Character Development of Huckleberry Finn (eBook)

Many critics argue whether the character of Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain`s Adventures of Huckleberry Finnmatures in the course of the book or if he is a stative character who does not develop. According to Claudia Durst Johnson the book can be seen as an initiation story in which the boyish Huck develops and enters into the adult world: "Adventuresof Huckleberry Finnis essentially a story of one boy's becoming a man, his growing independence as he is initiated into the harsh realities of adult life". Bruce Michelson on the other hand introduces Huck as a stative character whose behaviour at the beginning of the book compared to the end is just the same. He claims that "the book would certainly be tidier if Huck`s boyishness were utterly gone at the end,[...]" and reproaches Twain with "allowing Huck to flee back into the world of children" in the last section of the novel. In this term paper the character of Huckleberry Finn will be closely examined. His character traits and the two moral crises he goes through, which are evidence for the growing relationship between Huck and Jim, are analysed. Huck`s relationship towards Tom, who has great influence on Huck, will also be discussed.