The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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While The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn may sound like a children’s title and most adaptations of the book are edited to fit a more family-friendly rating, Mark Twain’s story about Tom Sawyer’s comrade is a much darker and complex narrative than any ‘children’s classic’ today…

After scoring six thousand in swag from a gang of real robbers, young Huck Finn lives a civilized life with Miss Watson until his drunken father comes back to town with a plan to get his money. Desperate to get away, Huck fakes his own murder and hightails it on a raft down the Mississippi along with Jim, an escaped slave with a price on his head. Meeting many colorful characters along their trip –some good and some bad- Huck begins to ask moral questions about his situation: should he turn Jim over or leave his friend to enjoy his freedom?

A much thicker and darker tale than The Adventures of Tom Sawyer –where we first meet the character of Huck- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a engaging criticism of hypocrisy, injustice, and falsehood made all the more powerful being told from the innocent protagonist’s point of view. Narrated by Huck himself –though with a vocabulary that sometimes clashes with that he used in Tom Sawyer- the book is a captivating illustration of small-town Southern society that includes the slang, river lore, and superstitions of small-town folk.

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The book’s straightforward and innocent tone succeeds in making the story dramatic, but also humorous in parts and perfectly exposes societal evils as strongly as any satire or parody. The clash between a naïve child hero and such heavy ‘adventures’ such as faking a murder, aiding conmen, stealing a slave, and witnessing pointless executions might seem grim, but it’s actually what gives the book its intense page-turning power and keeps you planted in your chair until the very last word.

A travel-log filled with internal monologues, colourful characters, and startling adventures, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn might not be what modern readers expect when they open the cover, but turns out to be something more!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain and first published by Dawson (Montreal) in 1885.