Huck Finn Post 16-22

These few chapters were not very forthcoming with the theme, coming-of-age, and you definitely had to dig deeper into the reading.  But eventually you find it.  One instance of coming-of-age in chapters 16-22, is the notion of death.  Here you meet the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, who are two families still at war with each other, but neither one knows why.  Their main objective, however, seems to be to kill each other.  There is even a sense of irony as you realize that the two families go to the same church, but while sitting there listening to the word of brotherly love, they have rifles between their knees.

This feud between the two families leads to the death of Buck Grangerford and the nineteen year old Shepherdsons, and this is a very serious moment in the novel.  While they have brought up the situation of death earlier in the book with Huck’s father,  this is now one of his friends that he had been staying with.  This is a coming-of-age example because when you are facing the death of someone who is close to you, you don’t really have a choice but to confront it.  You also may have to ask yourself questions such as ‘what happens when we die?’  And even though Huck was more concerned about fleeing, you saw how this death affected him when he pulled Buck’s body from the river and cried when he covered his face.  Death is something that shouldn’t affect people as young as Huck, but this incident shows just how quickly family feuds can escalate, and how confusing Huck’s world really is.

There is also the Duke and the Dauphin, who really seem to bring out Huck’s innocence in a way.  He knows that these men are criminals and that they are lying to him and Jim, but they are powerless in this situation.  While on the other hand, on this raft with these men, Huck has come up with his own opinion that one is “mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft,” despite the evil in the world that surrounds him.  Huck seems to be growing up and making his own decisions.  This could be either really good, or really bad.

In the next few chapters, there is fraud, fakery, and religion.  You can really see just how messed up Huck’s world is, and this means that he is going to have to learn to grow up fast.  He is going to have to recognize evil, and the crimes on human may commit against another.  He is also going to have to learn to make quick decisions since he and Jim are now fugitives.  This world he lives in has already made an impact on him.  While attending something as innocent as a circus, which is supposed to be entertaining and amusing, Huck finds himself genuinely concerned for the safety of the drunken clown on a horse.  He should have seen this situation as funny, not as dangerous.  Huck’s world is getting more complicated, and with him and Jim on the run, I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.