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Theme Of Struggles In Huckleberry Finn

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In fictional novels, character versus self is a common conflict that appears. A novel in which inner struggles are very common is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The main character, Huck, struggles with his moral decisions because what he has been taught differs from what he knows to be correct. By examining the novel, readers realize that Huck Finn struggles greatly with his sense of self and can see that through when Huck comes to terms with the fact that he is stealing Miss Watson’s slave, when he has to make the decision of what to do after Jim is sold, and when he debates on whether to leave or not when Aunt Sally is worried sick about Tom. One example of Huck Finn struggling with his inner self is when himself and …show more content…

Huck and Tom were out helping Jim escape when Tom got shot in the leg and had to stay and get help. When Huck came back to the Phelps’ the next day, Aunt Sally smothers Huck, tells him about how much she has been worrying, and questions about the whereabouts of “Sid.” Huck cannot tell her about Jim and the shotgun, so he lies and says he is not for certain which makes Aunt Sally worry even more. Aunt Sally has been a mother figure for Huck and he then realizes how much she cares about them and begins to feel terrible for lying to her. That night, Huck had planned to sneak out to visit Jim and Tom, but he did not finish. He explains, “..twice I went down the rod away in the night, and slipped around front, and see her setting there by her candle in the window with her eyes towards the road and the tears in them…” (285) Readers can see his struggle here as he debates between leaving and seeing Jim, but he feels morally obligated to stay with Aunt Sally as she grieves over the missing “Sid.” This conflict resolves with Huck staying at home with Sally, because he feels that he should not make her more worried than she already is because she has been so motherly and kind to him. In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the main character, Huck, has many character versus self type conflicts that include when Huck comes to terms with the fact that he is stealing Miss

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