THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN JOURNAL ENTRY
#2
Tom Sawyer is the only person who was able to influence Huck in any way. Somehow, Tom could convince Huck to do things that Huck didn’t want to do, while society could not make Huck believe that blacks were unequal to whites. When I first realized this, I couldn’t understand how one boy had more power than the entire society. I think Tom became such a roll model to Huck because Tom is very adventurous and knows how to have a good time. I’m sure that Huck knew that Tom was a bad person, but Huck overlooked that because of Tom's good qualities, and also because Huck had no one else to look up to. He is afraid of his father and sees that his father is throwing his life away, and his mother has never been part of his life. Everyone in town tries to civilize him, and Huck doesn't like that. Tom likes to break rules and live a rough life, and this is the only life Huck feels comfortable living. Tom is the only person Huck can truly identify with. The first time Huck senses that he and Tom are drifting apart is when Huck finds out that Jim had been free all along, and Tom was basically torturing Jim, just to have "an adventure". Huck was disgusted with the way Tom behaved, and Huck realized that Tom was just like the rest of society, who looked down on blacks. At that point, Huck's eyes were opened, and he lost all respect for Tom. I think that this part was the resolution of the story. Huck had always tried to be like Tom, who was, in reality, a terrible roll model. Huck had always been an independent thinker, unless Tom was involved. Huck finally broke free of Tom's bad influence.