In life, there comes a time when everyone must grow up. The process of growing up occurs on many levels including physical, mental, and emotional, and every person matures at their own pace. No individual can grow up overnight, the process takes many years to complete, yet the attitudes and actions of individuals will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Whilst growing up, a person faces many obstacles which seemingly hinder and slow the process, however these experiences and how individuals learn from them, truly signify maturity and becoming an adult. In the twentieth century classic novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates and captures maturation through the main character Huckleberry Finn to reveal even the most
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Similar to the overall process of growing up, a loss of innocence occurs across physical, mental, and emotional levels. Twain emphasizes Huck’s loss of innocence especially in the second half of the story. However, because Huck grows up differently than most children, his innocence loss does not seem as dramatic as other boys his age in the nineteenth century. As children lose their innocence while growing up, their sense of reality and the world around them increases. Lauriat Lane Jr. explains although Huckleberry matures throughout the book, he still demonstrates innocent child-like characteristics “In fact Huck, though he still keeps some of the innocence and naivete of youth, he has much in common with one of the greatest of epic heroes, Odysseus, the practical man” (3). Lane insinuates that Huck 's practicality serves as an example of a trait of maturity. Although Huck has not lived for many years and displays innocent child-like behaviors, his practicality and ability to make rational decisions gives rise to make him comparable to Odysseus. The comparison of Huckleberry and Odysseus allows readers to draw conclusions about other personality traits based on the epic hero archetype. Although both the stories of both Huckleberry Finn and Odysseus ARE old, readers today can still make connections and relate to both characters. One night while Huckleberry stays in the cabin, Pap, after copiously drinking too much, believes the devil has come for him and begins to lash out towards Huckleberry: “He chased me round and round the place with a clasp-knife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldn’t come for him no more” (Twain 41). Implicitly, Twain expresses how Pap’s treatment of Huck results in a premature loss of innocence. Despite the fact that Pap never treated Huckleberry exceedingly well, and took minimal care of him in the cabin, his attempt at murder
Similar to the overall process of growing up, a loss of innocence occurs across physical, mental, and emotional levels. Twain emphasizes Huck’s loss of innocence especially in the second half of the story. However, because Huck grows up differently than most children, his innocence loss does not seem as dramatic as other boys his age in the nineteenth century. As children lose their innocence while growing up, their sense of reality and the world around them increases. Lauriat Lane Jr. explains although Huckleberry matures throughout the book, he still demonstrates innocent child-like characteristics “In fact Huck, though he still keeps some of the innocence and naivete of youth, he has much in common with one of the greatest of epic heroes, Odysseus, the practical man” (3). Lane insinuates that Huck 's practicality serves as an example of a trait of maturity. Although Huck has not lived for many years and displays innocent child-like behaviors, his practicality and ability to make rational decisions gives rise to make him comparable to Odysseus. The comparison of Huckleberry and Odysseus allows readers to draw conclusions about other personality traits based on the epic hero archetype. Although both the stories of both Huckleberry Finn and Odysseus ARE old, readers today can still make connections and relate to both characters. One night while Huckleberry stays in the cabin, Pap, after copiously drinking too much, believes the devil has come for him and begins to lash out towards Huckleberry: “He chased me round and round the place with a clasp-knife, calling me the Angel of Death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldn’t come for him no more” (Twain 41). Implicitly, Twain expresses how Pap’s treatment of Huck results in a premature loss of innocence. Despite the fact that Pap never treated Huckleberry exceedingly well, and took minimal care of him in the cabin, his attempt at murder