Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" caused so much controversy throughout the years, until now. The novel's main character, Huck Finn, uses stealing and lying to get what he wants. The book also contains the n-word about 210 times throughout the book, most of the time, it is used by the main character as he narrates his adventures. Is the reason for Huck's behavior is to represent Twain's perspective? Or does Twin use Huck to show the right and wrongs of his generation?
The message that is sent throughout the novel is you have to work hard to get what you want or to make changes in your life. In the novel both Huck and Jim, Widow Douglas's slave, ran away from their society and journeyed through the Mississippi River. The river symbolizes freedom and independence from the society that Huck and Jim comes from. Alone on the raft, Huck and Jim are free to do whatever they want and doesn't have to answer to anyone. Huck escapes from the rules and regulations of Widow Douglas and from his abusive father. Jim also escapes from the hands of Widow Douglas to be a free man. Like the river, flowing away from everything, Huck and Jim changes their attitudes toward each other. For example, when the two saw a boat with a corpse in it, Jim didn't let Huck look at it even if it was his father. Jim also stood as a fatherly type of adult to Huck while they were alone on the river.
As the novel progresses, the river becomes something else from what Huck thought as the river brought the both of them in contact with criminals. While traveling down the river, the two ran into two con artists, the duke and the dauphin. Huck and Jim experiences tricks and scams that the con artists do to the ignorant public. It is obvious that the scams and lies that the con artists did was wrong for they hurt a number of innocent people. As Huck and Jim travel down the river with the con artists, Huck had to lie so many times to protect both himself and Jim because the society would be in dismay if they found out that Huck hid a runaway slave. Although Huck's lies aren't the lies that hurt anyone, it's for his and Jim's own good. In the novel Huck and the con artists also stole things from other people. The con artists stole people's money when they ripped their audience off from their play. On the other hand, Huck stole the money that the con artists took from a family in order to give it back to the right person and to turn the duke and the dauphin in. Huck's lies and stealing's were for the better and not for the worst for he was just trying to protect both himself and Jim.
In the end of the novel, the river returns Huck and Jim back into society. Huck escaped from the "sivilization" of the Widow Douglas, but when he returned, Aunt Sally wanted to take him in and sivilize him again. Jim wanted to get away from the Widow Douglas and be a free man. When Jim was turned in, he became what he wanted to be, free. the truth is that he has been a free man ever since he ran away. As the novel ended, it turned out to be that Huck realized that Jim is a worthy human being.
Mark Twain and Huck Finn's perspectives are the same. Twain showed the changes in Huck as he comes to realize that Jim shouldn't be looked down because he is not white. All of Huck's lies and behaviors changed the society around him. If nothing is done, nothing will change. Twain's message through Huck is to work hard to achieve or change something.