The American Classic: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

The American Classic: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
"All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn"
-- Ernest Hemingway The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is many things; a controversy, a lesson, and most importantly, a classic. Classiclit.about.com defines a classic as “usually expressing some artistic quality--an expression of life, truth, and beauty”. Twain’s description of social issues through believable characters has made Huckleberry Finn a beloved American classic. In addition to tackling racial subjects, it has become one of the most taught books in American classrooms. Twain 's creative use of dialect, fixed with his infamous wit, has made Huckleberry Finn one of
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an example of the classic brilliance of Mark Twain. It is no doubt that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a controversy, but for it to still be in debate today, 129 years later, must mean it’s a powerful book. One reason why Huckleberry Finn is a classic for readers to debate is because Twain was audacious enough to truthfully write about the cruelty that took place south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The events in the book represented the challenges and ideals of society in the 1800s. Twain wrote about the friendship shared between Huck and Jim. The relationship between the two was something unheard of for the time, since so much prejudice existed. The combination of loneliness and fear the two shared made them companions. In chapter eight Huck thought, “Well, I warn 't long making him understand I warn 't dead. I was ever so glad to see Jim. I warn 't lonesome now. I told him I warn 't afraid of him telling the people where I was. I talked along, but he only set there and looked at me; never said nothing” (Twain 41). This was early on in their adventure and Huck seemed to be enjoying his freedom on the island, but he was
Both books are classics and share similar qualities that I noticed while reading. Both books are narrated by young children; in The Secret Life of Bees, 14 year-old Lily narrates. Lily’s mother died young, and her father, T. Ray abused her, similar to how Pap abused Huck. Lily decides to run away, and takes her slave Rosaleen with her, since she was not only abused by T. Ray, but by society as well. In both novels, the main characters are powerless in the society that they live in. Huck and Lily, although white, were only children and were helpless against grown white males. And Jim and Rosaleen, although adults, were powerless slaves and weren’t respected by the white males of society. In both cases the main characters went against society’s expectations and earned their power. The strong characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Secret Life of Bees are what make them such enjoyable