Huck Finn as Bildungsroman

Taylor Miles
3.8.10
In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main character Huck has to grow up very quickly in order to survive on his own. This novel could be classified as bildungsroman, which means a child grows up too fast. Huck evolves throughout the novel in many ways to prove his maturity.
When the reader is first introduced to Huck, he is becoming a member of a gang that his friend Tom Sawyer, is starting. They plan to be robbers and murderers and live out fantasies from the books they read. Huck is also being “sivilized” by Miss Watson, which is something he hates. Huck didn’t want to be held down by the society around him, but when Huck’s father comes to St. Petersburg, things begin to drastically change for him.
Pap decides that he wants Huck to live with him, so he could use Huck’s money to spend on alcohol. Pap is very harsh on Huck and beats him when he’s too drunk. Eventually Huck gets tired of living in Pap’s cabin, so he decides to run away. One example of how this novel is a bildungsroman is that Huck creates a fool-proof plan to effectively escape Pap’s cabin without getting caught. From there, Huck goes to Jackson’s Island where he meets with Miss Watson’s slave, Jim.
From this point on, Huck begins to mature quickly. He witnesses things a young boy of his age should have never seen. As Huck and Jim were leaving Jackson’s Island, they saw a “house boat” floating down the river. When they were investigating the boat, they found a dead man.
During this time on the river, Huck and Jim become fast friends. Huck begins to realize that Jim is more than a slave, he is a person too. After Huck plays a trick on Jim, and he finds that it hurt Jim, he said he would have to humble himself to a slave. He had always thought before that slaves weren’t people and apologizing symbolizes Huck’s feelings towards Jim.
Huck also matures at the Grangerford’s house. Huck becomes friends with one of the children his age, Buck. During...