In many works of literature, the narrator is longing and searching for something different. This is the case with Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huckleberry is a young boy who thoroughly enjoys adventure, freedom and excitement but yet seems to be longing for something else. He appears to be searching for the security and comfort that a family provides yet this happiness eludes him. When presented with the opportunity to remain in a family environment, Huck finds that he cannot or will not adjust to the situation. Throughout his adventures, he gradually begins to learn what being part of a family means to him.
Early in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is adopted by the Widow Douglas, a kind but strict woman who lives with her sister, Miss Watson. Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to "sivilize" Huck, but Huck has difficulty adjusting to his new life of cleanliness, manners, church, and school. This is Huck's first family and home, but because he cannot adjust, he decides to leave, "when I couldn't stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied." Huck is a child of the wild and feels uneasy in the atmosphere of the home of Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. He has never had a home or family, but the home of the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson is no cozier to him than nature itself. He feels even worse in the house because he has to play by foreign rules. He has to accept religion, follow rules, wear clean clothes, and he is not supposed to smoke. Huck does not like this life, "I went up to my room and tried to think of something cheerful, but it warn't no use. I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead" (Twain I).
Later, Pap, Huck's drunken father appears, demanding Huck's money, which Huck found in a cave on one of his earlier adventures. Pap eventually kidnaps Huck and takes him to his cabin across the river.
Jim and Huck are trapped in the same predicament. ... Both Huck and Jim were treated as property. ... Both Huck and Jim are on a quest for freedom. ... It is important for Huck to have this example. ... Along the journey Jim's sensitive longing for his family, the heartache he shows, most particularly the story of Lizabeth force Huck to realize and acknowledge Jim's existence and humanity. ...
It is this nonchalant existence that Huck exhilarates in. ... However, as the days passed, Huck quickly grows weary of his new life. ... The absence of that association gives Huck a sense of desire for affinity. ... Living on the island, that desire remains unfulfilled, leaving Huck with much loneliness. ... This persistenc, again, reflects the need for companionship in Huck's life. ...
When Huck meets Jim in the Jackson's Island, Huck faces the first challenge. Huck is glad to find Jim in the island. ... However, Jim protects Huck from seeing the Pap's corpse in the floating house and treats Huck like his son. ... But immediately after Jim realizes that Huck's fooling him, Huck feels so sorry for Jim, who's thrilled to see Huck alive. ... Jim expresses an emotional longing for his family while Huck and Jim are traveling at night with two con men. ...
Huck is unable to grasp Miss Watson's religion. ... Huck tests the theory and is let down. ... Huck is morally against the King and Dukes" plan. ... As Huck continues on his journey, Jim has become a companion in Huck's eyes. ... After Jim is captured and taken away from Huck, Huck will face the greatest challenge he has ever faced. ...
He makes sure that Huck does not progress in his schooling by locking him up in their cabin, making him the only one for Huck to depend on. Huck and his father's relationship shows the opposite of what most father-son relationships are, most fathers want the best life possible for their sons, not Huck's father. ... While at the Widow's Huck learned not to curse and to enjoy school but once his father got a hold of him, Huck once again cursed and did not go to school. Huck then realized he did not want to be like his father and decided to leave. ... With his preparations, Huck...
All is well until Huck's drunken father Pap reappears and demands Huck's money. ... He constantly comes home drunk and always beats Huck, so one day Huck fakes his death to escape from his brutal father. ... Tom is everything that Huck is not. ... Jim's frequent acts of unselfishness, his longing for his family, and his friendship with both Huck and Tom demonstrate to Huck that humanity has nothing to do with race. ... -Pap: Huck's father, the town drunk. ...
Miss Watson and Widow Douglass try to "sivilize" Huck, but Huck feels constrained by civilization. ... Huck eventually locates the raft and wakes Jim up. Jim is extremely happy to see that Huck is safe. ... Something seems to be bothering Huck. ... Huck has to choose between right and wrong. ...
Huck's strength demonstrates that he is a moral model. ... Both Huck and Jim weather the adversarial conditions. ... Throughout Huck's journey, there are many characters who cross Huck's path. ... Their presence in Huck's journey helps Huck to see what he doesn't want to become. ... In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck overcomes his past and becomes a moral model, in essence, a transformed Huck. ...
When Huck's father kidnaps Huck to the woods, Huck wants to escape from his father. ... Jim also escapes to the river as Huck. ... Huck meets the king, and the Duke. ... When Huck and Jim float on the river, Huck begins to care about Jim and they helps each other. ... Huck begins to understand Jim. ...
