Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Reaction Paper)



Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Reaction Paper)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the novel in its entirety, is a tale that describes the moral development of a young boy. The specific developments and the changes in his outlook towards the world truly shape his personality. Had this been based on a true story, the tale could have been interpreted as a coming of age incident in which Huck realizes the hypocrisy in the world and chooses not to be a part of it.

Moral development of Huck Finn

Huck's moral development begins with his refusal to live with his father. Despite being known as a dumb little boy, as an outcast, he rightly reaches the decision that Pap is not the right kind of adult to grow up around. His father is a drunkard, abusive and everything he should have been is evident. The second phase in his moral development can be said to occur when he is given the opportunity to live with the Widow Douglas and her sister. The two attempt to make a civilized human being out of the young boy but Huck finds solace in Tom Sawyer's little gang; further nurturing his independent and free roaming personality. As time progresses, Huck realizes that most of society is nothing but hypocrites. They may go to church, they may dress nice and they may try to do well and seek a way into heaven, yet they also treat their slaves as mere objects as opposed to treating them like fellow human beings. This concept of stereotyping and hypocrisy is further rooted into his personality through the friendship with Jim, a slave seeking freedom. Jim's association with Huck is the third phase of his moral development. Huck befriends Jim and there comes a time when he begins to ...