Preview

Huckleberry Finn Character Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
681 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Huckleberry Finn Character Analysis
In a Book called “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, we meet a crazed protagonist called Tom Sawyer, and his underminer Huckleberry Finn. Huck, as they call him, is a carefree, superstitious, and daring character, challenging what not many people would at his age. Carefree? Exactly what does that mean? Does it mean he is a hyper person? A laid back “cool” kid? Or possibly a reckless person? Infact, it is all of those, him demonstrating each one through various actions and quotes. Such as the time when he runs away with Tom and Joe to an island become pirates and live their lives there. During that time, he is convinced that there is treasure on the island, and tries to find it. A second time that shows he is happy-go-lucky, was when he tried to teach Tom Sawyer and Joe Harper how to smoke while on the deserted island, ending in both of his pupils to become sick but unwilling to show it. And finally on how he shows the carefreeness, he says “I don’t want nothing better’n this.” as …show more content…
A black cat crossing a road, or even breaking a mirror, almost everyone believes in an unfound fear. Huckleberry Finn displays it very openly as well as Tom and a few other characters. We learn early on that both Tom and Huckleberry believe in spunk water, which is a technique that removes warts, so they say. Huck then talks about how he will bring a dead cat to a cemetery late at night to result in removing wart. Later in the book, they see a dog howling at Muff Potter, and them being superstitious, think that Muff is going to die but they can’t prevent it. Back in the beginning when Tom finds Huck, Huck says “Good for? Cure warts with.” after Tom become curious about why he has a dead cat (Twain Ch. 6; 43). In summary of that trait, we have an insight to Huck on how he is very superstitious, but also slightly gullible, knowing that both characters are making up stories to “out rank” the other. Pointing to the next trait that deeply reaches Huck is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn is a very clever at thinking up ideas, even sometimes when he has no time to think. This theme is shown throughout the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He always seems to have a clever solution for squeezing his way out of a tight situation that either he or Jim gets into.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huck Finn

    • 941 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” is a classic novel written by Mark Twain. The story tells of a young man Huck Finn and his friend Jim, a slave, starting an adventure toward the freedom of Jim. The adventure is not only full with excitement, but also full of moral for Huck to learn. In the beginning of the book, Huck is wild and careless. He plays jokes and tricks on people and believed that is was hilarious. As the story goes on, Huck starts to change into a more mature and caring person.…

    • 941 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After selling the fortune to Judge Thatcher for a dollar, Huck decides to not inform his father and deal with the consequences. When Huck’s father found out that his son had money that he could potential use for more alcohol, he sneaks into Huck’s room in order to talk to him. Before Huck leaves to go confront his father he confides in Jim. Jim and Tom Sawyer are the only people that Huck trust.…

    • 74 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Twain uses Pap, an unethical, abusive, drunken father, in order to expose racism and ignorance in Southern white society so that the audience will understand Twains’ position on these issues. During Pap’s rant about the government, he tells of a freed African American that came into town and, “had the whitest shirt on…and the shiniest hat [too]…he was a p’fessor in a college…and he could vote” (29). Pap shows his contempt towards the fact that an African American is better dressed and better educated than himself. I believe that Twain emphasizes racism in the excerpt to show its crudeness brought on by the people in Southern white society, and is trying to open the eyes of the people to what is really happening, or what he thinks is happening. In using Pap to project this ideology, satirical irony is prominent in the fact that Pap, himself, represents the lowest class in society. Furthermore, after Pap describes his pushing the free black man off the sidewalk, he states, “I says to the people, why ain’t this nigger put up at auction and sold? – that’s what I want to know” (29). Pap exhibits animosity for the rights that the black man possesses. Twain attempts to attack the idea that white people deserve more rights than the blacks, and that an African American man has no rights to education or wealth.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “‘Not suitable for trash’ was the opinion of the Concord, Massachussetts, librarians who banned it in 1885. Nearly 130 years since then, this novel has been challenged, defended, banned, expurgated and bowdlerized numerous times by parents, educators, publishers and librarians” (Ruta 1). Attack, defense, and debate over the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, has raged on since its publication. Numerous questionable topics in the novel have caused the widespread banning or censorship of book, especially in libraries. Criticism includes the polarizing culmination of Huckleberry Finn’s exploits. Although the book features unrealistic character regression, Huck Finn’s ending was appropriate because it allocates space for further social commentary on slavery and Romanticism.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Twain efficaciously utilizes satire in, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to instigate social change through the hypocritical characters in his novel that Huck meets on his adventure to free Jim from the cruel bondage of slavery. His writing involves immensely taboo topics and he uses humor to convey his message of the wrongdoing of the American, and explicitly the Southern, society in a lighter mood. Important examples were the abusive father Pap, the violent Grangerfords and Sheperdsons feud, and Aunt Sally’s racialism. Modern society continues to satirize the hypocrisy of racism and blind tradition time after time, noticing that while Twain’s book was effective, it was not effective enough to ignite the end to racism, something I fear…

    • 157 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Huckleberry Finn: The Master of Disguise Further descriptions of characters previously mentioned are also provided, introduced or expanded upon in greater detail within the text as well. It’s no surprise when the temperament of Huck’s father is again described as a troublesome drunk with a tendency to have bad happenings follow where ever he goes. It’s quite obvious when he reunites with Huck he is out for his money and has no real affection for his son. Introduced in this section is the character Mrs. Judith Loftus. Mrs. Loftus is at first presented as one of the more sincere people in the novel who is genuinely trying to help Huck in any way possible. The irony is when she begins to discuss how her husband, whom she states will help Huck get to his destination in town safely, is attempting to hunt Jim like some sort of animal to collect reward money. It might seem odd but this was the actual irony of life in the south at this time. Although Mrs. Loftus was a kind women she didn’t see anything wrong with hunting men for reward money, another example of Twain showing the odd interworks of slavery. Bibliography: Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn Ch. 11. The Norton Anthology: American Literature, Volume 2 : 1865 to the Present. Shorter Seventh ed. Vol. 2. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2007. 135-36. Selected Text: "The nigger run off the very night Huck Finn was killed. So there 's a reward out for him—three dollars. And there 's a reward out for old Finn, too—two hundred dollars. You see, he come to town the morning after the murder, and told about it, and was out with 'em on the ferryboat hunt, and right away after he up and left. Before night they wanted to lynch him, but he was gone, you see. Well, next day they found out the nigger was gone; they found out he hadn 't ben seen sence ten o 'clock the night the murder was done. So then they put it on him, you see; and while they was full of it, next day, back comes old Finn, and went boo-hooing to…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many social and global issues in the world that are still happening today, but a book that talks about those issues to fit the time frame should not be taken so offensively. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic novel written by Mark Twain. The book has many controversies about whether it should or should not be banned from schools. The book should not be banned from Norton City Schools because the use of derogatory slang is used only to portray the Antebellum era. The Antebellum era was a time period in the Southern United States that lasted from the late 18th century until the American Civil War in 1861. The Civil War was the breaking point which ended slavery in the United States. Before the civil war, slavery was not seen as wrong. The institution of slavery became the center of the Southern ideology and social norms. The relationships in the book also show…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri during the 1830s. This town is in the south, and contains several morals and ideals iconic to it 's location and time. The location and time of this story serve as elements that, open vital opportunities, help conflicts gain suspense, and develop Huck and Jim and their important friendship.…

    • 1798 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    All children have a special place, whether chosen by a conscious decision or not this is a place where one can go to sort their thoughts. Nature can often provide comfort by providing a nurturing surrounding where a child is forced to look within and choices can be made untainted by society. Mark Twain once said "Don't let school get in the way of your education." Twain states that this education which is provided by society, can actually hinder human growth and maturity. Although a formal education shouldn't be completely shunned, perhaps true life experience, in society and nature, are a key part of development. In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain throws the curious yet innocent mind of Huck Finn out into a very hypocritical, judgmental, and hostile world, yet Huck has one escape--the Mississippi River constantly flowing nearby. Here nature is presented as a thought provoking environment when experienced alone. The river is quiet and peaceful place where Huck can revert to examine any predicament he might find himself in: "They went off, and I got aboard the raft, feeling bad and low…Then I thought a minute, and says to myself, hold on,- s'pose you'd a done right and give Jim up; would you felt better than you do now? No, says I, I'd feel bad…" (p.127). Only a few weeks with Jim and still feeling great ambivalence, Huck returns to the river to think. Twain tries here to tell the reader how strong the "mob" really is, and only when totally alone is Huck able to make the morally correct decision. The natural flowing and calm of the river cause this deep-thought, show! ing how unnatural the collective thought of a society can be. The largest and most obvious test of Huck's character is his relationship with Jim. The friendship and assistance which he gives to Jim go completely against all that "sivilization" has taught him; at first this concept troubles Huck and causes him a great deal of pain, but over time, through his life experiences and…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mankind creates the idea of romanticism, which glorifies and justifies absurd practices and actions. On the other hand, Nature itself consists of the belief of more realistic and practical means, necessary in the survival in the wilderness, leading to individual accomplishing a certain task with a specific purpose. In the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the appearance of the Grangerford serves as an example of such corrupt romanticism. When Huckleberry Finn asks about the feud and murder between the Grangerford and Shepardson, Buck responds:“ ‘We…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often considered Twain's greatest masterpiece. Combining his raw humor and startlingly mature material, Twain developed a novel that directly attacked many of the traditions the South held dear at the time of its publication. Huckleberry Finn is the main character, and through his eyes, the reader sees and judges the South, its faults, and its redeeming qualities. Huck's companion Jim, a runaway slave, provides friendship and protection while the two journey along the Mississippi on their raft.…

    • 1801 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain used the contrast between the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to illustrate a romantic and realistic imagination. Tom is spectacularly imaginative in the boyish, romantic sense. Tom has filled his head with romantic adventure novels and ideas; this has shaped Tom's worldview and feeds his fantasies, which he is constantly trying to act out. After reading about gangs and highwaymen, Tom decides to build a gang wishing to rob people and become successful highwayman. Tom's gang would kill or ransom the men and get the women to love them. Often times Tom's romantic imagination is not just silly, but downright dangerous. An example of this dangerous romantic imagination was when Huck wanted to free Jim and Tom was enlisted to help. Tom, knowing full well that Ms. Watson had released Jim prior to her death, did not disclose this information to Huck; he wanted to have an adventure helping Jim "escape". During the elaborate escape, Tom wanted Jim to train animals in his prison and have a coat of arms. Tom also sent Jim's captors warning of the upcoming escape attempt. Tom didn't know of the necessity to get Jim out now and not later. Because of Tom's dawdling, Jim's life was put in danger when they finally did escape. As they were running away, bounty hunters were chasing them and shooting at them. Knowing the reader would be in need of a breathe of fresh air between Tom's elaborate schemes, Twain created Huck. Huck's desires are indeed remarkably few and simple. Huck wanted only to be wild and free. Huck often escaped from Ms. Watson by running to the woods and going exploring. Ms. Watson tried to "sivilize" him, but he didn't like to learn about dead people or other such "nonsense". He saw no point to education other than to spite his father. Huck would rather be out fishing or playing in the woods. The final, and best, example of Huck's desire to be free was the ending line in the book. "I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck’s relationship with Jim becomes increasingly close and respected as these chapters unwind. In the beginning of the book, both Huck and Jim are only briefly acquitted due to Jim working for Miss Watson as a slave, who happens to be Huck’s legal guardian at the time. Even though both characters live under the same roof, neither of them pay much attention to one another due to the fact that slaves in the 1800s, degraded by the term “niggers”, would not be accepted into the white community as anything more. However, despite Huck barely knowing him, he had noticed “Miss Watson’s big nigger, named Jim”(pg. 6) was physically large, very superstitious but capable of interpreting signs that could provide useful information. We know this since Huck mentions that “Jim, had a hair-ball as big as your fist, which had been took out of the fourth stomach of an ox, and he used to do magic with it. He said there was a spirit inside of it, and it knowed everything. So I went to him that night and told him pap was here again, for I found his tracks in the snow. What I wanted to know, was, what he was going to do, and was he going to stay?”.…

    • 729 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A major theme that stuck out to me in the reading was the tension of the relationship between Huckleberry Finn and his father. As stated in the book, his father seems to always be drunk and is also not very educated, and he has been out of the picture for most of Huck’s life. Huck is afraid of his dad, not only because he beats his, but also because since he has not really been around, he does not exactly know him very well. He does not actually know his father. There is tension between Huck and his father because when Huck finds him I his room, he brings up how Huckleberry is getting an education, and goes on about how wrong it is and tells him that he is a bad son. There is no reason that Huck should not receive a proper education. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with Huck being educated. It is actually better that he has an education so that he can be successful when he is older. He is a young boy and is at the age to where he needs to start figuring out what he wants to do with his life, rather than do basically nothing with his life like his father.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays