I spent the early part of the day with a student writing an essay about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This is a book I have read several times since I’ve helped many an AP high school student and a few college students write analytical essays about various aspects of the plot, characterization, controlling irony, theme, use of vernacular speech, etc. I have read a lot of commentary on Huck Finn and Mark Twain and I must say that Huck Finn continues to be one of my favorite books despite the fact that some academics find it grossly flawed. I believe that Twain does something that is critical for a book to move from just a story into real literature – he forces his main character to look deep inside himself and make a conscious decision to do the right thing despite negative consequences.
Huck has that moment when he has to decide if he’s going to send his letter to Miss Watson letting her know where her run-away slave Jim is. This forces Huck to make a choice: will he accept eternal damnation by going against the laws of society, where slavery is the status quo, or will he err on the side of his heart since he knows that Jim is the only true friend he has ever had?
Lucky for us all, Huck goes with his heart and accepts eternal damnation. Jim is worth burning in hell for and Huck will do just that so that he can save him. Jim is, after all, the kindest and most decent person Huck has gotten to know well in his life and some scholars suggests that Jim is Huck’s only real father figure. Whatever role he plays, Huck loves Jim and does what he needs to do to protect him.
I’d like to think that I’d have the courage to stand up for a friend the way Huck stands up for Jim. Huck honestly believes that his choice would bring on hell for him, but he can’t stand the idea that his friend – a man who has taken extra watches on the raft so Huck could sleep and who calls Huck “honey” – might be forced to give up his newfound freedom because of Huck. Like I say, that is not a small decision. Particularly in 1840 when the story takes place. No, not small at all. I would hope I could be so brave and clear-headed.
So, on that note, I’m headed to bed and dreams of Huck on that river raft with Jim.
Good for Huck that he displays such bravery and good for Mark Twain for providing us with a hero in the form of a rule-breaking, uneducated run-away who stands up against injustice. Ironically, Huck doesn’t realize that when he decides to risk hell, he actually secures himself a place in heaven…and in the hearts of readers for generations to come.
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