The journey of Huckleberry Finn has come to an end. By
the end of the novel, I think that Huck has come of age. He has come a long way
since the immature and less moral character that is seen in the early chapters.
However, before the end of the novel Huck somewhat goes back to his old ways.
He follows the lead of Tom Sawyer even though this time around he is a bit wearier
of Tom’s grand ideas and plans and even questions Tom a bit. This is a prime
example of Huck’s progression: even when he reverts to his old ways there is
still a difference to how he acts.
When
looking at the big picture of the novel all the progress Huck has made toward
his coming of age is because of Jim. Huck’s experience with Jim made him more
open minded, a more compassionate and emotional human being, and most of all someone
who can see past what society thinks is right and do what is actually right. No
other character (besides briefly Tom perhaps) had this much impact on Huck.
When the novel ends Huck has a new beginning
to look forward to. Jim is a free man, Pap has died and he is back at home.
Huck wants to use this not to go back to the way things were but to move on. He
wants to go to Oklahoma rather than be “silvillized” again. This final part of
the novel makes the biggest point of any so far: Huck has finally developed into
a thinking, independent and well meaning character. The novel’s status as a
bildungsroman is justified because Huck truly comes of age by the end.
2 comments:
Hey Matt! I agree with you when you say that Huck has come of age by the end of the novel. We are totally on he same page about Huck following Tom's footsteps again just like he did in the earlier chapters. However, I believe the difference is, is that Huck actually follows through with his own plans of helping Jim escape thus proving his new established, mature mindset! Reading through these chapters showed the slow, long progression of Huck's development and I believe Huck has really proved himself at the end. Huck has finally become is own person! (and it sure was an adventure!!) Good Job analyzing the text Matt!
What’s up Matt? How was that SAT class? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed your post this week. After reading your post and your comment on mine, I agree with that fact that the last few chapters are not a digression in Huck’s morality, but rather the final development of him into a “thinking, independent and well meaning character.” I don’t think Jim helped Huck to see past what society thinks is right; I think that was all due to his upbringing. Huck was never really welcomed into society so he never learned societies customs or views. Other than that, nice blog!
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