The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is in essence a tale of growth from experience
for its main character, Huck Finn. This is actually a trickier aspect to
discern from the story than one might think. If one were to look at the beginning
and the end right after the other, they might not see the change. Huck seems to
be the same strange, adventurous, and oddly moral young boy. This is true in a
way. However, in the ways that really count, Huck has been changed for life.
I believe at least one reason that we
cannot see the change in Huck in the end, is that this story is realistic in
that way. What adolescent male seems to go through all of life’s changes in about
a year? I can think of no suitable examples. Even if life changing experiences
happen to us while we are young, we seem to adapt to them so quickly that there
might seem to be no change in our character at all. However, that change shows
in us when we mature. Those experiences all work together to set us on a different
path than we were traveling on previously. They make us who we are and affect
our lives forever whether we like it or not.
So too is the case with Huckleberry
Finn and his adventures. The question now is if there were any particular
adventures that pushed Huck in another life direction? The short answer is yes
and no. This answer, for obvious reasons, is unacceptable. Well we could say no
because all of his experiences work together and in the end act as one to form
his character. However, we may be able to see how some lend more to this task
than others. Larger or sometimes just more powerful events have a stronger
effect on our character.
One such event in Huck’s known story
may be the experience with the family of girls that the “king” and the “duke”
attempted to swindle. For one, he certainly did not approve of these con-men or
think them so glorious when he saw them at work. However, if we look at the men’s
easy way with lying, we may easily be reminded of Huck. He seems at times to be
a better deceiver than them. Why is it not possible that Huck could end up
doing what they do? Well it very well have happened had he not met them and
seen for himself what rotten men they really are and how unsuitable that life
is for him. One moment in particular stood out to me in that episode. When Mary
Jane leaves at his bidding, thanking him and saying she’ll pray for him, Huck
says he never forgot her and actually thought of her often in his life.
Was it just the novelty of her saying she’d pray for him when
he didn’t think she could ever pray enough, or even her beauty? I believe it
has much more to do with the kind of person she was and that she reminded him
of the kind of person he would never want to be. Those con-men nearly ruined her
life and that of her sisters. He saw that eventuality and his path was set away
from it from that moment on. He grew from that experience and many others like
it. Huck is the kind of character that will continue to learn and grow with no
one being the wiser.
