Huck Finn as a Round Character Essay

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn several characters are introduced. Some of them are round characters who are talked a lot about and are described in detail. Others are flat characters who don’t change throughout the novel. Huck Finn is an example of a round character because in the beginning we meet him as a young boy who is growing up in Hannibal, Missouri getting â€Å"sivilized† by two sisters. He spends most of his time teaming up with his friend Tom, against Miss Watson’s slave, Jim. After running away and faking his own death we see Huck start to make his own decisions and become friends with Jim when they run into each other on Jackson Island. As a reader you see him mature, become more of a rebel and take risks, and grow friendships. â€Å"To live with fear and not be afraid is the greatest sign of maturity.† If this quote by Edward Weeks is true then Huck Finn is the greatest example of maturity. While traveling down the Mississipp i River Huck shows maturity when he runs into two strangers and he allows them to travel with him and Jim. From the start Huck knew the two men were troublemakers who seemed to be no good, but he still took them in. Not long after the duke and the king lie to Huck and Jim and although Huck realized it he did not say anything. ‘But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it’s the best way; then you don’t have no quarrels, and don’t get into no trouble†¦I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family.’ (Twain 116-125) Huck also shows his maturity when the duke and the king steal from the Wilks family. Huck tries to help the family by stealing their money back from them and hiding it in the coffin. Instead of him letting the con men steal and possibly benefiting from it, Huck did what he knew was right. In this novel Tom Sawyer seems to bring out the rebellious side of Huck Finn. He never wants to go without and adventure. To keep Tom satisfied Huck and Tom go along with him and steal a variety of items from Aunt Sally: spoons, candles, sheet, shirt, etc. For a boy Huck’s age to fake his death is a big risk . From that point on Huck continues to take risks with faking who he is with and what he is doing. After escaping and running into Jim, Huck has a huge decision to make of whether to turn him in, or stay by his side. He decided to write a letter to Miss Watson, but never ended up sending it to her. From that point on Huck shows how loyal he is to his friendship. When Tom Sawyer shows back up in the novel Huck winds himself up into unnecessary trouble. That is when Huck’s loyalty to Jim is tested. Tom never sees Jim as a human being so for Huck to start to think of him as more than just a slave and stand up for him and continue to never leave his side is an example of being a great friend. For a young boy who is traveling down the Mississippi River with just himself and a runaway slave Huck shows huge acts of kindness and loyalty while at the same time going against the rules of society. As Mark Twain’s Huck Finn said, â€Å"What’s the use you learning to do rig ht, when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same (Twain 91)?† Although he never became the â€Å"sivilized† boy Miss Watson would have liked for him to be you notice Huck maturing, having a rebellious side, and making a great friendship.