The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Summary

“Huckleberry came and went, at his own free will … he could sit up as late as he pleased; he was always the first boy that went barefoot in the spring and the last to resume leather in the fall; he never had to wash, nor put on clean clothes; he could swear wonderfully. In a word, everything that goes to make life precious, that boy had.”

Revered by all of the town’s children, and dreaded by all of its mothers, Huckleberry Finn is indisputably the most appealing child-hero in American literature.

Unlike the tall-tale, idyllic world of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is firmly grounded in early reality. From the abusive drunkard who serves as Huckleberry’s father, to Huck’s first tentative grappling with issues of personal liberty and the unknown, Huck Finn endeavors to delve quite a bit deeper into the complexities—both joyful and tragic—of life.