Qing Rou Deng. Posting 7. Adventures of Huckleberry Fin

It is interesting why Mr. Twain would use a child as the story’s main character. I think he used a child as main character because this book is about showing America was like during that era. By using a child main character Mr. Twain shows how vulnerable a person such as Huck would be during that time. In addition how a child’s innocence is affected by the different morals of a society. Huck was vulnerable to his father and to people such as the fake king and duke who took advantage of him by treating him like a servant or maybe more like a slave. “But he said it warn’t no use, nothing but to be dead and done with it all could do him any good; though he said it often made him fell easier and better for a while if people treated him according to his rights, and got down on one knee to speak to him, and always called him ‘Your Majesty,’ and waited on him first at meals, and didn’t set down in his presence till he asked them. So Jim and me set to majestying him, and doing this and that that and t’other for him, and standing up till he told us we might set down. (172)” And Mr. Twain not only showed the relationship of lower class of whites to the society but also the relationship of Negros to the white society. Mr. Twain showed the relationship by using Jim. These two characters are actually quite similar. They are both on the bottom of the social ladder and both of their freedoms are at the will of adult white men.

To expand on a topic brought up earlier in the post about how the innocence of a child is affected by the morals society. Like some people would say a child is a blank slate and Huck prove that true by showing ignorance. But instead of having person guiding Huck, Huck faced conflicting morals of society almost on his own. However, Huck already had ideas of slavery instilled in him. So these conflicts that came up made him afraid of society.

I agree with you, Monica, about the Huck's methods of lying. It would be a really good idea for him to make up one lie and stick to it because in the beginning of the story Huck kept on forgetting his name and this happens again with the Grangers when Huck tricks Buck to tell him his name.