Saturday, April 19, 2014

Final Huck Finn Post

          After finishing the book it seems that all of the "Coming of Age" that Huck has accomplished has been set back. After he reunites with Tom, the two assume the roles that they had at the beginning of the novel. Tom influences Huck to go back to his old ways and we see all of Huck's maturation fade away as he no longer views Jim as an equal. Huck has let all he came to know slip because he is a person who is easily persuaded. It was easy for him to forget all that he and Jim went through and just view Jim as another slave who was not equal to himself.
          In a way, it does not really matter because we come to find that Jim has been free for the duration of the novel. It could be viewed that Huck wanted to be friends with Jim and was using the fact that he thought Jim was a slave who needed help just to be close with him. In its own sense that is "Coming of Age" because Huck was able to overlook the racial barrier of the time period and see somebody for who they are on the inside and not how they look on the outside. Thanks for reading!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Huckleberry Finn Chapters 22-30

          For this post I'm going to focus on describing moments of "Coming of Age" rather than the plot of the book. In chapter 23 when Jim is "moaning and mourning" for his wife and two children. Huck concludes that Jim loves his family as much as white men love theirs. This shows me that Huck is maturing and is starting to view Jim as an equal because he is beginning to view Jim as a person and not just a runaway slave. In chapter 25, when the people of the town believe the duke and dauphin to be related to Peter Wilks, Huck says he has never seen anything so disgusting. To me, he could be referring to how the people are foolish enough to believe the due and dauphin or he could be disgusted at the fact that the duke and dauphin are taking advantage of the people, which again shows the maturation of Huck.
          Continuing, in chapter 26, Huck's morals take over and he seeks out the money to give back to the girls. This is "Coming of Age" because he is taking the feelings of others into account when making decisions. Throughout all off the chapters those were the only events that stuck out as "Coming of Age" to me. Till next week folks, I bid thee farewell.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Huckleberry Finn Chapters 16-21

          To kick off this portion of reading, Huck and Jim are on their way to Cairo to free Jim from slavery. Huck begins to have an internal battle with himself on whether or not he should help Jim or turn him in since he is a runaway slave. To me, this shows "Coming of Age" because he is battling with his personal morals and the law. It seems that he is acknowledging that if he is caught helping Jim, he could get into trouble, or he could turn Jim in and have to live in regret and guilt with that decision. We are then presented with a heart warming statement from Jim. "Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck, you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de fren's ole Jim's got now." Huck realizes that him and Jim are true friends and you can't turn your back on friendship.
          Skipping to chapter 19, Huck and Jim become "one with nature". They take in some criminals and Huck can tell that they are lying. This sense is acquired as we mature and experience life which has to do with "Coming of Age". As we grow up we deal with how people act when they are truthful and when they lie so we gain the sense of telling the difference between the two. Huck doesn't tell Jim to try and protect him which shows us that their bond is developing.
          Chapters 20 and 21 don't really involve "Coming of Age". The criminals go around town and scam people out of money while Huck and Jim stay on the raft. Towards the end one of the criminals places a $200 bounty/reward for the capture of Jim. It seems that Huck and Jim can't catch a break.
       
  

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Huckleberry Finn Chapter 6-15

We start off this section of the book with Huck faking his death in a clever way that some might not have thought he was capable of thinking of and proceeding with it. To me, "Coming of Age" doesn't necessarily mean being slick and creative, but more of realizing the consequences of your actions.
Continuing, when Jim came into the picture I was excited because him and Huck have similar personalities. Huck is young and impressionable so Jim could possibly influence how he acts. They sort of have a father and son bond. This is shown when Jim doesn't let Huck see the dead body.
Huck fools around with his wardrobe and likes to explore new things which is a part coming of age because you do more of finding yourself and expressing who you are. Everything then goes downhill when robbers attack and their ship sinks. in that chapter Huck says "it warnt no time to be setimentering". This shows "Coming of Age" because he is willing to set aside all the silly things and focus on the task at hand. Other than these events, I did.t feel that there were any other moments that really defined "Coming of Age". See you next week folks!
 

Friday, March 14, 2014

Huckleberry Finn Blog Post #1

Coming of age is the process by which a young person transitions from childhood into adulthood. We see at the beginning of the novel that Huck is your everyday child. He likes to do what he pleases and is very impressionable, mostly by the townspeople and his belief in superstition. We see Huck beginning to think like an adult when he realizes that the widow is only doing what is best for his well-being. He starts to become accustomed to the widow when he realizes how much better his life is now then it previously was with his father who was not really there for him. One example of Huck's growing maturity is when he gives all of his money to Judge Thatcher. It shows that he trusts Judge Thatcher to keep his word and give him the money when he asks for it. A big part of growing up is seeing that every situation has different outcomes and not everybody is trying to hurt you.