Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a true American classic. Twain creates a
tremendous story about a boy, Huck, and a slave, Jim, who together overcome
obstacles, and eventually reach their goals. Huck helps so many others despite
leading a terrible home life. Before the novel begins, Huck Finn has led a life
of absolute freedom. His drunken and often missing father has never paid much
attention to him; his mother is dead and so, when the novel begins, Huck is not
used to following any rules. Huck is boy who was made for the frontier, where he
grows up. He is very practical, and has alot of common sense, allowing him to
think situations through, and decide on the best path to choose. Yet Huck's best
quality is his deep caring for other people, and this is what makes him such a
classic character. Huck will stop at nothing to help other people, as shown in
his aiding the king and the duke from escaping the posse, who wanted to kill
them. The most important show of his character is his desire to bring Jim from
slavery. Huck has felt freedom from being on his own. Even though Jim is the
other major character of this novel. He is a slave who is befriended by Huck,
and with Huck's help, he escapes slavery. Huck shows his charity to others in
his aiding Jim, and together they become inseparable friends, and show that
despite differences amongst people, everyone is human, and deserves to be
treated equal. Society believes that slaves should be treated as property; Huck,
who had befriended a runaway slave, sees Jim as a person, not property. At the
conclusion of chapter 11 in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim are
forced to leave Jackson's Island because Huck discovers that people are looking
for the runaway slave. Prior to leaving, Huck tells Jim, "They're after
us." Clearly, the people are after Jim, but Huck has already identified
with Jim and has begun to care for him. This remark shows that the two will have
a successful and rewarding friendship as they drift down the river as the novel
continues. In the end, Huck Finn decides that he would rather disobey society's
teachings about slavery, than betray his friend by returning him to his previous
condition of servitude. The value of friendship has been a common theme
throughout both literature and history. Authors representing several eras have
addressed the moral dilemma of friendship versus loyalty to one's country.
Governmental leaders and their policies are subject to change; friendships last
a lifetime.