Huck Finn Essay
Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, describes a young boy torn between what he feels for his country and what society expects of him and what his heart tells him is right. Huck Finn, faces many situations forcing him to deal with decisions that carry with them the ability to bring about change. Huck begins searching for an identity which is truly his own. In determining his self image, Huck deals with conforming to the social norms and freedom, trying on different identities that do not belong to him, and shaping these new found tributes into an identity which best suits his conscience. Throughout the book, Huck rejects "sivilized" life because he has no reason for it. All that civilization has brought for him was bad things. He meets many people and they all try to influence him to change his ways to what they see is right. Pretty soon, he does not want to deal with any of it and just wants to live a life of adventure and fun. The novel begins with Huck under the care of Widow Douglas as "she took me for her son, and allowed that she would civilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time." (p. 11) Huck has become so used to being free that he sees the Widow D
ouglas' protection solely in terms of confinement. He finds this impossible because he loses his freedom amongst "the bars and shackles of civilization." Huck feels that he belongs out under the stars where the community cannot tell him what to do. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much attention to him; his mother is dead and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not used to following any rules. At the beginning of the book, Huck is living with the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson. Both women are fairly old and are really incapable of raising a rebellious boy like Huck Finn. They attempt to make Huck into what they believe will be a better boy, as Huck says, to "sivilize" him. They do this by making Huck go to school, teaching him about different religions, and making him act in a way that the women find socially acceptable, which means no more smoking. Huck, who has never had to follow many rules in his life, finds the demands the women place upon him constraining and the life with them lonely. As a result, soon after he first moves in with them, he runs away. He soon comes back, but, even though he becomes somewhat comfortable with his new life as the months go by, Huck never really enjoys the life of manners, religion, and education that the Widow and Miss Watson impose upon him. They represent everything in society that Huck hates. Pap is Huck's usually drunk
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Approximate Word count = 950
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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