Huck Finn Essay, Research Paper

Everybody goes through changes, either good or bad, and Huck is no different than anybody else. Mark Twain however makes most of Huck?s changes for the good. Huck Finn, during his journey changes from a childish and disrespectful little kid to a mature and courteous man. (46)

In the beginning of his journey Huck is a juvenile and disrespectful kid, who can?t see that there will be consequences of what he does. For example, Huck killed a rattlesnake and put it on Jim?s bed ?thinking there would be some fun in it.? Huck did not think about the consequences of what his prank might be. He is very childish by not taking into account that something might go wrong. In addition, after Jim is overjoyed to see that Huck is back on the raft after being lost in the fog, Huck makes Jim think it never happened by saying, ?What?s the matter with you Jim? You been a-drinking? Huck does not regard Jim as a friend, he only sees him as a person who he can play a mean trick on. Huck looks at Jim with next to no admiration. Huck is not the greatest person. (149)

However, there are forces of change that begin to make Huck think twice about his initial character. For example, ?when Jim flung himself down? on his bed ?the snakes mate was there, and bit him.? Huck now sees that his mean prank has actually gone bad and hurt somebody. He is forced to think about what a stupid idea the trick was. In addition, Jim becomes enraged at Huck after he finds out about the trick he played on him and says, ?Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren?s en makes?em ashamed.? After Jim is done with his speech Huck begins to see just how vile to Jim he had really been. The speech Jim gave is forcing Huck to change his attitude about Jim. Which also makes his attitude towards other stuff change too. (148)

After seeing the consequences of his actions Huck sees the errors of his ways and decides to change. For example, after the snake bit Jim, Huck says, ?That all comes from my being such a fool as to not remember that wherever you leave a dead snake its mate always comes there and curls around it.? Huck begins to put himself down for not thinking things through a lot better. He will try to never make the mistake to act before thinking again. In addition, after being yelled at by Jim, Huck says, ?It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn?t ever sorry for it afterward, neither.? Huck has changed his feelings about Jim. He now sees him as a traveling partner and friend instead of just a runaway slave. Huck?s transformation of character is complete. (152)

In conclusion, during his travels Huck Finn evolves from a childish and disrespectful little kid to a mature and courteous man. Everybody goes through changes, either good or bad, and Huck is no different than anybody else. However Mark Twain makes most of Huck?s changes for the better and not the worse. (52)