Huckleberry Finn Traditions

Superior Essays
Adventures are the epitome of enjoyment in life. They can cause a person to lose themselves in many more ways than one. Adventures can also cause a person to think about who they actually are. The story, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a great illustration of what adventures can to do a person. In the book, there is a boy named Huck who rises up against society in order to stick with what he believes in. Huck decided to help a slave reach freedom by going on a journey down the Mississippi on a raft. Although it is true that the Mississippi leads Huck into trouble, Huck is able to take his experiences on his journey and turn them into lessons because he recognizes the cruelty of society, learns to bond with an outcast, and he is inspired …show more content…
One time, Huck left the raft with Jim on it to check if they had reached the town yet. On the way, Huck met two men who had asked him whether or not he had a slave on his raft. Huck chose to say to the men that he did not have a slave on his raft and then he asks himself, “...s’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than what you do now?” (Twain 69). Huck is wondering whether or not he had done the right thing because the society has different beliefs than him. He is able to overcome the society’s ideas and overall come to the consensus that he is doing the right thing. This proves that Huck has created a true bond with a slave because he chose to protect Jim instead of turning him in. At another point, Huck and Jim were getting closer to what they believed was freedom for Jim. Jim got very excited by this and he says, “Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on’y white genlman dat ever kep’ his promise to ole Jim” (Twain 67). This shows that Huck has made bond with a slave because Jim is very grateful of Huck and his actions. Jim sees Huck as the only friend that he has ever had because he is able to trust Huck now. Despite the fact that the journey proved to Huck that slaves were looked down upon, Huck actually decided to create a bond with one instead because he felt that the ideas of society are wrong and should be

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Contrary to his previous conviction that he would turn Jim in, Huck’s actions serve to prove that the ethical conflicts that he is facing are gradually changing his outlook on the African American race and allowing him to accept his own principles before society’s. Huck’s moral dilemma regarding Jim’s status as a runaway slave reaches its climax when Huck decides that he would rather “go to hell” than turn Jim in (Twain 214). Huck’s decision has an air of finality as he tears up the letter that would lead to Jim’s enslavement. This resolution marks the most important milestone…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    How Huckleberry Finn is a Coming of Age Novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is just like To Kill a Mockingbird because, Harper Lee wrote, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” This relates to Huck Finn because both novels have characters who mature from life lessons. Mark Twain, the author of Huck Finn shows how the main character Huck matures from a young boy who does not want to live by any rules to a boy who matures from conflicts and develops his own morals in life. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck matures through both external and internal conflicts such as, Jim’s quest for freedom, Huck’s conflict with what to do about Jim, and Huck’s struggle with what is right and what…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When talking about who Huckleberry Finn is, it is important to include the different pieces and parts that add up to who he is as a whole. This novel was unique to others that I have read because of the first-person point of view. It gave the reader an insight into what Huck was thinking rather than just guessing characteristics from his actions. From his thoughts and actions Huck’s personality circled around his immaturity, morality, and the idea that he doesn’t fit into the time period. From the beginning to the end of the novel Huckleberry’s immaturity was noticeable.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The archetypal hero can appear in many forms. They can have brains or brawn. They could be young or old. In the fictional novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim is a hero in his own way by being a father figure to Huck by helping him learn and grow along with keeping Huck safe.…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Priyam Patel Period-2/3 Rough Draft Throughout the novel of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, racism in Huckleberry Finn's society greatly affected his perceptions of right and wrong. As Huck Finn and Jim traveled together, Huck learns more about Jim which changes his view on slavery and racism. So throughout Huck Finns adventures with Jim, he sees him as an equal rather than seeing him as a piece of property. Without Jim, Huckleberry Finn would have…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain could easily be considered a coming of age story. The story shows the development and maturation of young Huck, who is exceptionally mischievous and is always seems to be doing something that will get him into some sort of calamity. The story keeps up with his many adventures as he helps a runaway slave named Jim escape by way of the Mississippi River. Huck matures over time, however, and we see him take on many new responsibilities as time goes on. There are many ways that Huck grows in his maturity over time, and some of them really have a positive impact on how he goes about in life.…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Once I said to myself it would be a thousand times better for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was…”(Twain, 203). Twain’s character Huck was a disappointment. Huck doesn’t fully understand the purpose of being free and how it would affect Jim. He cares less for Jim’s desires due to the fact that he doesn’t completely comprehend them. Smiley argues, “As with all bad endings, the problem really lies at the beginning, and at the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn neither Huck nor Twain takes Jim’s desire for freedom at all seriously; that is, they do not accord it the respect that a man’s passion deserves” (Smiley).…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every hero in literature has a journey. These heroes start as ordinary people in an ordinary world then, they receive a call to action and must transform to solve a conflict or reach one of their goals. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is portrayed as an archetypal hero to reveal the theme of friendship conquering all. Huck is introduced to the story as an archetypal hero; he has an ordinary life, he receives a call to action, and at first refuses this call.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having grown up in a society which taught that blacks were inferior, Huck is guilt ridden for most of the story as he helps Jim escape. Having been raised with the Southern mentality he believes that Jim is Miss Watson’s property and that he is hurting Miss watson in someway by helping Jim escape. Similarly, he is afraid at how society might react were they to find out that he was helping a runaway slave. Yet as their journey progresses Huck begins to realize that Jim is indeed human, and deserving of freedom. One night, after getting separated by thick fog for hours, Huck rejoins with Jim who he finds crying his heart out because he believes that he has lost Huck, and that he had failed him.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, Huck’s journey down the river with Jim helps to develop the idea of how society can affect how a person think and act a certain way. The development of an abnormal relationship between Huck, a white boy, and Jim, a slave, can be seen throughout the journey. The idea of mob mentality presented in several situations that Huck encountered on his journey further contributes to the theme. Also, the struggle between doing something that’s right versus doing something morally correct can be impacted by society as seen through Huck.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Huckleberry Finn is the most conscientious character in his book. He helps criminals out when their life 's in danger. He tries to save a whole family from being broken up by con artists. Huckleberry even gives up his image and respectability, and his chance of going to heaven, just to free his friend Jim when he was trapped. However, are Huck and Jim actually friends?…

    • 1975 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Huck’s continuing journey, now undertaken with Jim, ultimately leads to Huck realize how twisted many elements of society are, and how he can choose his own path. As Huck and Jim are camping out on an island, Huck begins to wonder whether or not he is doing the right thing by helping Jim escape: “What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old women do to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word” (Twain 110). Huck’s thinking at this particular moment comes from what he was taught all his life; slavery is good. The fact that Huck does not follow this conventional wisdom and is struggling against it in listening to his conscience, shows how he is distancing himself from the conformity of the society he grew up in.…

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Can a man you have only known for a few weeks of your life be a better father to you than your real dad? In Mark Twain 's’ novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn it seems so. Huck runs away from his home at Widow Douglas’ and his drunken, abusive father in order to travel down the Mississippi river on a raft with a slave named Jim who ran away from Widow Douglas’ house. During the trip, Jim turns out to be the father figure that Huck never had. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim serves as a father figure to Huck because of Hecks lack of a good father, Hucks perception of Jim, and the relationship they Huck and Jim have.…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Jim, is a man who ran away from his slavery home, in order to find his family, from which he was separated from many years before. Even though Jim is a fugitive, he is very wise and understands morals and teaches valuable lesson of decent morals to Huck as they are on the raft on the Mississippi River. However, Huck was an immature kid who didn 't have any rules and did as he wanted when he pleased. While on the raft, Huck played a trick on Jim, saying that it was just a dream when Jim was worried whether or not Huck was alright, but he thought it was hilarious to lie to Jim that it was just a dream. Huck learns how to apologize, and that a black man is just alike everyone around them and deserves respect.…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. Society and morality almost always come in conflict, but societal views are almost always held with more importance than moral values. In The Adventures of Huck Finn, by Mark Twain, Huck develops two different consciences as he spends time with Jim. One conscience is the one he obtained throughout his life by being a part of society. The other is gained from being around Jim, on a raft, away from society.…

    • 2504 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Improved Essays