Characters can really make or break a story for me. The writing can be excellent, the plot can be intriguing, but if I don’t sympathize with the characters in any way, especially the protagonist, then it will be very difficult for me to like a piece of literature. It’s one of the reasons I did not like Leaves of Grass, because Whitman came across as arrogant with his “I celebrate myself” attitude and that drove me nuts.
Thankfully, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not only well written and entertaining, but it has characters that I actually care about. I will focus on Huck Finn himself and why I find Huck to be a sympathetic, likable character.
I think Huck ultimately has a good heart. He can be immature, he can be a prankster on occasions, he can be a rowdy kid, but in the end his heart is usually in the right place. An example of this is the scene where Huck tricks Jim by the river, trying to get Jim to think that he only dreamed that Huck left. Huck has fun with the prank at first, but when he realizes that it hurt Jim, Huck ends up feeling guilty and mean about what he did. He says, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger- but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way.” (100)
Another quality that I liked about Huck is that he is very clever. One example of this cleverness is when he fakes his own death to escape his father. Huck does this in a creative way that fools everyone; he works out all these intricate details, from putting his hair on the bloodied ax to hiding the pig in the river. (57-58) The escape was very entertaining and a mark of how Huck thinks things through. He knows how to think on his feet, and he will do whatever it takes to get where he wants to go.
In many situations, Huck tells these insane lies to people to get what he wants or needs, or to get himself out of trouble. He pretends to be a boy named George Jackson when he comes across the Shepherdsons. He pretends to be Tom Sawyer at Aunt Sally’s house. He gets a couple of men to think his father is ill, which results in them giving him directions and money (103). He even pretends to be a girl, though he doesn’t fool anyone for very long. Huck becomes a natural at telling lies and most of the time he is convincing. One might argue that this is more because of the naïveté of the people, but I think it shows that Huck is quick thinking. As sick as this sounds, it’s impressive how good he is at lying to people.
These qualities I described seem to be at odds with each other; Huck wants to do the right thing, and yet he is willing to lie to get what he wants or needs. But I think that’s what makes him likable. He’s human, he struggles to come to decisions and that makes him relatable. It can also be hard to remember that he’s only a kid. That can account for some of the conflict. One of my favorite lines in the entire book is when Huck says, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” (201). He was wrestling with the decision of whether he will tell Miss Watson that he knows where Jim is, and his declaration of how he will go to hell is his decision to free Jim after all. It is interesting that he sees freeing Jim as an act that would send him to hell, and others in that society would say the same thing. But I, a reader in the 21st century who sees slavery as wrong, think Huck made the right choice by choosing to free Jim. It’s kind of an interesting thing to think about.
Ashley, I do agree that Huck is quite clever and cunning. He is free spirited young boy with the world at his fingertips. It reminds us of what it was like to be children, to have the imagination and wonder that pushes us to the absolute limits we test..Huck definitely pushed the limits! I agree that he has good within him but unfortunately, he lacks the love and discipline that keeps him from falling over the edge into drama after drama..
ReplyDeleteI'd say you nailed the description of Huck pretty well: a clever trickster that grows a conscious, to an extent. Your point about our sympathy towards the Huck and Jim puts the finger on what I think we like about the novel. The sympathy that we have for them in their friendship propels us through the ending where we want to dislike Huck for the foolish decisions and the farcical "freeing" of Jim when Jim is already free by law.
ReplyDeleteI think you have some great points, Ashley, but I hesitate to go any farther and idolize Huck as the epitome of childhood or child-like wonder.
I agree that Huck is likable in his human qualities, but looking at those qualities (deception, outright lies, and subversion of authority), I see a lot less to like. However, it does show the sort of character (pun intended) we would be without a firm sense of morality and rightness, similar to Kara's point about lacking love and discipline.
I think that Huck is a rather endearing character in all of his simple logic. In many ways I feel that his philosophy is more honest and caring than any we experience from those in "society." Though on one level I may not approve of his lying, it does not bother me that much considering the nature of his situation. He certainly is not innocent, but he is not civilized either. I feel that the novel suggests that to become civilized means to become hypocritical, which is a infinitely worse disease than Huck's practical, if a bit dishonest worldview.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least Huck is always honest with himself, something Tom Sawyer could learn a bit about.
Let's also not forget how Huck's character matters to the question of the end. Eliot sees Huck as the eternal Boy, whereas Marx sees him maturing. Depending on who you most sympathize with, you'll have a different take on what happens in the end.
ReplyDelete