Submitted by goodmorninga t3_127c550 in books
Just as the title says, here are my criticisms. Please humble me and point out where I may have let my bias get in the way of actual understanding. I love this book. I hate how it made me feel. I feel heartbroken by it.
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tldr: the ending was callous to me. Why is tom seen as some god? why did they do Jim like this?
my criticism:
Huck starts out as a naïve boy, following the whims of his friend, Tom. Huck went along with all of his crazy plans, just like in Adventures of Tom Sawyer. However, when Huck escapes civilization, and is accompanied by Jim, Huck begins to listen to the inner voice of himself, doing what he knows in his heart to do. Huck defied the ideology of his civilization and their notion that black people are below them. While on their adventures, Huck begins to transform into a more self-confident young man who learned to make tough moral decisions for himself and for Jim. The story flowed by the middle of the book, and was beautifully constructed and set up in the beginning, to make this story a revolutionary vision of freedom of thought for Huck Finn. Huck finn was a relatable character, while being white, he had an alcoholic father and was never really able to find his footing or place in the world before he escaped. That all changed along his journey, as we began to see Huck change, through his experiences, and heart-to-hearts with Jim. Jim was a beautiful depiction of what a beautiful soul looks like. Mark Twain’s humor is sadistic. I believe he wants us to think of him as “special” or “cool” for fooling us in the way he did, and for us to not take much seriously by the end of the book. I say this because all of Huck’s character development was thrown out the window once Huck reunited with Tom, and once again became Tom’s submissive shadow. Tom’s second appearance in the novel could have been permitted if Huck had learned something from his journey, and Huck could have stood up for himself and said “Tom this is a ridiculous, Jim’s life is at stake.” but he never once stood up for Jim and Huck continued to be the boy-disciple of Tom. Even at the beginning of the novel, I always found Tom Sawyer to be a one-note pony, his ideas weren’t even creative, they were just derivatives of Tom’s child-hood story books. Tom, even though he is depicted as 12 years old in the book, he was a depiction of a future sadistic, narcisistic sociopath who does not give a damn about Jim’s life, and believes anyone who stays from his notions are lesser-than and he will look at them with disgust. Huck even said in the book that Tom was the best “Superintendent,” and going by this as well, it makes Tom out to be an embodiment of a extremist government entity who inflicts pain on others and baffling principles for his own entertainment. I think even on paper, that doing this ending of the book was a horrible move on Mark Twain’s part. What happened to Jim’s daughter? Why was the ending “clarification” crammed in the last chapter? Why was everyone all willy-nilly that “oh Jim’s free! But still a slave! Oh, but Hes free guys and oh we learned nothing!” I hate how pretentiouly the name of the last chapter is written, “Oh we are gonna sound important by using roman numerals for all the chapters, but the last chapter will be CHAPTER THE LAST; Nothing More to Write.” like c’mon, This has got to be some kind of sick joke on the readers. I was so frustrated reading the final chapters which were drawn-out (an understatement) with the stupid failed plan of Toms, I wanted to skip them but I kept reading only because of Jim. I am disappointed in this book, but I am most disappointed in Huck, for not applying anything of what he had learned on his endeavor. I’m not disappointed in Tom though, because I’m not going to reason or debate with an obnoxious child who is a spoiled and entitled person. I hope Jim is okay. I feel horrible for him, for being treated like this only because he was born. I wish Mark Twain gave him a better ending. If I were to read this book again, I would only read up to the part until stupid Tom comes back in. Very bad taste in my mouth after this one, but if there is a main message it would be that, do not waste your time entertaining a crazy person’s ideas and follow your own moral compass on what you think is right.
I loved Huck Finn though. I loved this book. I didn’t mind the dialects, once you got into it the dialect became just a different slice of life that you understood. Jim’s dialect and quotes were very endearing to me, I adored the character of Jim, and rooted for him throughout the book. Some parts moved me to tears. This book was so well written, and that’s where my devastation came from by the end of it. Until I was halfway through the book, I thought Huck Finn was black. I must not have noticed where they said he was white until the book hinted at it in the middle, and I was confused for the next few chapters, and I chuckled because everyone else already knew and I just found out. Maybe a language barrier thing with the dialect that I didn’t pick up on till I was invested in the book. It was amazing to watch the transformation and growth of Huck. The rafts symbolism was very interesting and it being a travelling safe haven for the adventures of Huck and Jim was such a cool concept. The book didn’t try to be something it wasn’t, it was funny, bitter-sweet, and heart-breaking. I disagree with others who say this book is racist, it is quite the opposite. While I’m mad at Mark Twain, I can understand that he didn’t want Tom Sawyer’s actions to be well-received by readers, and it makes a statement that I can’t articulate at this late hour. All that I can say though is that this book is beautiful.
Boney__Danza t1_jedomm6 wrote
It's an important book to read for cultural literacy reasons, but it doesn't hold up all that well. I enjoy old books and movies, but most don't actually hold up well if you are expecting a similar experience to consuming contemporary media.