cHILDHOOD ADVENTURES (MIRANDA GRAY)
A charm of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is how Huck is beautifully naive. He is easily able to approach conflict with innocence and curiosity than that of an older protagonist because he is very young child. Perhaps, he may be too young to be fully involved with the events of the Pre-Civil War against the South. Moreover, Tom Sawyer’s runaway rebellion adds another layer of adventure and silliness to the plot. Huck describes one of their adventures as, "Tom he made a sign to me – kind of a little noise with his mouth – and we went creeping away on our hands and knees. When we was ten foot off Tom whispered to me, and wanted to tie Jim to the tree for fun" (7). Huck’s contentment with the simple things in life remind readers that we are not dealing with someone with a lot of emotional baggage, but a simple child. In addition, the playful tone of Huck’s narration balances with the heavier topics of the novel, which including: slavery, morality, and racism. For example, the developing friendship between Huck, who is a white boy, and Jim, who is a black man, is a significant driving force for this novel because it represents how the variation of ages can find some common ground. This friendship makes Huck’s decision of whether to help Jim escape slavery difficult. Although he knows that him running away is wrong, he values their friendship deeply by admitting, "Well, I warn't long making him understand I warn't dead. I was ever so glad to see Jim. I warn't lonesome now. I told him I warn't afraid of HIM telling the people where I was. I talked along, but he only set there and looked at me; never said nothing" (53), which illustrates how he was super excited to see Jim there and the color of his skin did not matter. He makes several comments throughout the book that inform readers how seriously he takes his relationships. He values loyalty and that leads him to protect and be with Jim to the end.