Discussion Topic
Huck's Evolving Identity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Summary:
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck's identity evolves as he grapples with societal norms and his own moral compass. Initially, Huck desires freedom from societal constraints, but his journey with Jim, a runaway slave, profoundly impacts him. Huck's growing empathy for Jim signifies his shift from viewing him as a slave to recognizing his humanity. By the novel's end, Huck's identity is further freed by revelations that Jim is legally free and his abusive father is dead, allowing Huck to embrace his true self.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, how does Huck's identity evolve throughout the novel?
At the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck expresses his strong desire to escape from the confines of civilized society. The Widow Douglas has taken him into her home and is teaching him how to be a proper young gentleman. He can’t stand it. By the end of the novel, we hear something very similar. He again expresses his strong desire to escape another woman (this time Aunt Sally) and her desires to raise and civilize him. He would rather be free of such reform, so he makes the decision to head west—“to light out for the Territory.”
So, in one sense, he is still the same old Huck yearning for freedom and escape from society’s rules. But during the course of the novel, he ends up spending much of his time traveling down the Mississippi River with Jim, an escaped slave. They are both running away,...
Unlock
This Answer NowStart your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
and their desire to join their fates is effortless and immediate. While Huck expresses some dismay when Jim tells him that he is a runaway, it doesn’t change Huck’s mind. He does not want to be alone and is eager to stay with Jim. Interestingly, when he first discovers that Jim too is on Jackson’s Island, his immediate reaction is utter happiness and relief; he had been feeling “lonesome” and scared prior to meeting Jim. Throughout the novel, we see this same pattern: he is often separated from Jim, but every time he is reunited with Jim, he is full of happiness and comfort. So, has anything changed from the beginning of the novel to the end? Does he mature? Does he “evolve”?
We must remember that Huck is a limited narrator. Twain uses the poor, uneducated, thirteen-year-old boy as a way to satirize many aspects of Southern society, in particular slavery. He wants us to love and identify with Huck, but only up to a point. We can’t help but feel our distance from (and pity for) Huck when we see Huck in the climax of the book deciding whether to save Jim or not. Huck feels it is a great sin to help a slave escape. He truly believes he will suffer eternal damnation in hell for what he has done. As much as he desires to escape from society and all of its rules and is happiest when he is on the raft with Jim, he still can’t shake the tenets of his slave-holding culture that have seeped into his consciousness. His “conscience” tells him that only a wicked person would help a slave escape.
Does Huck ever learn? Does he change? While it’s tempting to say no, that he still has the same racist beliefs that he started out with (otherwise why would he think he would go to hell for helping a slave?), we must also look at his actions. At first, he’s ready to turn Jim in, writing a letter to his owner Miss Watson to reveal to her where Jim is. But, in the most famous passage of the book, he ends up tearing up that letter. He decides to help Jim even if it means he will go to hell. He will damn his soul in order to save his friend.
Some may wish Twain had gone further and created a Huck Finn that would be better at shaking off the shackles of his society. They want more progress for their protagonist. But we must remember who we are talking about. Huck is a shape-shifter. He fluidly shifts identities throughout the book in order to adapt to any situation. Why? As an orphan who is stuck on the outskirts of society, he has learned how to be a survivalist. He doesn’t have the advantages of a Tom Sawyer. He must always have his guard up and be ready for the many difficult and often dangerous situations he finds himself in. Only when he is on the raft is he able to relax and show his true self to Jim, the father figure. Jim allows Huck to take on a new identity, an identity where he doesn’t have to worry all the time about how to survive and how to fit in; he can simply laugh and talk and enjoy the freedom of Jim’s company.
Why is Huck unafraid to assume his true identity at the end of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Two major revelations are conveyed at the end of the novel.
Tom tells everyone that Jim is free. The widow set him free in her will before she passed away. Jim is free to go back to Missouri and find his wife and family.
Jim tells Huck that he can go back to Missouri too because his father is dead. Early in the novel, when the river rose to its peak levels, Jim and Huck had found a house floating down the river.
They find a house floating down the river, with a dead man in it, from which they take some valuables.
When they entered the house, they found a dead man. Jim saw the man's face, but Huck stayed away from the dead body.
The dead man was Pap Finn.
Jim does not tell Huck until the novel's final chapter when Huck is lamenting the fact that he cannot go off and adventure with Tom because he has no money. He tells Tom and Jim that he suspects Pap has gotten his money by now from Judge Taylor and "drunk it up".
Then Jim tells him not to worry.
"He ain't a-comin' back no mo', Huck."
When Huck presses Jim for specific information, he tells Huck that the body they found in the floating house was Pap Finn.
Huck does not express emotion at this revelation, and instead conveys his feelings about writing the book of his journeys. He says that he is tired. However, he can go back to being himself, alive, and free.