The Bildungsroman In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

A bildungsroman is the journey of a character throughout their education towards an understanding of themselves and their place in the world. As they embark on this journey, the character often looks for answers to their questions regarding society and its rules and regulations through different experiences. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn fits into the category of the bildungsroman, as it depicts Huck’s difficult journey of gaining maturity and developing morals. As Huck and Jim drift down the Mississippi River, Huck is free from the rules of society and able to make his own decisions without restriction. Through introspection and acceptance of his own innate goodness, he develops his own conclusions unaffected by the values of Southern

Watson in order to protect Jim.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is initially presented as an immature boy who has a good heart, but a conscience deformed by the society he is living in. He enjoys goofing around and playing pranks on people with his boyhood friend Tom Sawyer, having little concern for those around him, especially Jim, who he regards as nothing more than a slave. When Huck escapes to Jackson Island and discovers Jim, who has also escaped, he promises to not tell anyone, but also comments, "People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t a-going to tell...¨ (43). This is Huck’s first important break from society, as he recognizes that he lives in a community that does not abide with those who denounce the idea of slavery. By saying that he won 't tell anyone it is evident that due to his isolation from society he is beginning to reject its beliefs, but he cannot immediately forget

At the beginning of the novel Huck is immature, with a conscience molded by the teachings of the society he lives in. Inevitably due to the values of Southern culture, Huck initially treats Jim as someone lesser than him and once he is away from society long enough starts to reflect on his actions. As he continues down the river with Jim he is put in situations with characters such as the duke and the king whose cruelness cause him to evaluate his views of right and wrong and give him the opportunity to listen to his conscience and let his innate goodness show through. After the duke and the king sell Jim Huck is forced to confront his morals once and for all and, having greatly matured throughout the course of his journey, chooses to not tell Miss Watson about the location of Jim as he is finally able to listen to his own conscience and block out what society deems is right and wrong. When Huck departs from society and is no longer influenced by its ethics, he learns that he must follow the moral intuitions of his heart, and in the end makes the right decisions because of