Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel published by Mark Twain in 1884. It's the story of Huckleberry Finn, a pre-teen with a drunk for a father and a dead mother. When the novel opens, Huck is living with the Widow Douglas and receiving interest on money he came into before the start of the novel. Huck's adventures begin when his father reappears and kidnaps him from the Widow Douglas and locks him in a cabin, in an attempt gain access to Huck's money. Huck fakes his own death and embarks on an adventure with his friend the escaped slave, Jim. Huck and Jim make their way down the Mississippi River dodging close calls and getting to know each other.It's easy to get the wrong idea about this novel. Mark Twain employs a first-person narrative, southern vernacular and a lot of language considered racist by today's standards, to tell the story in a believable way from the perspective of Huck Finn. When reading this novel it's important to consider the time in which it was written.
I've read a lot of books about the U.S. in the 'olden days' but most of them have been from the perspective of slaves or the descendants of slaves. So this novel gave me a completely different perspective on an old topic.
I really enjoy the way Mark Twain navigates Huck's emotional maturity. He goes from viewing Jim as a possession to a person capable of the same feeling and emotions as white people. Towards the end of the novel, the question on my mind is what becomes of Huck Finn? Do his views towards Jim affect the man he grows up to become? Or, does he continue to believe and obey the immoral rules of a society that dictates that blacks are not human and thus subject to slavery as possessions to he owned?
*SPOILER ALERT*
I was a bit disappointed by the end of the novel and the appearance of Tom Sawyer. Tom's character irritated me, I feel like he took away from all of the lessons Huck seemed to be learning about morality and Jim as a person rather than as a possession. On the other hand, Tom's character made me realize just how smart and compassionate Huck Finn is, especially at the very end when we realize that Tom risked his own life, Jim's life and Huck's life all so that he could have an 'adventure.' It reminded me of kids from the suburbs going to the inner city and getting mixed up in crime just to prove that they are tough.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a must-read for history and classic buffs.
5
I've read a lot of books about the U.S. in the 'olden days' but most of them have been from the perspective of slaves or the descendants of slaves. So this novel gave me a completely different perspective on an old topic.
I really enjoy the way Mark Twain navigates Huck's emotional maturity. He goes from viewing Jim as a possession to a person capable of the same feeling and emotions as white people. Towards the end of the novel, the question on my mind is what becomes of Huck Finn? Do his views towards Jim affect the man he grows up to become? Or, does he continue to believe and obey the immoral rules of a society that dictates that blacks are not human and thus subject to slavery as possessions to he owned?
*SPOILER ALERT*
I was a bit disappointed by the end of the novel and the appearance of Tom Sawyer. Tom's character irritated me, I feel like he took away from all of the lessons Huck seemed to be learning about morality and Jim as a person rather than as a possession. On the other hand, Tom's character made me realize just how smart and compassionate Huck Finn is, especially at the very end when we realize that Tom risked his own life, Jim's life and Huck's life all so that he could have an 'adventure.' It reminded me of kids from the suburbs going to the inner city and getting mixed up in crime just to prove that they are tough.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a must-read for history and classic buffs.
5
No comments:
Post a Comment