Huckleberry Finn is one of the few fictional characters I can relate to. Although his adventures are extraordinary, especially today, his thoughts and concerns are familiar and realistic.
In the beginning, when he is described as a homeless boy with a drunkard father, I thought he would be another character who simply learns his morals through other characters. However, he shows more than the common. Despite the widow’s attempts to “civilize” Huck, he sticks to his own ways and creates rules for himself. With his little knowledge from when he was in school, he is still capable of logically thinking his way through anything that he encounters and allows him to. For example, he questions himself whether helping Jim is truly right or wrong, considering that he is a black slave who belongs to Miss Watson. Through his experiences, whether alone or with other people, he learns how to live in the real world and apply them in order to survive his adventures.
What impressed me most about his character is his natural intelligence. Even though he grew up in a low society, he is not discouraged and is actually willing to study and learn for the better. He thinks through all kinds of situations, which undoubtedly results to some right conclusions. Anything spent time thinking on is worth the right consequence. His instinctual attitude also moves him to question the few things he has learned in society and he begins to compare the law with his sense of logic and fairness – he begins to develop his own strong opinions and outlook in life.
Sometimes, I wish I could think through Huck’s perspective and see the world in another view. Sometimes, social values are not always the best basis for decisions. We might only be strongly influenced into thinking that certain things are right. We must learn that failures are ways to inspire, appeal, and sympathize. Huckleberry shows that imperfection and our struggles in life give us all the opportunity of what we are all given the capability to do – to think and feel.
