The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Character Analysis

Character Analysis
A strong character analysis will:
1 Identify the type of character it is dealing with. (A single character could be two or three type. Different kinds of characters are listed below.)
2 Describe the character.
3 Discuss the conflict in the story, particularly in regards to the character’s place in it.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry (Huck) is the major character who first lives with guardians, but longs for adventure with his friend Tom Sawyer. He is not fond of Christian religious teaching under the guardianship of Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, and he is later placed under the guardianship of his father. Huck’s father is an irresponsible drunk who beats him regularly and they live in a cabin. Huck fakes hi death and moves to Jackson’s island where he meets Jim, who is Watson’s runaway slave. Huck becomes more caring after over time after his encounter with Jim, as he tries to help him flee from the South, but he is also forced by circumstances to lie and cheat to survive. Huck struggles with his conscience since he is expected to follow Christian values and yet desires independence in a society that was indifferent to the plight of the downtrodden. He is also conflicted on whether to support Jim given that he would be blamed for helping a runaway slave get away.
There are different kinds of characters.
Characters can be:
* protagonist (heroes),The main character around whom most of the work revolves.
* antagonists, The person who the protagonist is against. This is often the villain, but could be a force of nature, set of circumstances, an animal, etc.
* major, These are the main characters. They dominate the story. Often there are only one or two major characters.
* minor, These are the characters who help tell the major character’s tale by letting major characters interact and reveal their personalities, situations, stories. They are usually static (unchanging).
* stereotypical(stock), This is the absent-minded professor, the jolly fat person, the clueless blonde.
* foils, These are the people who job is to contrast with the major character. This can happen in two ways. One: The foil can be the opposite of the major character, so the major’s virtues and strengths are that much “brighter” in reflection. Two: The foil can be someone like the major character, with lighter versions of the major’s virtues and strengths so that the major comes off as even stronger.
Huckleberry Finn is the major character, protagonist and narrator of the story the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The story revolves the experiences of Huck a thirteen year old boy in Missouri who sets on a journey on his own after feeling his guardian and violent, drunk father. Huck meets Jim a runaway slave who he knew while on an island and they resoled to work together. Even though, Huck was a boy he had already been taught that blacks were subservient to whites, but he realized the humanity of everyone when he was close to Jim.
Describing a Character
Consider the character’s name and appearance.
* Is the author taking advantage of stereotypes? The hot-tempered redhead, the boring brunette, the playboy fraternity
* Is the author going against stereotypes? The brilliant blonde, the socially adept professor
* Is their name significant?
* Are there any unusual visual attributes?
Mark Twain’s characterization of Huckleberry does not fall into the stereotypical role as he works together with Jim an escaped black slave, it was expected that blacks would be subservient to the whites and even Huckleberry’s father expressed such sentiments. While even Huckleberry uses the word ‘nigger’ this was common among the white southerners and this as used in the early stages of the novel. The story has been controversial because in many instances Twain uses the n-word,
Consider is he/she if a static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) character. If the character has changed during the course of the story:
* Was the change gradual or rapid?
* Was it subtle or obvious?
* Are the changes significant to the story or are they a minor counterpoint?
* Are the changes believable or fantastic?
* What was his/her motivation to change?
* What situations or character encouraged the change?
* How does the character learn from or deal with change?
Huck’s father ‘pap’ had told him that black people were property and even the rich men were those with large tracks of land and slaves. However, Huckleberry’s character changes when he gets to work more closely with Jim a s he realized what he had been told about blacks was wrong, and he began to sympathize with Jim who was trying to get as far away as possible because he would be returned to his masters, and the two found themselves on an island and had to work together to survive. The changes are significant in the story as it is the teenage character who shows more courage to challenge the society’s stereotypes of blacks, and he sees the humanity of those different from him despite being a low class homeless boy.
Consider how the author discloses the character:
By what the character ways or thinks.
By what the character does.
By what other characters say about him/her.
By what the...