A Picaresque Novel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
There are many characteristics that need to be met in order to have a picaresque novel. Typically the story is given in a first person narrative. The main character is referred to as the picaro and is generally a member of the lower class. The novel usually lacks a consistent plot, instead it is told in a bevy of different adventures. The picaro character is usually used to point out the hypocrisies and wrongdoings of society while giving a glimpse of life through the eyes of the poor. Unlike most “hero’s” the picaro is not looking to change his ways and move up in class. They reject normal society and prefer to live their life in a more rugged uncivilized way such as Huck does. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic example of a picaresque novel. The main character Huckleberry Finn narrates the story. Twain portrays Huck …show more content…
However, Huck doesn’t want any part of that and ends up leaving. “ I couldn’t stand it any longer, I lit out. I got into my old rags, and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied” (Twain 49). Huck finds civilized life intolerable, but instead prefers to live the life of a free spirit, but he isn’t able to do so when the Widow is trying to civilize him. The Widow wants to refine Huck’s lifestyle to match hers, but Huck is unable to stand that kind of life and is resistant to it. Huck wants to keep his independence, and he believes that the frontier is the only place where he can do that. Therefore, Huck’s unaccepted presence in society and his unwillingness to fit in, is one that proves his existence as a picaro in the picaresque novel. Another characteristic of the picaro being that he is a wanderer, which means that he is the type of character who roams from place to place with no set destination in
There are many characteristics that need to be met in order to have a picaresque novel. Typically the story is given in a first person narrative. The main character is referred to as the picaro and is generally a member of the lower class. The novel usually lacks a consistent plot, instead it is told in a bevy of different adventures. The picaro character is usually used to point out the hypocrisies and wrongdoings of society while giving a glimpse of life through the eyes of the poor. Unlike most “hero’s” the picaro is not looking to change his ways and move up in class. They reject normal society and prefer to live their life in a more rugged uncivilized way such as Huck does. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic example of a picaresque novel. The main character Huckleberry Finn narrates the story. Twain portrays Huck …show more content…
However, Huck doesn’t want any part of that and ends up leaving. “ I couldn’t stand it any longer, I lit out. I got into my old rags, and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied” (Twain 49). Huck finds civilized life intolerable, but instead prefers to live the life of a free spirit, but he isn’t able to do so when the Widow is trying to civilize him. The Widow wants to refine Huck’s lifestyle to match hers, but Huck is unable to stand that kind of life and is resistant to it. Huck wants to keep his independence, and he believes that the frontier is the only place where he can do that. Therefore, Huck’s unaccepted presence in society and his unwillingness to fit in, is one that proves his existence as a picaro in the picaresque novel. Another characteristic of the picaro being that he is a wanderer, which means that he is the type of character who roams from place to place with no set destination in