There are many books that could be considered classics, or pieces of literature that, through the ages, retain their value in society. Huck Finn, by Mark Twain is one of these books. Huck Finn is still read today because it is nostalgic, and bears the element of time, with its relatability that crosses cultural and racial lines, its aspects of escapism, and how well it is written.
Huck Finn is a nostalgic piece of literature partially due to because it is relatable to everyone, in one way or another. The novel has the power to connect grandparents to their grandkids, or siblings to siblings, because they can all relate to book in some way. For high school age kids, the main character Huck is relatable because he is of high school age, and the …show more content…
Huck Finn has the values that most wish they could have as well, even if they actually don’t. If one were to put themselves in the situations Huck was in, such as facing something like the issue of slavery and racial discrimination, one would like to think they would have done exactly what Huck did, and choose to follow their moral compass and look beyond Jim’s skin color to see that he was a human being. Today those decisions seem so simple, but for Huck, and the people of his time, those decisions were anything but. In nearly every situation, Huck did the right thing, the moral thing, despite his ideas conflicting with surrounding cultural values. “I’m low down, and I’m agoing to steal him, and I want you to keep mum and not let on. Will you?” (170). Time and time again, Huck chooses to do the right thing, creating this ideal hero type character that most people aspire to be like. By reading along with Huck in his point of view, readers get to pretend that they posses the same moral compass and heroic personality as Huck, escaping from their own personalities. Going along with Huck being an “ideal” sort of person, the book also follows a plot that seems almost too perfect at times. Everything falls right into place all the time. For example, “...when I was half-way down I see a wagon coming, and sure enough it was Tom Sawyer..,” (169). At this time Huck was pretending to be Tom, and he just happened to find Tom walking along the path from the ferry boat. He could have come at any time, but he came right as Huck came looking for him. Twain writes these events in a way so that readers don’t get annoyed, but so that they can kind of breathe a sigh of happiness. In real life things rarely work out so perfectly, with everything falling into place at the right moments. In books they can though, and it allows readers to escape into a fantasy type world
Huck Finn is a nostalgic piece of literature partially due to because it is relatable to everyone, in one way or another. The novel has the power to connect grandparents to their grandkids, or siblings to siblings, because they can all relate to book in some way. For high school age kids, the main character Huck is relatable because he is of high school age, and the …show more content…
Huck Finn has the values that most wish they could have as well, even if they actually don’t. If one were to put themselves in the situations Huck was in, such as facing something like the issue of slavery and racial discrimination, one would like to think they would have done exactly what Huck did, and choose to follow their moral compass and look beyond Jim’s skin color to see that he was a human being. Today those decisions seem so simple, but for Huck, and the people of his time, those decisions were anything but. In nearly every situation, Huck did the right thing, the moral thing, despite his ideas conflicting with surrounding cultural values. “I’m low down, and I’m agoing to steal him, and I want you to keep mum and not let on. Will you?” (170). Time and time again, Huck chooses to do the right thing, creating this ideal hero type character that most people aspire to be like. By reading along with Huck in his point of view, readers get to pretend that they posses the same moral compass and heroic personality as Huck, escaping from their own personalities. Going along with Huck being an “ideal” sort of person, the book also follows a plot that seems almost too perfect at times. Everything falls right into place all the time. For example, “...when I was half-way down I see a wagon coming, and sure enough it was Tom Sawyer..,” (169). At this time Huck was pretending to be Tom, and he just happened to find Tom walking along the path from the ferry boat. He could have come at any time, but he came right as Huck came looking for him. Twain writes these events in a way so that readers don’t get annoyed, but so that they can kind of breathe a sigh of happiness. In real life things rarely work out so perfectly, with everything falling into place at the right moments. In books they can though, and it allows readers to escape into a fantasy type world