Do we like them?

Do we like Huckleberry Finn?

A character from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes, back him. He is a kid with a good heart who trusts his own conscience over what society tells him, and he does right by his friend even when he doubts himself.

Huck is a motherless, barely schooled boy of about thirteen or fourteen. He is the son of a drunken, abusive father. In Mark Twain's novel he has been taken in by the Widow Douglas, who is trying to 'sivilize' him. He would much rather have his freedom and a good adventure. Huck tells the story himself, in plain, funny, down-to-earth language.

Huck is no saint. He lies easily, plays tricks, and goes along with a lot of bad ideas. He was raised in a society that taught him some terrible things, and he believes some of them. What makes him lovable is that he sees people as people. He is loyal, practical, and kind in a quiet way. Most of the humour comes from how seriously he takes his own small sins, and how little he notices his own good deeds.

He runs away from his father and ends up on a raft going down the Mississippi with Jim, a man who has escaped slavery. Along the way Huck's conscience fights with everything he was taught about right and wrong. He decides to follow his heart and protect Jim, even though he is sure it will damn him. That choice is the moral centre of the book, and it is why he scores so high.