Before I address my theme, I must say "Chapter the Last" was quite confusing. I had to triple-check each piece of dialogue to see exactly who was speaking (Tom? Sid? Huck?...Aunt Sally? Aunt Polly?<-- are those two the same person...? Maybe...maybe not). The names kept going back and forth and I might have mixed them up. So...if I quote the wrong person, you know why.
The biggest instance of Coming-of-Age (because why save the best for last when you could just have the best, period?) would be when TomSidHuck tries to convince Aunt Sally that Jim deserves to be free (and technically already is): "They hain't no right to shut him up! Shove! and don't you lose a minute! Turn him loose! he hain't no slave; he's free as any cretur that walks this earth!" (Twain, 319).
I believe this ending event represents the epitome of HUCK'S (I really hope it was Huck who said the above quote) maturation. He states that there is no right to confine Jim and that he was as free as anyone else. This statement disregards the racial prejudice against Jim; Huck overcame those differences long ago and is now brave enough to express his view of Jim to others. And it is widely known that racial prejudice is a stubborn one, so congratulations to Huck Finn for seeing past it. So, Pap and Miss Watson died, Jim was set free for the second time, and Huck and Tom were able to return to their adventurous lives. #HappyEnding
All in all, Huckleberry Finn was able to steadily become more mature throughout the novel and see Jim as an equal (race seemed to be the main issue in the plot). Round of applause for Huckleberry Finn.
As for Aunt Sally....
I agree with you on the best part being Huck and friends trying to connvince Aunt Sally that Jim is an equal. It truly shows that he matured and has went through "Coming of Age".
ReplyDeletei really like your blog taylor! I like how you get all of the details in which huck and jim's relationship and maturation evolves. I think Huck trying to convince Aunt Sally that Jim is an equal is a huge step in maturation of Huck as a person. Jim is a huge sign of coming of age. I think it was a huge part of the book.
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