Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer - Book Report/Review Example

All through these journeys, Huck Finn is in contact with different places where he meets various characters of the novel. In one of the several travels he undertakes, Huck meets Tom Sawyer who is Huck's friend but has different qualities in comparison with Huck. To exemplify the difference between the two, Tom is a true romantic, who blindly takes everything he hears and reads as truths and he "wouldn't stand by and see the rules broke - because right is right and wrong is wrong" (Twain, 315) In contrast, Huck questions the world around him and we find him sitting "down one time in the back of the woods and had a long think about it (organized religion and the purpose of prayer).

" (Twain, 17) Therefore, it is essential to realize that, although Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are best friends in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, they are about as different as two people can be and they are products of their environment. A comparative analysis of the specific environment of their upbringing suggests that Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are products of their environment and they have considerable differences between them. After the death of his father, Huck takes care of himself most of the time and this experience has a great influence on his personality.

Whereas Widow Douglas tries to 'civilize' Huck when she takes him for his son, for him "it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways." (Twain, 4) In contrast, Tom has a totally different story of upbringing and he is brought up properly. However, he plays shenanigans on people around him and leads a gang of robbers to rob and kill others. It is evident that there are various differences between Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer in the novel which are mainly due to the difference in their environment.

For example, thanks to his experiences and environment, Huck has been more mature and is concerned about how actions will affect people. In comparison, Tom is less mature and fails to understand morally what is right and wrong. Whereas Huck is able to see and interpret the world realistically and in practical terms, Tom considers that the world operates as in the stories. The contrasting ways of their thinking becomes evident in their contradictory approaches to save Jim from his imprisonment.

Huck, the practical man, plans to "steal the key out of the old man's britches shove off down the river on the raft with Jim, hiding daytimes and running nights" (Twain, 296) Although Huck's plan to rescue Jim is straightforward, simple, and effective, Tom criticizes it for "it's too blame simple" and "there ain't nothing TO it." (Twain, 296) In a reflective exploration of the characters of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer in the novel, it becomes lucid that they are best friends with remarkably different personalities, in accordance with their environment.

It is important to comprehend that both these characters bring their unique characteristics and personalities into their comical friendship. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer share deep differences in upbringing, imagination, and basic morality aspect. Significantly, the differences between the two friends are mainly due to their upbringing and Tom is a rather well to do member of high society, whereas his dear friend