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David T. Yancey
Mrs. McGuire
American Studies
2 February 2004
The Adventures of uc!"eberry Finn
Mar! T#ain$s The Adventures of uc!"eberry Finn is a c"assic nove" and one of
my %ersona" favorites. &t te""s the story of a youn' boy named uc!"eberry Finn durin'
the 1((0s in a sma"" to#n ca""ed St. )etersbur'* Missouri. +ne ni'ht he fa!es his death
and "eaves to#n to 'et a#ay from his a"coho"ic father and most of civi"i,ation. -hi"e he
is 'one* he runs into .im* Miss -atson$s s"ave* #ho esca%ed for fear of bein' so"d. They
have many e/citin' adventures to'ether throu'hout the #ho"e boo!. There are many
different o%inions about the endin' of this nove". Accordin' to Thomas Gu""ason* author
of 0The Fata" 1ndin' of Huck Finn*2 0The %ur%ose of the "ast severa" cha%ters of the
nove" is to ridicu"e Tom$s romantic vision.2 Some say that it #as sim%"y ineffective. &
be"ieve that the endin' of The Adventures of uc!"eberry Finn is effective because it is
the "o'ica" outcome of uc!$s adventures. &n other #ords* #hen uc! says 03et$s 'o for
ho#"in' adventures amon'st the &n4uns* over in the territory*2 5T#ain 2617 he is
e/%ressin' his re4ection of society and the civi"i,ation of his day.
+ne of the most im%ortant as%ects of the end of this #onderfu" nove" #as uc!$s
decision to run a#ay from home and Tom and uc! must %art. At that %oint the
0adventures2 turn into rea"8"ife ha%%enin's. For instance* #hen uc! and .im discover
the #rec!ed Walter Scott, uc! 'ets on the boat to have an 0adventure*2 and he
overhears t#o robbers threatenin' to !i"" the third so that he #on$t 0te"".2 uc! be'ins to
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ta!e the robbers boat but then sto%s because he rea"i,es that he cou"d become one of these
des%icab"e creatures* so he 'ets his o#n raft and 'oes to shore to find he"%. At first uc!
sees this as an adventure* but then he rea"i,es that this has to do #ith a rea"8 "ife murder*
not a 'ame he and Tom made u% because they #ere bored. Another e/am%"e is the feud
bet#een the She%erdsons and the Gran'erfords. +ne day uc! #as introduced to the
Gran'erfords and became 'ood friends #ith 9uc!* one of the chi"dren. uc! fabricated
an e"aborate story about ho# he #as or%haned as a chi"d. +ne afternoon after church one
of :o"one" Gran'erford$s s"aves "eads uc! dee% into the #oods #here he funds .im. &n
the #oods* uc! finds 9uc! and his sister in a 'unfi'ht #ith some She%ardsons and both
9uc! and his sister are !i""ed. .ust another one of uc!$s adventures that turns into a
rea"8 "ife ordea".
+ther e/am%"es of ma!e8be"ieve becomin' rea"ity are the antics of the du!e and
the dau%hin. -hen Tom and uc! and their friends made u% 'ames in St. )etersbur' that
had to do #ith ta!in' %eo%"e$s money or hurtin' %eo%"e in any #ay* they had no intention
of actua""y doin' it. 9ut that$s e/act"y #hat the du!e and the dau%hin are a"" about. &n
cha%ters fourteen and fifteen* they %retend to be the brothers of the recent"y deceased
)eter -i"!s in order to 0inherit2 around ;*000 do""ars. They a"so 'o from to#n to to#n
shammin' %eo%"e into %ayin' too much for tic!ets for an entire"y too brief comica"
%erformance that they %ut on.
Yet another instance of star! rea"ity intrudin' u%on %"ayfu"ness is in cha%ter 21
#hen uc! #ent throu'h a sma"" to#n in Ar!ansas to find an o"d drun! man on a horse.
09o''s comes a8tearin' a"on' on his horse* #hoo%in' and ye""in' "i!e an &n4un.2 5T#ain
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1127 e #as ye""in' at a man named :o"one" Sherburn* #ho 'ave 9o''s a #arnin'* and
then #hen 9o''s #ou"dn$t be <uiet* Sherburn shot him dead.
The most stri!in' deve"o%ment at the conc"usion of the boo! is uc!$s transition
from romantic to rea"ist. At the be'innin' of the nove"* he and Tom #ou"d ma!e u%
cra,y 'ames that had to do #ith !idna%%in' and robbin' %eo%"e. uc! #ou"d 'o ri'ht
a"on' #ith it. o#ever* there #as a"#ays a sma"" trace of rea"ism in uc! because #hen
Tom #ou"d come u% #ith a scenario that #as a "itt"e too e/trava'ant* uc! #ou"d be the
one to say 0this cou"dn$t ha%%en*2 or 0that is im%ossib"e.2 uc! #ou"d a"so 'o a"on'
#ith a"" of .im$s su%erstitious behavior such as the o/ hair ba"" because* accordin' to
Frances 9ro#ne""* author of 0The =o"e of .im in Huckleberry Finn,2 0.im$s %ersona"ity is
stron'"y inf"uenced by his faith in su%erstition* es%ecia""y evi" omens.2 The one instance
that com%"ete"y chan'ed uc! into a rea"ist came at the end of the boo! #hen they #ere
tryin' to 'et .im out of the s"ave <uarters at the )he"%s$s %"antation. &t #as a fair"y sim%"e
%rocess to free .im* but Tom had to ma!e it into an e"aborate scheme. uc! decided to
'o a"on' #ith it at first* but #hen Tom #as shot in the "e' #hi"e %u""in' a %oint"ess stunt*
uc! #as overcome #ith rea"ity as the ridicu"ous threatened to become tra'edy.
o#ever* he cou"d not entire"y sha!e his romantic nature. At the end of the nove" uc!
cou"d be heard ta"!in' of e/%"orin' the #est.
&n summary* uc! determines he must re4ect civi"i,ation and he does so #ith
'ood reason. A"" of the vio"ence* the b"oodshed* the racism* the fraud* and the hy%ocrisy
that he encounters in nineteenth century civi"i,ation forces him to conc"ude that "ife in
or'ani,ed society is not for him.
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-or!s :ited
1. T#ain* Mar!. The Adventures of uc!"eberry Finn. >e# Yor!? G"encoe@McGra#8
i""* 2000.
2. Gu""ason* Thomas. 0The Fata" 1ndin' of Huckleberry Finn.2 American 3iterature
6A51ABC7? (;8A1. =%t. in Adventures of uc! Finn? An Annotated Te/t* 9ac!'rounds*
Sources* and :riticism. 1d. Scu""y 9rad"ey* =ichmond 9eatty* and 1. udson 3on'.
>e# Yor!? >orton* 1A;1. 6BC8;1.
6. 9ro#ne""* Frances D. 0The =o"e of .im in Huckleberry Finn*2 9oston Studies in
1n'"ish* Do". 1* C48(6. 1E)3+=&>G >+D13S. +n"ine 1dition. Ga"e* 2006.