Hs Student Vs Huck Finn Essay, Research Paper

How I Compare To Huckleberry

In a desperate attempt to create an essay like no other, and a lack of detail in what was already complete, I have decided to compare myself with Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is one of America’s favorite fictional characters. He is the focus of many interpretations; completely changing what Twain intended for him to be. In the same way, many lack understanding for me through misinterpretation. In various ways, I am similar to Huckleberry but in several others, we are very different.

Huckleberry and I both come across as very individualistic. Huckleberry has a great rejection for the values of society. He is escaping them. I am also against many of the “accepted” rules of society however; I lack the river as an escape. My realistic world has no route of escape while Huckleberry’s adventure world provides him with such resistance.

An extreme difference between Huckleberry and me is our difference in humor. Huckleberry has no sense of humor. He is merely the narrator of a book filled with satire. He, himself, is very literal minded and realistic. Twain uses Huckleberry Finn’s lack of imagination to ensure a factual story creates itself. I, on the other hand, believe everything will soften with laughter. To me, jokes and satire relieve situations of all types and set a better mood in the surroundings.

In more difference, I am very creative and imaginative. I could live my life in a fantasy world. Huckleberry, on the other hand, lacks creative expression: “Huckleberry has little patience with fantasies Huckleberry is interested in the concrete, the here-and-now, and he doesn’t have the faith necessary to engage in fantasies” (Claro 12). Huckleberry’s limits his imagination while mine extends far out into the depths of pretend.

Huckleberry is extremely superstitious. He easily scares himself with superstition: “I got up and turned around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast every time; and then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away” (Twain 3). I, on a completely different view, believe the only thing to worry about are the people who practice such superstitious tendencies. In Huckleberry’s environment, however, normal standards include people being extremely superstitious. At the time period, most everyone in town practiced similar prevention actions due to their superstition. Very few people practice such things today.

In a similar light, I find peace through religion as Huckleberry does: “Huckleberry represents mankind’s need to retreat (at least from time to time) from the real world and to take solace in the pleasures of religion” (Claro ). Again, our similarities extend further into the church. I, as Huckleberry, also lack attendance in the church and often find myself questioning biblical facts. As in Huckleberry’s situation, I find it is people that force me to see religion as indecisive: “The Ten Commandments aren’t prefaced with ‘If you’re in the mood” (Schlessinger 73). Huckleberry and I find hypocrites most enveloped in their religion of choice causing us to fight the idea of religion despite the fact that most everyone is a hypocrite in some way or another.

In practicality and naturalness, I lack the knowledge of exactly how similar or different Huckleberry and I am. Huckleberry often uses his common sense making him very adaptable while I am slightly against change. Huckleberry, however, went from living with the widow and then suddenly into the wilderness. He functions well in various situations. Now, I am capable of being practical but I prefer being adventurous. I exaggerate my practicality while Huckleberry uses his beneficially.

Huckleberry and I have very different family lives. Huckleberry has no mother and an abusive, unloving father: “But by-and-by pap got too handy with his hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it. I was all over welts” (Twain 18). I, on the other hand, live with my happily married parents and my father is beyond the world to me. Huckleberry has no known siblings while I have three. He has no pets because he has no stable home. I have two cats, one dog, and I have lived in our current house for my entire life. Altogether, my home life is much more stable than the one in which Huckleberry speaks of constantly.

One extremely huge difference between Huckleberry and me is his submissiveness. Huckleberry is very gullible and submissive: ” he becomes Tom’s helpless accomplice, submissive and gullible” (Bloom 12). Huckleberry bellies-up for Tom at any cost. I, however, am strongly against codependence in any form or fashion. It is in my opinion that being a follower of someone so significantly different from me could always eventually lead to danger and later to grief. Huckleberry idols Tom so it makes him naive to his seemingly passive ways. I would definitely dominate someone with similar passive characteristics to those of Huckleberry.

Huckleberry has great inventive ability but very easily makes himself feel guilty when his inventive lies hurt others. He creates lies only when they are morally effected: “He’s white he’s sick and so is mam and Mary Ann” (Twain 68). Huckleberry lies to the slave hunters only because it is beneficial to Jim. These inventive lies only surface at the spur of a moment because Huckleberry is so inventive. Now, I am an attempted inventive person but overall, I am bad at handling on the spot situations. At the type of question Huckleberry had to lie about, I would end up getting Jim busted!

Along with being inventive, Huckleberry is incredibly sympathetic. After all, he went through with the King and the Duke, it still dishevels him to view them tarred and feathered. This sympathy best displays his love for Jim. Much like Huckleberry, I too, am very sympathetic. I suppose it is a matter of situation because the amount of sympathy all depends on other things. These other things involve the person’s living situation and injustices in general. I suppose that explains Huckleberry’s desire to humble himself towards Jim he has viewed Jim’s misfortune and strains imagination to attempt to relate.

In again another difference, Huckleberry is beyond selfish. To me it is that lack of selfishness that comes across as unrealistic. In the end of the novel, Huckleberry has to choose his black friend or what he refers to as “hell”. Of course, Huckleberry chooses his interpretation of hell. Had that been me I strongly doubt I could have so easily gone back. As sad as it sounds I might have to ponder on the idea for a little while longer.

Huckleberry and I also have similar tempers. We become easily angered when given proper reason. Overall, it takes more than just a few irritating things. People such as Tom being all dramatic finally brings a bit of rage up through Huckleberry while I will joke around a bit about being angry but am actually never truly incredibly angered.

In conclusion, of Huckleberry, his sympathy for human life, ingenuity, basic intelligence, practicality, and common sense make Huckleberry who he is. In conclusion of me, I am a last minute person whose ideas overflow with the pressures of time. My essays would excel to great levels, in my opinion, if given a false due date that later extended for more revision time but again that would be the sad reality of my unrealistic imaginative creativity that would more so parallel me to Tom rather than Huckleberry.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretation on Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1998.

Claro, Joseph. Barron’s Book Notes on Mark Twain’s Huckleberry

Finn. Hauppauge, New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc, 1984.

Schelessinger, Laura. “Quotable Quotes.” Reader’s Digest April 2000: 73.

Twain, Mark. The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn. Toronto, Ontario: Dover Publishing Publications, Inc, 1994.