Analysis of the Character of Huckleberry Finn - Essay Example

Huckleberry Finn was quite creative to have made up a solution for his problems regarding his father and other problems he faced along the way. His courage would be much admired, braving the difficulties of living on his own and trying to survive a cruel world. As the hero of the story, Huck was not just presented with difficulties he had to overcome by his father or other people around him but by the works of nature as well like death and fear, making him have the feelings of the audience toward him. In addition to this role, Huck is also the focal character who stirs up the curiosity in the reader to the next event of his life, holding their attention to the end of the story. His being the focal character also raises excitement in the audience as well as his emotions but not necessarily to empathize with the character.

            As the protagonist, the character of Huck was the most essential in the story because the narration is molded around his character and the events in his life. The drama that revolves around the story, though fictional is always related to the primary character and thus makes Huck the one who completes it. The value of Huck’s character is identified in the effect of his story on the reader. That is, how he affects the reactions of the reader whether it is in consideration of him or against him. Being the protagonist, he generally stirs the readers’ emotions to empathize with him no matter what wrong he does because of the circumstances in his life. In addition to the values he showed in the story, the most compelling fact about Huck’s being a hero, at least considered in the sense of the word, is his age. His courage and wisdom could have been ordinary if Huck was already old enough to have been able to face such difficulties but his youth made the circumstances in his life quite extraordinary.

            Probably, the quality of his character that stood out in Huck is his wit and courage. Having been born into a poor family with no mother to look after him nor teach him the ways to live as a good citizen, he suffered so much and saw most of the atrocities of life. Being so young, he was able to find ways to escape the harsh treatment of his father, forced to think of ways that could be unimaginable to an adult who has been raised well and ‘civilized’ as Huck used in his story. Living on the run would be scary to most of the young people these days especially those who have been used to living with their parents, always tucked in a comfortable bed at night and fed with choice food. However, to young Huck, his courage stood out in a circumstance when he needed to survive on his own not to mention finding ways to resolve his problems on his own.

            Mark Twain, the author is a good storyteller. Though he was born to good parents, his father being an attorney and a local judge, he did not limit himself to his equals but can be seen to have closely observed the people around him especially when they moved to Missouri which affected his fictional characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The state was considered a slave state during the time of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the real name of Twain. This had a great impact on the story as it exemplifies the lives of the people during that time. His fictional characters are made alive with the use of the language of the common men especially the language of the blacks who were represented in the story in the person of Jim. The language used by Huck himself was not the one used by the educated people but by commoners who walked the streets every day, showing their background even in case it was not mentioned in the story.

            Twain as a humorist is admired not only for his intelligent presentation of his characters and the harsh realities of life but also for his presentation in an entertaining manner. Although his stories present the negative side of life which can not be denied, he does not bring it on the readers as a burden but rather makes them laugh at such realities and yet find time to think of the ironies of life and meditate on them. His stories alone, without the help of his biography or the knowledge of his achievements, show what he has to offer the world in terms of literary work.