In many ways, to understand the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the reader must also know a little about the author. Mark Twain was one of the many pen names of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in 1835 and grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. Twain is considered the father of modern American literature, primarily because of this novel. Numerous schools have banned this novel from their reading lists because they believe it to be racist. The ironic part of this is that Clemens was an abolitionist. He hoped that people would understand and be able to see the unfairness and horrors of slavery by reading his book and seeing what slavery does to people.

This book is set in the year 1852 in the south. It is a coming of age novel about an adolescent boy named Huckleberry Finn. In this early stage of his life, Huckleberry is taught many of life's lessons that will help him deal with events that may occur later on in his life. Huck fakes his death in order to run away from his alcoholic father and his caretaker, Mrs. Watson, and also to escape from being "sivilized". While floating down the Mississippi River, he meets Jim,

In the climax of the novel, Huck fights with two different and distinct voices (Internet 1). One is the voice of society, which says that Huck should turn Jim in as a runaway slave because he is property and belongs to Miss Watson. The other voice is Huck's own, and it sees the wrong of turning in his friend. This voice does not view Jim as a slave, but as an equal and a friend (Internet 1). Huck, who is influenced by society has taught him, says, "Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I could get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way (161)," when talking about helping Jim run away. He starts to write a letter to Mrs. Watson telling her that Jim has run away because he starts to feel very guilty for helping Jim escape. Then Huck realizes that he would feel even more guilty if he turned in his great friend. He rips up the letter and says, "Alright, then, I'll go to hell(162)." This statement shows that Huck believes himself to be wrong, and that what society believes is right (McDonough 2). Huck's decision to continue to help free Jim show how his own instincts often hold him to a higher individual moral standard than to society's (McDonough 1).

As the story goes on, Huck begins to feel very protective and caring for Jim. This reaches a peak when Huck saves Jim from two slave catchers by tricking them into thinking that Jim is Huck's father, who is inflicted with small pox. Huck continues to realize that Jim has feelings when Jim talks about his family and how much he misses them.

Throughout his life, society has taught Huck that slavery is a part of life. The accepted was of thinking was that slaves w

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Approximate Word count = 1191
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)