Title: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author: Mark Twain
Genre: American Classic
Review:
I couldn't find any cool covers for this book. I mean, there were several covers for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but none that were actually eye catching or interesting to me (and this book cover actually got the title of the book wrong; there's no "the" before "Adventure".) Okay, enough of me whining about the lack of attractive book covers for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The opening lines to this book caught me eye right away:
"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find plot in it will be shot."
Well, then. Obviously I'm going to read this book (that and the fact it was an assigned school reading.)
I really liked Huck's character. He's just a boy, yet he is also mature for his years. To quote from Goodreads, "He has no mother, his father is a brutal drunkard, and he sleeps in a barrel. He’s Huck Finn—liar, sometime thief, and rebel against respectability." It's hard not to like Huck, even though he sometimes has his moral ethics confused.
Huck's character really changes from the beginning of the novel to the end. When readers first meet Huck, they meet a rebellious boy who doesn't see the point in praying or taking action/making choices if he doesn't benefit from the outcome. Yet Huck is also very logical (if not a little bit too logical in some cases.) However, after faking his death to escape his abusive father and teaming up with a runaway slave named Jim, Huck embarks on an adventure that will forever change his character.
Huck is confuse about what to do with Jim. Society has brought him up to follow the laws and turn Jim in. But Huck has his own agenda, and his conscience is telling him to help Jim escape to freedom. Huck's strength is tested multiple times as the due journey on.
I love reading the conversations Huck and Jim often have while floating on the raft down the river; Twain does an excellent job portraying their personalities through such conversations. Also, Twain really bashes society of the time period! With not-so-good characters representing all the faults Twain found in the South's culture during the era, Twain really hits home with his thoughts about racism, hypocrisy and dishonest men.
The plot itself was okay, but watching Huck's character mature and grow was amazing. And the tension/build up to his most important line (at least to me) really showed his true character: "I'll go to hell." He decides he would rather suffer eternal damnation than turn Jim in...
The spelling of the novel sometimes made my eyes cross and my brain tied up in knots. I appreciate Mr. Twain for taking his time and painstakingly mispelling every other word so that all the accents were accurate, but perhaps a little bit less zeal with the accents would be nice :-P
Final thoughts? A true American classic that should not be banned. Fun fact: Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Clemens.
Rating
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