The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel that has been almost equally celebrated and protested for its widely controversial content. Its novel is well known as a self-described plotless, meaningless retelling of the story of Huckleberry Finn, yet read only one chapter and you’ll instantly see how inaccurate that description is. It’s a coming of age story, one satirizing the rampant racism of the time and the culture of that time in general. However, despite its
seemingly innocent plot and progressive message, there are several solid arguments as to why it doesn’t have the literal merit many give it credit for.
In Julius Lester’s 2005 article, Morality And Adventures Of Huckleberry …show more content…
In his 2013 essay, appropriately titled The Flawed Greatness of Huckleberry Finn, Professor Tom Quirk notes that by the end of chapter 21, "the reader is led to expect vigilante justice [on Colonel Sherburn, who was about to be lynched by an angry mob]." But in the next chapter, Sherburn immediately "settles" the dispute by giving the crowd what Quirk calls a "merciless tongue-lashing," admonishing them for not coming at night with masks and not bringing a "man" to do the job [2]. This in theory would be a great demonstration of Sherburn's intimidation and social status, but as Quirk notes, the book never acknowledges the fact that the people could of done just as he foolishly advised the very next day. Therein lies the problem with Twain's writing style. He fires off stories and situations that are inconclusive at best, and bizarrely outlandish at worst. In the most obvious example, the idea that a runaway slave would try to travel deeper South, knowing full well that freedom lies North, either shows a clear lack of understanding for the plight of slaves at the time, or just shows off his loose-cannon style of writing. Similarly to a painter, who might make a mistake and continuously shape his art around that mistake until it no longer looks like a mistake, Quirk points out how Twain's writing style was effectively improv. He does …show more content…
When a character in an improv performance points out that what someone is doing doesn't make sense, the audience can laugh because everyone watching is aware that there was no rehearsal for it, so mistakes are naturally going to be made. This just makes the performance relatable and charming, making it more relatable. On the other hand, when Twain has a character question why a runaway slave is going into more slave territory and is given very little sensical explanation, it feels forced and sloppy. This is especially disappointing considering the many years the novel spent in development, because that means he had more than enough time to make such plot points believable. When a novel has so many things going for it (as this one does), such as a good message and Twain's distinctly recognizable style of writing, it’s difficult not to wonder why it still remained so unpolished at the time of its release.
In conclusion, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a decent, albeit flawed book. The author’s loose cannon style of writing leaves many questions unanswered, and the depiction of life as a slave is at best inaccurate and at worst outright ignorant. That being said, it still reigns as one of the most definitive examples of iconic literature in the 1800’s (so much so that it is considered by many to be a Great American Novel, or one definitive