The narrator in “The Adventures of huckleberry Finn” is a young 14 year old boy who has not yet been tainted by a racist environment. His youth affects his position as the narrator itself because Huck has not been fully exposed to society and its views. He is able to make his own decisions and choices based on what he has seen and experienced, his youth contributes to how he sees life in an optimistic way. The characteristics that make Huck an unreliable character are his youth and his lack of life experiences. His young age is an important factor to the fact that he cannot see things for what they really are and he has not really been affected by the views back in The 1830s. Throughout the novel, there is a lot of bias due to the fact that it is told in Huck's point of view. It is evident that he does not share the same morals and experiences as most do, a reliable narrator would tell both sides of the story as to inform the reader of all thoughts, not just their own opinion. Huck is also a very naive boy who doesn't always understand everything. As stated in the book, when Huck and Jim were traveling with the two con men, Huck did not realize they were con men. How could he? Huck has never met one to tell the tale. As the story progresses, Huck often talks about religion and inferences he makes about religion. "It was awful thoughts and awful words...and for starters I'd steal Jim out of slavery again and if I could think of anything worse, I would do that too because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go in for the whole hog" (Twain 317). This quote illustrates Huck's misunderstanding about religion. He believes that once you do something bad, you go straight to the "bad place". By even thinking about stealing Jim out of slavery Huck strongly believes he will be sent there. As a side note, Huck shows all the signs of a follower; he does not have a mind of his own. As a result, Huck is a slave to Tom. Whatever twisted plan Tom has, Huck is like a Lemming. He even says he "wanted him and me to be together" (Twain 2) in Hell.This proves how young and naive he is, and over all: an unreliable narrator. Although it has been clearly shown that Huck is an unreliable source, there is one reason as to why he might be a reliable one. Huck has the uncanny ability to be honest about anything. He tells the story as he sees it himself, without missing a detail. Above all, Huck is truthful to himself as to how he feels and how he feels about other people. At the beginning of the novel for example, Huck calls Jim "Miss Watson's big nigger" (Twain 4), which exemplifies how Huck really feels at that time and place. Although honesty is a an important contributing factor in determining whether Huck is a reliable narrator or not, the characteristics such as nativity, immaturity, and lack of experience outweighs honesty. Huck may not be the most reliable narrator but he still illustrates to the readers what life was like back in the late 1830's. This goes to show that people can change in views and understandings as they grow further apart from society and its influence.
- Savannah, Elizabeth, Kailyn
Your paragraph is very well written and has a lot of support, including many quotes. You are a little bit repetitive, repeating Huck's age as a factor, and you use some information that is unnecessary. Also, Huck does know that the "king" and "duke" are con men but decides not to tell Jim. We would like to know if you think that it was because of Huck's age or the influence others had on him that made him an unreliable narrator.
Thank you for your recommendations, we find them really helpful in order for us to improve our paragraph. We feel that Huck’s age on the whole is what makes him an unreliable narrator. We found more examples about how his age is the contributing factor. Examples such as his naivety, lack of experience, and immaturity are due to his youth.
The narrator in “The Adventures of huckleberry Finn” is a young 14 year old boy who has not yet been tainted by a racist environment. His youth affects his position as the narrator itself because Huck has not been fully exposed to society and its views. He is able to make his own decisions and choices based on what he has seen and experienced, his youth contributes to how he sees life in an optimistic way. The characteristics that make Huck an unreliable character are his youth and his lack of life experiences. His young age is an important factor to the fact that he cannot see things for what they really are and he has not really been affected by the views back in The 1830s. Throughout the novel, there is a lot of bias due to the fact that it is told in Huck's point of view. It is evident that he does not share the same morals and experiences as most do, a reliable narrator would tell both sides of the story as to inform the reader of all thoughts, not just their own opinion. Huck is also a very naive boy who doesn't always understand everything. As stated in the book, when Huck and Jim were traveling with the two con men, Huck did not realize they were con men. How could he? Huck has never met one to tell the tale. As the story progresses, Huck often talks about religion and inferences he makes about religion. "It was awful thoughts and awful words...and for starters I'd steal Jim out of slavery again and if I could think of anything worse, I would do that too because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go in for the whole hog" (Twain 317). This quote illustrates Huck's misunderstanding about religion. He believes that once you do something bad, you go straight to the "bad place". By even thinking about stealing Jim out of slavery Huck strongly believes he will be sent there. As a side note, Huck shows all the signs of a follower; he does not have a mind of his own. As a result, Huck is a slave to Tom. Whatever twisted plan Tom has, Huck is like a Lemming. He even says he "wanted him and me to be together" (Twain 2) in Hell.This proves how young and naive he is, and over all: an unreliable narrator. Although it has been clearly shown that Huck is an unreliable source, there is one reason as to why he might be a reliable one. Huck has the uncanny ability to be honest about anything. He tells the story as he sees it himself, without missing a detail. Above all, Huck is truthful to himself as to how he feels and how he feels about other people. At the beginning of the novel for example, Huck calls Jim "Miss Watson's big nigger" (Twain 4), which exemplifies how Huck really feels at that time and place. Although honesty is a an important contributing factor in determining whether Huck is a reliable narrator or not, the characteristics such as nativity, immaturity, and lack of experience outweighs honesty. Huck may not be the most reliable narrator but he still illustrates to the readers what life was like back in the late 1830's. This goes to show that people can change in views and understandings as they grow further apart from society and its influence.
- Savannah, Elizabeth, Kailyn
Your paragraph is very well written and has a lot of support, including many quotes. You are a little bit repetitive, repeating Huck's age as a factor, and you use some information that is unnecessary. Also, Huck does know that the "king" and "duke" are con men but decides not to tell Jim. We would like to know if you think that it was because of Huck's age or the influence others had on him that made him an unreliable narrator.
Zack More, Jake Sheldon, Luizangel Walle, Alfredo Cortez
Thank you for your recommendations, we find them really helpful in order for us to improve our paragraph. We feel that Huck’s age on the whole is what makes him an unreliable narrator. We found more examples about how his age is the contributing factor. Examples such as his naivety, lack of experience, and immaturity are due to his youth.