from Miss Watson. Jim is rational about his situation and must find ways of accomplishing his goals without provoking the fury of those who could turn him in. Regardless of the restrictions and constant fear Jim possesses he consistently acts as a gracious human being and a devoted friend. In fact, Jim could be described as the only existent adult in the novel, and the only one who provides an encouraging, decent example for Huck to follow. The people that surround Huck who are supposed to be teaching him of morals, and not to fall into the down falls of society are the exact people who need to be taught the lessons of life by Jim. Jim conveys an honesty that makes the dissimilarity between him and the characters around him evident.

When Huck and Jim first ventured off together in hope of starting over in a new life, Huck began to set the differences aside between him and Jim subconsciously because he did as his heart felt. As they both sought freedom and independence, Huck’s heart over powered his mind and his conscience was silenced as he began his character reformation. As they developed a friendship, Huck expanded his mind in ways of thinking what is best for Jim. Huck’s character matured as he made ethical decisions to help Jim find freedom and stay safe as they did so. Huck’s pure heart saved Jim’s life and his corrupted conscience was

Although Huck is a bit racist to Jim at the beginning of their journey, the negative attitude held by Huck begins to fizzle as their adventure continues on. The more Huck and Jim go through together, the closer the two become. Huck begins to see Jim as a friend and vice versa. By the end of their journey, Huck disagrees with society's idea that blacks are inferior. One example of this is evident when Huck doesn't tell anyone of Jim's whereabouts. Huck doesn't tell anyone because he knows that if he does, Jim will be forced to return to slavery. Instead, Huck chooses to "go to Hell" for his decision. He has shied away from society's acceptance of slavery.

In every man’s life he faces a time that defines his maturation from boyhood to manhood. This usually comes from a struggle that the boy faces in his life. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s defining moment of maturity is Huck’s struggle with Tom in helping Jim escape. Tom sends Huck and Jim through a wild adventure to free Jim because of his Romantic thinking. Tom represents society and its Romantic ideals while Huck struggles to break away from these and become his own realist individual. These Romantic ideas lead Huck into many dangerous situations that pit Huck and Jim as Realist individuals versus a society infused

His whole life has been taught that “niggers” are property and are not meant to be free but In his heart he knew helping Jim was the right thing to do, no matter what anybody else says. “both Huck and Jim are depicted as characters who are capable of learning from their own mistakes, empathizing with others, and acting on the behalf of others” (Evans). As the journey down the river continues they run into two con men. These men pretend to be the Wilks brothers in order to rob this family of all of their possessions. Huck couldn’t see them do this poor family wrong. He spends some time really contemplating telling one of the girls, Mary Jane, the truth about these liars (Twain 175). He knows inside that it is the right thing to do but he doesn’t want to put himself at risk. He plans out every little detail of how he is going to tell her and how he is going to expose these men (Twain 175-178). His actions result from his sympathy for others and his conscience and show major growth as the story continues.