Heroes are typically associated as dauntless, valiant, and ingenious characters who are extraordinarily trustworthy. However, not all heroes can boast such reputations. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck, the main hero and protagonist, is often termed as an unreliable narrator due to his lies and exaggerations. After growing up with an abusive father and without a mother, Huck narrates the story of his and Jim’s adventure down the Mississippi. Twain cleverly contrives Huck as the novel’s most compelling hero in order to provide Twain more freedom to write realistically and convey his message more effectively.
Twain depicts a pragmatic view of slavery at the time by employing a common, young, uneducated narrator. Throughout …show more content…
Both Huck and Jim lay at the bottom of their respective racial social ladder; consequently, they both face extreme hardships. Huck and Jim both grew up uneducated and abused. Both men go on the journey risking their freedom, and both always fall to the mercy of an older, authoritative white adult. Examining the backgrounds of the two men, it seems they are identical; however, Huck, although only a child, has total control over Jim, even though Jim is older and wiser. The idea of white superiority at the time is also evident when Jim is submissive to Huck and Tom’s overly extravagant escape plan. Jim simply follows the boys because he “allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him; so he was satisfied…” (Twain 248). This idea of the racist social structure is best portrayed by using an uneducated, young narrator like Huck because he subconsciously follows the structure society laid out for him. As noted by Davis, “Huck’s novel does not oppose laws, codes, or standards of behavior but rather the blind or unthinking acceptance of rules” (Critical Companion). Twain purposely chose characters from the lowest social ranks within their race and created similar backgrounds. The selection of a young illiterate child as the novel’s main character in comparison to Jim helps portray the world more realistically. However, Twain starkly displays the racial differences by allowing an obviously less experienced young child to lead the mature adult. This stark difference influences the reader to view the social conditions of the time as ridiculous. By using an ignorant narrator, Twain ridicules the social conditions of the
Twain depicts a pragmatic view of slavery at the time by employing a common, young, uneducated narrator. Throughout …show more content…
Both Huck and Jim lay at the bottom of their respective racial social ladder; consequently, they both face extreme hardships. Huck and Jim both grew up uneducated and abused. Both men go on the journey risking their freedom, and both always fall to the mercy of an older, authoritative white adult. Examining the backgrounds of the two men, it seems they are identical; however, Huck, although only a child, has total control over Jim, even though Jim is older and wiser. The idea of white superiority at the time is also evident when Jim is submissive to Huck and Tom’s overly extravagant escape plan. Jim simply follows the boys because he “allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him; so he was satisfied…” (Twain 248). This idea of the racist social structure is best portrayed by using an uneducated, young narrator like Huck because he subconsciously follows the structure society laid out for him. As noted by Davis, “Huck’s novel does not oppose laws, codes, or standards of behavior but rather the blind or unthinking acceptance of rules” (Critical Companion). Twain purposely chose characters from the lowest social ranks within their race and created similar backgrounds. The selection of a young illiterate child as the novel’s main character in comparison to Jim helps portray the world more realistically. However, Twain starkly displays the racial differences by allowing an obviously less experienced young child to lead the mature adult. This stark difference influences the reader to view the social conditions of the time as ridiculous. By using an ignorant narrator, Twain ridicules the social conditions of the