Looking from the perspective of Tom’s influence on Huck,
Huck appears to not have grown much as a character. From the very beginning,
Tom, or Huck’s ideal of Tom, almost represents Huck’s individuality. Huck’s
defiance against morality, taught by the widow, is most exemplified in his
willingness to go to hell as long as Tom goes there too. Huck’s adventurous
nature and bold thoughts are what drove us to conclude that Huck is an
open-minded character with unique ideas. Yet, his defiance never reaches so far
as against Tom. Although we see that Tom is flawed in his constant reliance on
other books for his adventures, Huck clearly never sees him as anything less
than perfection. (Even though he did question Tom a couple times, Huck never
arrived at the conclusion that Tom is just as didactic as the widow) Moreover,
throughout the adventure, Huck constantly refers back to Tom and what he would
do.
Now, the story almost seems divided in half, before and
after Tom Sawyer shows up. For the first half of the story, our discussion
surrounding individuality vs. mob mentality/morality is also a parallel to our
discussion about the strange and irregular vs. the norm. Tom Sawyer is supposed
to represent the strange and irregular, if we ignore his flaws as Huck does. So
for Huck, he would analyze the first half of the story as what Tom represents
vs. people who try to disrupt he and Jim’s freedom/community. This idea follows
through as we see that all relationships and communities that Huck forms on his
adventure are connected by the ideas of risks, lies, and escapes, exactly the
kinds of things that adventures need. So, for the first half of the story, we
never really had to confront Huck’s over idealized version of Tom, and we
simply categorize Huck’s actions as deriving from his own individuality and
growth.
Once Tom shows up, however, we can no longer ignore the fact
that Tom is flawed and that Huck doesn’t see it. Therefore, when Huck starts
following Tom around, his action contradicts what we previously concluded as
growth in Huck. The second half of the story becomes about Huck’s true
individuality vs. Tom. As the first half of the story gives no set up for Huck
to possibly grow beyond the individuality inspired by Huck’s idealized Tom,
it’s unrealistic for Huck to suddenly defy Tom, his original source of unique
identity. So, I would say throughout the story Huck has not grown much as an
individual. He may have become more insightful, formed better friendships, and
gotten less bored, but his deeper understanding of relationships and how
society functions has not developed beyond what adventure necessitates.
You begin with the same observations as Liam about the inconsistencies in the behavior of Huck after the introduction with Tom, but you actually reach a conclusion, one that seems to say that Huck has simply not grown throughout the novel. I am inclined to agree with this. Going back to the warning at the beginning of the novel against trying to find meaning in the book, it makes sense that a lot of Huck's "growth" is not actually growth, but rather just simply experience. Much of our character analysis of Huck is rather linear, meaning that we assume that one event that has happened causes/demonstrates a change in character. This type of linear thought is common through out literary analysis, but it simply is insufficient to account for the complexity of human nature. Huck is still a child. He doesn't understand these larger issues, yet we extrapolate his actions as proof of his trying to grapple with morality in a general sense and ignore the specificity of the context. It is a one's choice how to read this book. Yes, it is possible to read this as anti-slavery propaganda or as a satire of that propaganda. I have simply chosen to default to the path of least resistance in that the book does not have to have this "deeper meaning."
ReplyDeleteAnd in doing so you are doing just that, taking the path of least resistance and effort. Rather than thinking about what Twain meant by ending the novel in such a seemingly lackluster fashion, you take the cop-out route and say that Twain was actually just writing an adventure novel intended to entertain rather than spark debate or controversy. While he may have done that (which I don't think he did, but I'm not Mark Twain so I'm not certain), the way that we as a class are reading this is not as a novel, but as a satire. Twain's work can be interpreted as a call for improvement, e.g. the slavery debate, but it isn't that simple. By using Tom as a symbol of the Southern society, using blacks for entertainment without any concern for their well-being, and showing how Huck's individuality is so easily subdued by him, Twain could be warning us about the dangers of not standing up to popular beliefs. Or it could be a satire on anti-slavery books such as Uncle Tom's cabin, targeting the white abolitionists who only carry such beliefs as to be viewed as progressive and not racist, rather than acting on their principles. I don't think that your lack of effort in searching for a message does Twain's novel justice, nor does dismissing all of the book's key plot points in which Huck grows as a character. Sometimes building up a character as a hero just to have them fall at the end is a much more poignant way to deliver a message, and I think that's what Twain hoped to accomplish.
DeleteI think I'm on a similar vein with you, Jimmy. Huck's adventures I think posed a great opportunity for growth as a character. Also, there was a passage at the beginning of the book about Jim and the other slaves that was meant to be empowering (despite the use of the word "nigger"). Twain almost sets up the opportunity for him to use these experiences to better himself. A similar argument was made in Pride and Prejudice about self-improvement. However, Huck seemed to (paraphrasing T.S. Elliot) "see the world but not judge it." He took in what he experienced, but he never converted them into something lasting and substantial. The same goes for Tom Sawyer: he's read so many books, many of which are extremely profound, yet he chooses to spend his energy pretending to be a prisoner and pillaging vegetable gardens. Perhaps Huck and Tom are in the same stage of development, even though Huck has had the opportunity to travel.
DeleteGood post, Jianna! Very well thought out and argued - I'm inclined to agree with your deconstruction of the text. It kind of made me have a "light bulb" moment - whereas in the beginning of the text we tend to ignore Huck's occasional references to "what Tom would do," by the end of the text we see how glaring Huck's subservience to Tom's far-from-perfect methods really is. I really do see the story as circular at this point - Twain even gives us a glimpse of a potential sequel at the novel's end that seems quite similar in structure to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn itself.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm just gonna take the cop-out and say Mark Twain is a racist.
ReplyDeleteNo, actually though, I think this post ties in very well to the post a few weeks ago about Huck and authority. His reaction to Tom's presence definitely shows that Tom is the dominant party in their relationship, and I think it's interesting how you explored Huck's regression not as a major character un-development, but rather simply as a temporary reaction to Tom's aggressive personality. It certainly makes stomaching Huck's upsetting 360 a little less disappointing.
I think your post has made me want to revert back to something I have said in the past... It is, as Nicky said, a bit of a light bulb moment that I kind of want to explore... In the text we have witnessed many times when Huck has been influenced by those around him. His opinions are influenced by Miss Watson and his father, and the king and duke negatively influence him, encouraging deceitful behavior. Yet it is when Huck is alone with Jim that he seems to become an individual, when he seems to form his own sense of morality. When he is rejoined by Tom at the end of a novel, we see yet another example of Huck being influenced by someone in his life. Maybe it is this reversion to the old Huck and it's stark contrast with the Huck that exists only with Jim that provides us with the real social critique. Just as we established that all the white people around Jim create his negative identities for him, maybe Huck is also similarly influenced by white people, and it is only with Jim, a true friend and good human being, that Huck becomes an individual with some sort of moral compass.
ReplyDeleteAs I said in my comment on Liam's post, Huck's reversion to his older self really brings to light the power of traditional morality, at least from Twain's point of view. When Huck is just on the river with him and Jim (separated from society, at least partially), Huck begins to shape his moral code with sentiment and feeling rather than traditions or societal norms. This sentimentalism allows him to form kinder views of Jim and look down upon the shenanigans of the king and the duke. But when Huck meets Tom again to try to break Jim out of the shed, we see a reversion to the acceptance of societal norms. Tom is the higher rank, and thus Huck subverts to him and doesn't question Tom's methods. Twain seems to be supporting the idea that this reversion is quick and easy to happen, as even Huck, who was essentially away from society for months, relapses within mere days.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Huck does see Tom's flaws but is just resigned to their existence; Huck's characterization of Tom's plans allows us to see that they're ridiculous, and Huck speaks of Tom's methods in a language that hints at being critical: after his questions have been rebuffed by Tom, Huck explains "That was just his way. If it didn’t suit him to explain a thing to you, he wouldn’t do it. You might pump at him a week, it wouldn’t make no difference" (chapter 38). While I think that Huck is too good-natured to actually be upset with Tom, his words imply that on some level, Huck is not satisfied with their relationship. And this fissure in Huck's veneration of Tom indicates that while Huck's experiences may not have imprinted a distinct identity upon him, Huck is more than just a helpless admirer of his friend.
ReplyDeleteI think Tom could represent the dominant society they live in, including the morals, habits, and adherence to institutions(slavery, racism). I believe Huck has changed internally. He has developed some semblance of morality different than that of the dominant society, which we have seen through actions he has made just before these chapters. Twain is illustrating the issues Huck is facing when being reintegrated into society. He is unable to voice his opinions and is forced to repress his views. His growth is still there, just not visible, because it's repressed by the forces of Tom(or society, at large).
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