Huckleberry Finn's Character Change in Mark Twain's Novel

In the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, is a story that is placed in the 1830’s. As Huck is drawn out to be a “normal” 13-year-old boy, the circumstances he is given have a far more complex living situation due to his alcoholic father who treated him poorly. Twain has juxtaposed civilization, slavery with freedom and many other social norms. As we know, Huck is not a slave although he still feels trapped by society’s norms. Huckleberry Finn's character change between morally correct and incorrect is a result of ultimately being a child that is forced into adulthood due to the natural consequences of his inability to fit into society, which is shown through his growth of maturity that is expressed between his interactions with others, conflict with his father, and experiencing different social beliefs.

Starting at the beginning of the story, the robber game that Tom Sawyer and Huck played was very descriptive and a key to character development that Twain hinted at early on. Tom who can not escape his immanent mortality simply does not pay attention to rules and others around him. When Tom wanted to bind Jim to a tree, Huck, more soundly, disagreed, “Jim may wake up and alert the people in the house and they would be discovered”. During this situation, as Huck expresses disagreement, an external conflict arose due to Tom pushing Huck to the side and refusing to not do anything to Jim and let him be. Huck begins to discover his voice and mortality very early in the book, because he refuses to tie up Jim to a tree, internally this is a huge conflict because of the way he was raised to believe it is wrong to show sympathy to a slave. Because Huck is still young and inexperienced with life, he still lacks the maturity we will see later on. This is just one step of a stone as he begins to transform from a child who lives according to 'normal' social values to becoming an adult who brings their own values to life.

Furthermore, Hucks' father, Pap, complicates Huck's life considerably compared to the other characters in the book. It is obvious that being a father is an important role to play in a family, although Pap doesn't care about Huck, as he beats and psychologically abuses him. In fact, pap is primarily interested in only getting drunk. As a result, he is also resentful of Huck's ability to learn how to read and write, as well as studying religion, and only wants Huck for his own needs and ordered chores.“He said he'd cowhide me till I was black and blue if I didn't raise some money for him”. Pap, who was very drunk, tried to kill Huck as he attempted to escape. This is a very big moment because then Huck runs away and meets Jim and starts to move forward in a lot of ways beginning their adventures. Huck's runaway and journey was in part due to Pap. Having lived with his Pap, Huck was faced with several challenges, but under the surface he recognized Pap's psychology and took measures into his own hands as if that was the only way to survive. The way he reacts shows he has grown and matured since even playing the game with Tom; the way he makes this statement is by simply running away with Jim and refusing to relent to the abuse. Ultimately, although he is still a young boy, we can already see him developing into a young adult by the fact that he is no longer going to have a father figure in his life.

Last but not least, culture has a huge impact on individuals in Huck Finn's world, and in the case of Huck, he had to rebel against the 'normal' values of society to find the truth for himself. Slavery was justified under whatever social or religious means Americans deemed necessary at the time. Huck's non-conformist attitude entails a large amount of conflict, causing him to rely predominantly on himself, subsequently causing him to alienate himself from the rest of society. While society kept attempting to reform him, they were unsuccessful, “All right, then I’ll go to hell”. In this quote, we can see how Huck has switched perspectives and has found the courage to speak his truth and stand up for his beliefs even if it may result in him going to hell. During his journey, Huck encounterd the brutal realities of society and discovers its many shortcomings as he learns from others' mistakes and develops a friendship with the escaped slave, Jim. As it is near the end of the book, it is apparent that Huck has developed another level of maturity that he did not possess in the beginning. He has overcome his insecurity of himself and his own values, regardless of how you are perceived by society which ultimately transformed him into a young adult.

In conclusion, Huck learns to think for himself, and to not conform to the ways of the people around him. Although the world that he lives in teaches him to be a racist, he showed growth and maturity that transformed into a young adult by the end. Humanism, the notion that every person deserves respect and compassion, the emphasis on regional differences and the need to understand others who are different, and satire addressing our complacency regarding the evils in the world are all worth highlighting. Huckleberry Finn is a book that is qualified to teach anybody. It captures the moment when young adults are making significant decisions about their lives - emotional, academic, social, and moral decisions. Young people are making decisions about their jobs and friends that directly influence their behavior away from adult supervision away from the confines of home and school. Since Huck has to go through the same process, the book serves as a model for young people everywhere who are making the same choices.