Huck Finn

A detailed Summary of Huck Finn

Seen as a rogue, the antithesis of the novel, little Huck in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, goes through a significant psychological metamorphosis. In the events of his journey down the Mississippi river, Huck's morality is tested time and time again. It is in Chapter 31 of the novel, when Huck's ultimate test of morality is put at stake. Huck is torn between following his orthodox childhood nurturing or to follow his heart and do what he believes is correct. Through the episodic journey, Huck reaches his moral apex in Chapter 31.

"I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: 'All right, then, I'll go to hell.'" (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 236) Huck reached his final decision after contemplating the situation he was in. During Huck's experiences in the symbol-filled journey down the Mississippi, he was faced with a true question of morality; whether or not to sacrifice himself to do what was right in his mind. It was here that Huck discovered that the upbringing he received from Miss Watson was not, indeed, honorable. Although she had attempted to civilize him, she had actual

Chapter 31 marked the critical point in the novel where Huck made his decision. In this chapter, the King and the Duke had turned in Jim in exchange for a meager forty dollars. The pair only turned Jim over to the Phelps for the money reward; what happened to him after made no difference whatsoever in their life. Huck on the other hand, could not let Jim be sold after the relationship they had developed over the course of the journey. Instead, Huck wrestled with what he had so long been brought up with and his new outlook on human life. Huck's worst dilemma he dealt with was his guilty conscience. "The more I studied about this, the more my conscience went to grinding me, and the more wicked and low-down and ornery I got to feeling." (The A of HF, 234) With this, a decision of morality was crucial. Mark Twain used a very effective technique in helping the reader have a sense of being inside Huck's head while his mental thought processes were at its best. It is sometimes said that the most emotional moments in life are those that speak without words. This is held true in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne where dialogue was sparse yet the emotion in the novel was thoroughly portrayed. The first person narrative that took place inside Huck was revealed so clearly that his mind and heart repelled each other and took its own direction at every comment Hu

Some common words found in the essay are:
Huckleberry Finn, Nonetheless Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jim Phelps, Tom Sawyer, Miss Watson, Mark Twain, Huck Jim's, Instead Huck, Daniel Hoffman, chapter 31, journey mississippi, adventures huckleberry finn, mississippi river, episodic journey, mark twain, huckleberry finn, daniel hoffman, adventures huckleberry, journey mississippi river, sent hell, jim phelps,

Approximate Word count = 928
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels