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huck finn essay on his growth
analysis essay character of huckleberry finn
analysis essay character of huckleberry finn
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Natalie Myren
Societal Constructions: Interactions with Moral Education/ Schooling Education
Realism characteristic: Huck is more important than the action and plot; he often faces complex ethical choices that he must overcome and learn from
These sayings isolate Huck from society because typical children grow up and are taught to never say such things, therefore, Huck is developing his own opposing mindset.
Huck develops his own mindset, not adhering to things that are typically believed within this society, but knows that he must keep what he believes hidden because speaking his mind will only face him with more trouble. He grows up being told that he must believe in certain things a certain way, but throughout the novel, he will learn through his experiences and grow different morals.
What Tom says reflects on how little of an education these poor boys
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In his peace, Huck can develop on his own w/o any interference, he can think whatever he wants.
In a society in which slaves are kept and throughout normal processes in daily life, a child is able to develop his own feelings on such controversial topics and even goes as far as to call himself an abolitionist. Huck’s relationship with Jim only helps him develop his ideas.
Throughout the book, you’re able to see Huck and Jim as they grow closer and closer as well as Huck question things such as slavery as he forms a tight bond with a slave himself. His conscience and morals slowly grow towards the better as Huck views what Jim faces.
Huck matures in certain areas such as his conscience as he deals with the consequences of goofing around and then learning how to grow from his mistakes so that he does not repeat them in the future.
Huck begins to be able to differentiate between what’s right and wrong and in return can morally feel
When we are first introduced to Huck, he is very immature. Refusing to give in to "civilized society," he is not making a mature decision; he is merely being stubborn. Huck is unable to be mature because his father has literally beaten into him his own values and beliefs. Because of his father, Huck has almost no self-confidence. He has been taught to shun society and is unable to make a decision to accept it because of the constant threat that his father may come...
While living on the island he meets Jim who was a slave but Huck soon learns that he has ran off and now in the process of making his way up north to Canada. Here Huck is faced along with his first tough decision, to go with Jim and help him, or just go and tell the officials of a runaway slave and get the reward. Huck reluctantly joins Jim and promises him to get him to free land for the sake of a good adventure but he still feels guilty to be conversing with a runaway slave let alone help him escape. Along the way Huck has many challenges, which are just like this one. This is truly remarkable for a child to be able to break away from the influence of society and go with his heart and do what is right especially when it was considered wrong.
This clearly illustrates Huck’s great ability to outwit and think on his feet and it is clear that Huck has some smarts in him it's just that it is not express all the time due to certain factors that influence him to make certain decisions. Like when Tom is around because Tom has such a latch on Huck's mind to the point where Huck will pretty much do whatever Tom thinks is best because Huck believes he has a “gifted mind”. So yea sometimes Huck can be quite dumb when he is pretending to be someone else or when he is influenced by Tom but when push comes to shove it is pretty clear that Huck is a lot smarter sometimes than what Mark Twain makes him cut out to be because he has a gifted mind too. Take for example when Huck is faking his own murder to get away from Pap and how he uses his resources ever so
Huck has been raised in a high-class society where rules and morals are taught and enforced. He lives a very strict and proper life where honesty and adequacy is imposed. Huck being young minded and immature, often goes against these standards set for him, but are still very much a part of his decision-making ability and conscience. When faced to make a decision, Hucks head constantly runs through the morals he was taught. One of the major decisions Huck is faced with is keeping his word to Jim and accepting that Jim is a runaway. The society part of Hucks head automatically looks down upon it. Because Huck is shocked and surprised that Jim is a runaway and he is in his presence, reveals Hucks prejudice attitude that society has imposed on him. Huck is worried about what people will think of him and how society would react if they heard that Huck helped save a runaway slave. The unspoken rules th...
Upon arriving at Cairo, Huck must decide if he should go along with society and turn Jim in as a runaway slave, or keep his promise to his friend, and see him through to freedom. Huck feels guilty not turning Jim in when he hears him talking about hiring an abolitionist to steal his family. He does not think it is right to help take away slaves from people that he doesn 't even know. To turn Jim in for these reasons would be the influence of society on Huck. Huck 's decision on this matter marks another major step in Huck 's moral progression, because he decides not to turn in Jim on his own. This is the first time he makes a decision all on his own based on his own morality. They stop at Grangerford’s Farm, in Tennessee, after the raft is temporality destroyed. With Huck busy with the Grangerford family, Jim was able to rebuild the raft. Huck just met the Grangerfords, but fits right in immediately. He later feels that someone should take the time to write poetry about Emmeline Grangerford, recently deceased, since she always took the time to write about other people who died. He even tries to write the poetry himself, but it doesn 't turn out right. Then he also sees people shooting at each other makes him sick to his stomach. He sees it as an act against humanity and he simply cannot relate or understand how humans can treat each other in such an uncivil
In the beginning of the novel, Huck tends to have an immature side to him. There are some things in the beginning that show that Huck still has a very childish side to him. "They get down on one thing when they don't know nothing about it." (Twain 2) This is showing the ignorance and stubbornness that all children experience throughout life. He thinks as if everything he does is right and everyone else is wrong. "That all comes of my being such a fool as to not remember that wherever you leave a dead snake its mate always comes there and curls around it." (Twain 40) This goes one step further. This shows Huck's Immaturity and Stupidity gone one step too far when he puts the snake in Jim's bed and he ends up getting bit by it. If Huck was more mature and less childish he wouldn't have been playing this so called joke on Jim. Huck learns that jokes have a limit to them at times and need to be thought out more clearly.
The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tell the tale of a young boy who embarks on an adventure, one that leads him to find himself. Throughout the novel Huck develops a sense of morality that was always there to begin with, but not nearly as developed as it is by the end of the novel. Through living on his own, independent of societal and peer pressures, Huck is able to identify his own morals in defining what is 'right ' or 'wrong '.
One of the early examples of Huck still having quite a bit of growing up to do is shown in the book when Huck finds that Jim has run away and is hiding on the same island Huck is. Huck asks Jim how he got there, and at first Jim isn't going to tell Huck. But when Huck promises not to tell a soul, Jim confides in him that he has run off. Huck is shocked by this bit of information, and Jim reminds him that he promised not to tell. Huck responds by saying, "I said I wouldn't, and I'll stick to it. Honest Injun, I will. People will call me a low down abolishonist and despise me for keeping mum- but that don't make no difference. I ain't a going to tell." Huck is beginning to realize the importance of keeping ones word. Young children run and tell things that happen to anyone with ears, and it is hard for them to keep promises. He realizes that the things he says affect others, and the fact he is now capable of understanding that shows that Huck is beginning to have a more mature view on life.
For instance, Huck develops a sense of maturity, new to his character. Huck is immature in his perceptions of life and does not understand how privileged he is compared to those around him. For example, He dreams a world of adventure and independence, with a disregard toward responsibilities. During the course of Huck’s journey from Pap’s cabin, Huck runs away from the abusive environment of his dad, and is forced to take care himself, and runaway slave, Jim. Huck takes care of himself by hunting for food, finding shelter, and protecting him and Jim from getting caught. Normally the adult is supposed to take care of the child. Another indication of Huck’s maturation involves his regrets about playing a practical joke on Jim involving a dead snake, On their way to Cario Jim says “po’niggers can’t have no luck. I awluz ‘spected dat rattlesnake-skin warn’t done wid its work.’Huck says, ‘I wish I’d never seen that snake-skin, Jim- I do wish I’d never laid eyes on it’”(Twain 93). Huck is starting to develop a greater sense of responsibility for his actions, and is beginning to understand the concept of consequences. Agreeably, most of Huck’s tricks are childish, however, when Huck tricks the entire town by faking his death, this shows his intelligence
Huck’s own psychological and moral traits are shaped by cultural, physical and geographical surroundings in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck has learned to take what he knows from society and apply it to his own set of values and own moral code. He is now able to distinguish good, bad, right, wrong, menace, and friend.
While Huck’s constant lies while narrating the novel makes the authenticity of certain events doubtful, it serves a much greater purpose of allowing the reader to indirectly see the continued improvements and declines of Huck’s moral judgment. At some points, he serves only himself; at other key events in the story, he creates elaborate lies that help others. The moral development of Huck makes itself apparent in the changing lies of Huck, allowing readers to observe the events taking place within Huck’s mind with ease.
Huck Finn learns from the actions of people around him, what kind of a person he is going to be. He is both part of the society and an outlier of society, and as such he is given the opportunity to make his own decisions about what is right and what is wrong. There are two main groups of characters that help Huck on his journey to moral maturation. The first group consists of Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and the judge. They portray society and strict adherence to rules laid out by authority. The second group consists of Pap, the King, and the Duke. They represent outliers of society who have chosen to alienate themselves from civilized life and follow no rules. While these characters all extremely important in Huck’s moral development, perhaps the most significant character is Jim, who is both a fatherly figure to Huck as well as his parallel as far as limited power and desire to escape. Even though by the end of the novel, Huck still does not want to be a part of society, he has made a many choices for himself concerning morality. Because Huck is allowed to live a civilized life with the Widow Douglas, he is not alienated like his father, who effectively hates civilization because he cannot be a part of it. He is not treated like a total outsider and does not feel ignorant or left behind. On the other hand, because he does not start out being a true member of the society, he is able to think for himself and dismiss the rules authority figures say are correct. By the end of the novel, Huck is no longer a slave to the rules of authority, nor is he an ignorant outsider who looks out only for himself. This shows Huck’s moral and psychological development, rendering the description of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as a picaresq...
In Conclusion one should be able to understand not only the uncertainty or disillusion of Huck but also both the atmosphere of fear and remorse, that helps portray human themes of Huck, and the ubiquitous idea that will lie and deceive themselves of truth if the truth is not what they desire. Also due to Huck’s confusion with morality, he helps develop and explain the unpredictable nature of life. Thus without understanding first the character Huck Finn one could never obtain a true grasp of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and its many meanings.
At the beginning of the tale, Huck struggles between becoming ?sivilized? and doing what he pleases. He doesn?t want to listen to the rules that the Widow Douglas and her sister force upon him, even though he knows the widow only wants what is best for him. Miss Watson pushes Huck away from society even more through the way she treats him. She teaches him religion in such a dreary way that when she speaks of heaven and hell, Huck would rather go to hell than be in heaven with her: ?And she told all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there?I couldn?t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn?t try for it? (12-13). Huck is taught a very different kind of morality by his father who believes ?it warn?t no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back?? (70). He likes his father?s idea of morality better because he is not yet mature enough to fully understand right and wrong, although living with the widow...
Huck encounters various situations in which he learns to adapt and react to each situation in a way he feels suitable. Through these experiences Huck learns and overcomes boundaries. Huck combines his learned knowledge into an identity which suits him and thus creates a conscience with which he is comfortable.