essay 5

HF is a great novel that challenges the ideals of the South in both the post and pre civil war years. When reading the novel one question continues to come up, “’What went wrong with Twain’s novel?’”(Marx 291) The ending of HF has been a subject of discussion since the book was published. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story nor does it give closer to the readers.

HF is divided into several story arches that are stories in and of themselves but at the same time is part of the over all story. All the arches are interconnected with common themes, and with each one Huck ideas are developing and changing. However at the end none of Huck’s growth has anything to do with the ending and the story closes without ever giving closure to any of the complex issues that it raises. It is a force happy ending that no one is really happy about.
Over the course of the story Huck and Jim go through many adventures. Over the course of those adventures Huck learns and grows. His attitude towards Jim and perhaps the racism of in general change dramatically. He is at times guilty about helping Jim because he feels like he is doing something wrong by helping him escape. He does grow attached to Jim, and is quiet upset when he is sold back into slavery for, “forty dirty dollars.”(p.199 Twain)
However despite that growth Huck ends up playing Toms game to rescue Jim. They waste a lot of time with some nonsense rescue out of Toms books that doesn’t really work in the end. It doesn’t make sense that Huck would go along with it. It is and irrational ending.
As the story progresses Jim develops more and more as a human being. He is getting closer to Huck and is developing more of a personality. We learn about his wife and children. Slowly he is turning into a real human being. However at the end we are to believe that he would play along with Tom’s game rescues, let them surround him with rats and such and write down something every time he gets bit? It is illogical, irrational and unreasonable to believe that that is how events would play out and is an insult to the readers.
The ending has several other plot holes. Are we to believe that Jim would be freed when he is suspected to have committed murder? What about Huck going back to get civilized when that was just the thing that he was running away from. And on top o0f it all everything after all these crazy adventures just ends in such a happy ending sort of way. Where’s the conflict? Where’s the closure? Where the real ending the readers deserve?

Work cited
Marx, Leo. “Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn.” Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2nd edition. Ed. Gerald Graff, James Phelan. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 289-304.

Blog#10

HF is a great novel that challenges the ideals of the South in both the post and pre civil war years. When reading the novel one question continues to come up, “’What went wrong with Twain’s novel?’”(Marx 291) The ending of HF has been a subject of discussion since the book was published. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the story nor does it give closer to the readers.

HF is divided into several story arches that are stories in and of themselves but at the same time is part of the over all story. All the arches are interconnected with common themes, and with each one Huck ideas are developing and changing. However at the end none of Huck’s growth has anything to do with the ending and the story closes without ever giving closure to any of the complex issues that it raises. It is a force happy ending that no one is really happy about.

Marx, Leo. “Mr. Eliot, Mr. Trilling, and Huckleberry Finn.” Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 2nd edition. Ed. Gerald Graff, James Phelan. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 289-304.