A Huck in Mark Twains Novel Huckleberry Finn - Term Paper Example

A Critical Analysis of Huck in Mark Twain’s Novel “Huckleberry Finn” Mark Twain’s novel “Huckleberry Finn” is a literary masterpiece that has received a wide range of literary criticisms on its characters, theme, plot and narrative style from the time of its publication until now. The novel’s central character, Huckleberry Finn occupies a significant place in these criticisms. A boy, Huck, running away from his authoritative father, takes a journey by boat along the Mississippi River. His journey is not simply the journey of a young boy; rather it is the growing-up of a boy through learning a lesson from the open environment, from the vast open sky, and from his direct contact with cultures scattered over the most part of America. Various critics have interpreted Huck’s character from different points of view. In a review, “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn”, William Earnest Henley primarily draws the readers’ attention to two critical characteristics of Huck: first, the zeal of freedom in Huck’s character and second, his love for adventures. Earnest comments that it is Huck’s adventures which makes the novel so palatable. He further says that both the young and matured readers will love to read the novel because of its adventures. (Henley 329) Huck escapes from his father who keeps him under the custody of his oppressive control. But Huck’s freedom-loving mind would not allow him to remain under his father’s authority. He plans his escape by arranging a drama of robbery and murder. Once he escapes his father’s oppression, he floats down the Mississippi in order to experience adventures. Indeed both of the two traits, zeal of freedom and an adventure loving mind, of Huck are related to each other. When Huck floats down the Mississippi, he tastes freedom through his adventure. Along the river, he comes into contact of people of different cultures and languages. Indeed Huck’s freedom loving mind also loves to know the unknown and see the unseen. Knowing the unknown is a matter of great adventure. In this regard, Earnest Henley comments that Huck’s adventure with Jim will attract both young and old readers. (Henley 329) Also Huck’s adventure with Jim will render the theme that Mark Twain himself could not deny the share of minor community’s of American Society in freedom. Since sometimes adventure means risk and fear, the journey of Huck and Jim together and their cooperation necessarily symbolize that both the black people and the white people needs each other. Though Huck’s adventures are serious, his character is not always serious. The novel is full of boyish fun-planning and accomplishments. In an article, “Mark Twain’s Blood Curdling Humor”, referring to humorous dimension of Huck’s character, Robert Bridges comments that Huck is the production of Mark Twain’s personal humor. He draws his readers’ attention to the preface of the novel where Twain himself warns his readers to search for any morale or motif. Still, Twain novel renders the serious message that excessive dependence on moral, social norms or regulations, etc tend to make a man dead. By running away from his father Huck actually runs away from the society that intimidates a man’s free soul. Twain has not allowed any room for such seriousness in his novel also. (Bridges 334) Robert Bridges further notes that Huck is the reflection of such light but pedagogic view of Twain. Huck’s humorous description of his father rather euphemizes the harmful relationship between a father and a son, while the revealing the detrimental effects of overly control of a father. In this regard Bridges draws the readers’ attention to the humorous tone of how Huck describes his father. Moreover, he indicates to the laughter-evoking act of killing a pig and uses its blood to deceive his father. This comic action of a boy rather dilutes the harmful effect of murder. Here Huck is committing any crime. Indeed he manages to achieve his long cherished freedom by this boyish and laughter-evoking action. (Bridges 334) Bridges notes that such humorous activities of Huck usually allure young readers to reread the novel. In his review article, Thomas Sergeant Perry also has identified the boyish adventure as an interesting dimension of Huck’s character as well as of the plot of the novel. He critically claims that Huck is to a great extent autobiographical. Therefore, the consistency of the novel’s plot has been maintained through Huck’s developing boyish psychology. He asks whether the novel and its central character Huck conform to conventional literary practice. Immediately in the next line, he claims that the novel is quite conforming to the contemporary literary conventions. Perry argues that Huck’s character allows the readers’ to delve deep into the psychology of a boy. He further claims that this novel is endowed with a more intelligible plot than Twain’s another novel, “Tom Sawyer”. (Perry 335) Such consistent plot allows the readers to view varying culture of America and to experience varying adventurous incidents through the eyes of Huck. Perry further acknowledges Twain’s sense of humor simplicity as one of the primary veins that seem to pump life into the novel. According to Perry, the humor evolves mainly from the simplicity of Twain’s portrayal of a boyish perception and feelings about characters, events and incidents. Twain describes what and how a boy would view the actual events and characters. Such investment of boyish simplicity into the novel makes the novel more palatable. Huck feels proud for freeing Jim from slavery. But at the same time, he is tormented by an inter agony that he has done the most unholy thing. (Perry 335) This boyish tendency to do what heart tells and the torment induced by his religiosity are quite interesting and amusing. Obviously simplicity of description is instructive also. (Perry 336) While retaining the essence of reality, Huck’s activity of freeing a slave will rather provoke a young mind to do what they think right. Huck’s relationship with his father is quite important in the novel. In a review Brander Matthew comment Huck’s conflict with his father rather endows the novel with an individuality which makes it different from Mark Twain’s another novel “Tom Sawyer”. Unlike Tom’s ideal father Huck’s father is a drunkard and a quite authoritarian figure. Though the plots of both novels, to a great extent, are similar, and both Tom and Huck travel along the Mississippi, their relationships with their father set the tone of the novels. Tom makes the journey but the norms, culture and social bondage- all are his companion. But when Huck makes the journey, he is free of these social bondages, since he starts in the very first place with his refusal of his father. In general Huck appears to be in conflict with the suppressing and dominant force of his society that is represented through the character of Pap. (Matthew 331) Matthew further comments that Huck’s adventurous journey begins with a sense of endless freedom because of his rejection of his father’s authority over him. Apart from the slave, Jim, Huck’s guide is only his boyish naivety and ready-wit. The manipulation of the father-son relationship in “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” endows the novel with the thematic riches as well as structural simplicity. Referring to the role of Huck in the structural simplicity of the novel, Matthew comments that Twain has simply allowed his readers to view the events like Grangerford-Shepherdsons feud, the shooting of Boggs by Colonel Sherbern, etc with a boy quasi-naivety. This naivety is amazed by the Corsicans’ religiosity which compels them to carry guns even to the church. (Matthew 331) Huck’s relationship with father, Pap, sets the undertone of most other conflicts in the novel. Pap’s domination and domination can be viewed as the careless pamper of the 1880s’ American society. The racial dimension in Huck’s character is one of the interesting themes of Twain’s novel. Referring racial tropes in the novel, critic James R Kincaid dares to ask, in his article, “Voice on the Mississippi, whether Huck is black. He notes that Twain experiences with the black provoked him to choose Jim as his protagonist’s companion throughout the whole adventure. Choosing a run-away black slave as Huck’s companion also sets the range of vernacular linguistic in the novel. Kincaid claims that elements in Huck’s character such as the dictions of his language, his behavioral traits, etc tend to convinces that Twain’s protagonist is part-black. He further notes that Huck’s friendship embellished his language with black vernacular tropes which essentially tends to blur the dichotomy between black and white linguistic individualities. (Kincaid 383-384) Kincaid further claims that the novel’s black-white mixed voice ultimately proves to be congenial to the cultural literary trend. The black-white linguistic mixture can promote the culture blending obliterating the racial divide in the society. Huck’s portrayal, as a cute little “darkey’ like Jimmy, rather foretells the racism’s future move toward the blurred whiteness. (Kincaid 385) Huck appears to be a pro-freedom zeal who only struggles against his dominating father but supports Jim the black slave to achieve freedom. He feels that freedom is the indispensable part of a man’s individual existence. He achieves it by eluding from his father. Also he helps Jim to run away from Miss Watson, because he likes to see Jim as a person as opposing to his society’s view of Jim as a property. In the novel, Pap view of Huck is as disturbing as the society’s view of the black slave is. Pap’s view of Huck as a property is best revealed in the episode in which the outsiders endeavor to take Huck away. Works Cited Bridges, Robert. “Mark Twain’s Blood Curdling Humor.” Henley, William Earnest. “Review: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Kincaid, James R. “Voices on the Mississippi.” Review: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Matthew, Branders. “Review: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Perry, Thomas Sergeant. “The First Major American Review.” Read More