Similarities Between To Kill A Mockingbird And Huckleberry Finn

In the early 20th century, racism was a huge problem in America. This idea of Racism had been the subject of many American novels including: To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn. These two books were considered some of the most influential American novels of all American Literature. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee and was published in 1960. Lee’s Novel was an Instant success, it went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and to be known as a great American Classic. On the other end, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a Novel written by Mark Twain. It was published in 1885, eighty-five years prior to To Kill a Mockingbird. Although these two books were written almost one-hundred years apart, the themes they deal with are …show more content…
One of the major similarities is the characters and their relationship with the black community; these two characters being Atticus Finch and Huckleberry Finn. In both books, one white man, or boy, finds friendship with a black man which leads them to be judged by their peers. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch, a lawyer, takes on a case to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of the rape of white women, this was, and still is, considered one of the worst crimes possible which made Atticus hated more than if Tom Robinson was accused of something such as robbery. Atticus was called by many names by the people around the small town of Maycomb. There was one name that he kept hearing over and over, and when scout asked, "You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?" Atticus replies with, "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you." Instead of denying that he cares about Tom for the sake of his own life, Atticus owns up to the fact that he loved and cared for Tom Robinson and his community. On the other hand, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck quickly becomes close friends with Jim, the slave owned by the Widow Douglass. When Huck’s father comes into town, he bashes on Huck and how he was wrong in his way of accepting Jim as a human being. Throughout their entire adventures down the Mississippi River, Huck never questions his friendship with Jim once. The whole town around was shocked whenever they jaw Huck and Jim socializing and have a good time together, but Huck and Jim just kept their heads up high and went on their