Theme Of Maturity In Huck Finn

A Journey for Maturity As a person, one must first be foolish in order to become wise. A person learns from their mistakes in order to rectify himself or herself, much like Huck Finn in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel by Mark Twain is a Bildungsroman, which means it follows a character through their journey as they grow and mature. Huck Finn, the novel’s main character, is a young boy struggling with social influence from his racist society and diverse background while on a journey through the conflicting North and South territories of the United States preceding the Civil War. With an abusive father, controlling foster parents, and gang of adventurers in his past, Huck faces the challenge of creating his own moral …show more content…
Huck’s first time showing any form of maturity through attachment is when he decided to go out of his way to warn Jim “there ain’t a minute to lose. They’re after us!” (Twain 47). Not only did Huck decide to assist someone besides himself, he also uses the word “we” to refer to the bond he has created between himself and Jim. Normally, the society of the time and his past actions would lead the reader to believe that Huck would rather ditch Jim and help himself. However, Huck decides to take the first step in creating his own moral code by making his own unique decision. Even more progress is seen when he decides to protect Jim from bounty hunters rather than ratting him out. He goes against everything from his past by deciding to protect a friend. This shows a development of loyalty previously not seen in Huck’s character. Finally, Huck’s apology to Jim after he pranks Jim into thinking their separation was a dream shows how Huck is beginning to make decisions that no not necessarily follow society’s morals. Though he still has a tendency to follow the path that is easiest, he is beginning to step away from foreign influence and make decisions on his own. In this case, he apologizes to a black man without regret. He also shows that he has matured enough to apologize for his wrong doings. Huck’s tendency to go with the flow is beginning to be broken by his development of a moral code. He recognizes some of the things he has done that are wrong and has changed how he acts in an attempt to rectify the situation. This is Twain’s way of symbolizing the Americans during the Civil War and their attempts at rectifying the situation. At this point, Huck has begun to step away form his past self and is taking small steps to identify himself as a unique