Abstract
In Mark Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, he portrays Finn as a young boy who grew up along the Mississippi River without a mother and most often without a father. The following paper will discuss how Finn adapts to family life with the Widow Douglas and Ms. Watson as they attempt to make him a civilized young man and it will also discuss how he feels about religion, slavery and freedom.
In the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri in the mid 1800’s, Mark Twain reintroduces us to a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. Finn’s mother was deceased and he had a father whom he called Pap. Finn was raised without any rules or discipline and was resistant to anything that might "civilize" him (Twain, 1982). The following paragraphs will discuss Finn’s thoughts and feelings on religion and slavery; it will also discuss Finns thoughts on freedom, Jim’s and his and look at Finn’s role models, good or bad.
Mark Twain portrays Finn resisting the civilized life which contained rules and required being part of a family? Was Twain comparing Finn to himself when he wanted to be a riverboat pilot? McCammack argues in Salamon’s dialogue that Twain’s desire to be a riverboat pilot was not as strong as his desire to be free from the forces that controlled human existence (2006). Twain portrays Finn also as a young boy who wants to be free from these same forces but he feels that the only way for him to be free of these forces is to live life on the Mississippi River.
McCammack stated that Finn is portrayed as a competent and even powerful young man when he shows courage by escaping from the cabin of his father. Courage and intelligence was also used to protect his friend Jim (2006). Finn’s father and the men of the Grangerford plantation were all corrupt, and displayed a lack of moral guidance for a young man like Finn. When the King and Duke sold Jim back into slavery they are depicted as the worst of all the...