THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN JOURNAL ENTRY #2

It is obvious that Huck can’t figure out where he belongs in society. He doesn't enjoy living in town because the Widow Douglas tries to civilize him. Living with his father is terrible because his father beats him and locks him in the cabin. Huck looks to the Mississippi River for an escape from the society in which he can't find his place. At first when he joins up with Jim, he enjoys Jim's company. But after awhile, he questions whether or not he is doing a good by helping a runaway slave. Throughout the novel, Huck argues with himself, trying to decide if he should continue to help Jim. The climax is when Jim is sold by "the king". Huck is so upset to the point that he begins to cry. The reader thinks that Huck has finally made his decision, and wants to help Jim escape. But then Huck writes a letter to Jim's rightful owner, telling her where she can find Jim. Now the reader knows that he is at the height of choosing between right and wrong, although the right social answer and the right moral answer are exact opposites. Huck chooses not to mail the letter, and he has finally decided to help Jim. He picked the way that was unacceptable in society but was the best moral decision. Huck could never fit into society because, mentally, he was so ahead of everyone else. He was such an independent thinker that nobody could influence his decisions, even the entire population put together. He was intelligent enough to finally realize that you should not judge people by their skin color. It is amazing that even thought he was brought up to believe that slaves were of less worth than whites, he was able to overcome that belief.

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.

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