Journalism Post #1: Huckleberry Finn

Cassandra Rockness

10/20/14

Period 4

Reflection on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the audience is introduced to Tom Sawyer’s friend, Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is a young boy who has clearly had a troubled past. His illiterate skills, poor manners, and tendency towards cussing suggest that he was not adequately raised by his family. As the story progresses, we learn that throughout his life, Huck was greatly abused by his alcoholic father. Pap, Huck’s father, does not appreciate society’s influence on his son, and insists that Huck leads a life like him. However, when Widow Duglas attempts at adopting Huck, she stresses the importance of having an education and abiding by her morals. She expects Huck to attend school, refrain from cussing, and accept Christian values and beliefs. However, surprisingly, Huck does not seem to mind living with the widow. He even states, “ I was getting sort of used to the widow’s way, too, and they warn’t so raspy on me… I liked the old ways best, but I was getting so I liked the new ones, too, a little bit” (Twain 19-20). Although Huck was not raised to abide by civilized ways of living, Huck finds that living with the widow is not as terrible as he originally thought it would be. Perhaps this is because the widow actually cares for him, when Huck never had anyone who actually cared for him before. Huck also finds that he had many misconceptions towards school- it’s not as miserable as he perceived it to be. The school also serves as a safe haven for Huck; a place where Pap cannot interfere with his life. Despite Pap’s threats on attending school, Huck continues to pursue an education and escape his father’s harsh influence. It is interesting how Huck’s father does not want the best for his son and does not want his son to be above him. One would think that it is the parents’ obligation to advise their children against making the same flaws as them, so that their children may lead better lives. However, Huck’s father seems to have ideas that are contradictory to this general assumption. Unfortunately, Pap acts very negatively towards his son’s educational and social improvements, and wants Huck to be bellow him. Pap, an alcoholic man in poverty, wants his son to lead the same life as himself. It is very unfortunate that Huck is influenced by such a terrible man, and it will be interesting to see how Huck will continue to grow and mature in spite of his father’s authority.