Reviews

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

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leftg's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bobbyzim's review

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5.0

A Coming-of-Age Story for a Nation

Picking up from the ending of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the newly wealthy Huckleberry Finn escapes the chafing rules of civilization imposed by his new adoptive mother, the Widow Douglas, by spending his nights acting out boyish adventures with Tom and their friends. When Huck's abusive, alcoholic Pap kidnaps Huck for his money, Huck fakes his own death and sneaks out on a raft up the Mississippi River, where he encounters Jim, an escaped slave of the Widow's sister, Miss Douglas, and the two have a series of adventures as they try to float up the raft to Illinois and Jim's freedom. [a:Mark Twain|1244|Mark Twain|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1322103868p2/1244.jpg] constantly juxtaposes the "gentlemanly civilization" of the Antebellum South not only with Huck and Jim's innocent state of nature, but also with Tom's seemingly comparatively harmless romantic fantasies of chivalry and heroism. As witness to the dangers and violence of both fantasies, 13-year-old Huck with his often wistful observations is a stand-in for all of America during the Civil War, making this Great American Novel as much the coming-of-age story of a nation as it is for a boy. In the 21st century, it is appropriate - and important - for school-aged children to read the bowdlerized version (the one with the N-word replaced with the word "slave"), but the original version needs to be available to adults who may - and should - reread it with adult awareness.