In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain shows how Huck
evolves in every adventure and how he is growing in every aspect of his life. It
is easy to forget that Huck is only a twelve-year old boy, when we see him out
smart grown men. The most significant part of the whole novel is the decision
that Huck has to make about Jim. Huck would never turn his back on Jim now
because he is his only family. Huck also grows up in the sense that he loses his
innocence: He begins to understand the hypocrisy of society. He sees the
Grangerfords killed by the Shephardsons, and he sees the Duke and the King
manipulate the townspeople out of their money. He starts realizing he can
converse with the opposite sex and that he can tell the truth. Even though Huck
is un-educated, he learns and understands many things about people and himself.
Huck goes through many trails that initiate him into the adult world. Huck takes
on the role of a “rebel” and goes against Paps authority. Huck starts
getting tired of Paps authority Pap has not been a “father figure” and Huck
does not really know what it is like to feel loved. Huck acts mature in the
sense that he can take care of himself, but deep-down inside he is scared and
yearning to be loved and wanted. We know this because when he runs away from his
father he ends up going to the Widow Douglas. She tries to turn Huck into a
civilized boy, but Huck is not about to change just to please the Widow. Huck
then decides to give his money to Judge Thatcher, so that Pap cannot take his
money. In the novel, it shows repeatedly how Pap tries to take his money and
this proves that he is selfish and does not care about Huck because if he did he
would not beat him and takes his money. Huck shows his maturity by running away
from Pap and not letting him abuse him any longer. Huck then escapes Pap and
finds Jim. Huck has to make a major decision that could affect the type of
person he will be Southern society has taught Huck that slaves are savage
creatures with no feelings, only pieces of property to be bought and sold. At
the beginning of the novel, Huck buys into this philosophy without a question.
He cannot believe he is helping a black man escape to freedom. Huck soon becomes
good friends with Jim and is amazed at how much he cares for him. Jim’s
feelings get hurt when Huck plays a trick on him. He never believed that black
people could have feelings. This part of the novel is where Huck starts growing
up. Huck finds Jim and they get on the raft this marks the completion of the
initiation process. Huck starts to show his first signs of maturity when he
starts thinking independently and he has compassion for Jim. He soon discovers
how ignorant and naďve he is to not question society. Huck realizes that Jim is
wiser and worth more than many of the white people. When Huck is forced to make
an important decision about turning Jim in or standing by him, Huck decides not
to betray his friend, even if it means going against everything, society has
taught him. By the end of the novel, Huck knows for sure that he cannot fit into
a civilized way of life and turns his back on society. On their adventure, Huck
and Jim meet up with the Duke and the King. The Duke and the King are con artist
that try to fool Huck and Jim Later in the novel, Huck meets the Duke and the
King. He knows that they are not really a Duke and a King But if “I never
learnt nothing else from pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his
kind of people is to let them have their own way”(125). At first, it seems
puzzling that he would let these two men take over the wigwam. Later, his quote
reveals that he does not want to face any consequences and jeopardize Jim’s
freedom. This also shows maturity because he is willing to put up with con
artists without losing his mind. Huck shows another sign of maturity by not
shying away from girls He starts to notice the opposite sex and meets Mary Jane.
He enjoys conversations with Mary Jane because they can understand each other.
He does not feel scared or nervous around Mary Jane and finds out he can be
himself around her. Huck finds himself opening up to Mary Jane and he is able to
tell her the truth in a letter that he gives her. He cannot tell her in person
because he is too ashamed that he was an accomplice to the so-called Duke and
the King. He does not want her to think he tried to swindle the townspeople out
of their money. As Huck meets different types of people, he starts to learn how
they think. Along his adventure, Huck starts getting smarter and more cunning He
begins to make decisions for himself. He starts living his life the way he wants
to live it and not the way society expects him to live it. He also develops a
way to see how people think. This is an intuitional plan that Huck develops
every time he gets himself into trouble. An example of this is when he
out-smarted two slave hunters who were combing the area for runaway slaves. They
saw a raft on the river and they asked Huck, if anyone was on the raft. Huck
implied that it was his father and the two slave hunters told Huck that he
probably has small pox. The two men are so naďve and scared of getting the
disease that they give Huck money and told him to get help for his father
farther down the river. Huck’s intuitional plan became reality again because
all he did was imply, but the two slave hunters told Huck that his father had
small pox. One of the remarkable things about Huck is that he evolves in every
adventure and that he pretends to be less intelligent and capable than he really
is. Huck evolves from childhood to adulthood.