Huckleberry Finn – the Border Character
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The significance of Huckleberry Finn being a border character is that this allows him to realize Jims humanity. Huck is a border character because he lives as a part of the “sivilized” white society, yet he acts uncivilized. He is not educated. He does not see religion as all that important. He prefers to live outdoors without the rules of society. He is also different because he is a realist living among romantics. These differences from most whites gives Huck the ability to makes higher level moral decisions, thus he sees Jim as more than just property.
One way Huck is a border character is that he is uneducated. Huck shows that he thinks education is unimportant when he says, “I dont take no stock in mathematics, anyway At first I hated school, but by and by I got so i could stand it. Whenever I got uncommon tired I played hookey…” (Pg.15). Huck, unlike civilized white kids like Tom, just tolerates school, he does not see the importance of it. In his view, it is fine to just skip school if he does not want to go. He could care less about math and books, while Tom is so fond of books that he bases his life on what he reads. Education makes Tom and most other white children romantics, while Huck is a realist because of his lack of education, thus does not understand their imagination, or distorted views of reality.
Another way Huck is a border character is that he is not very religious in a time when almost all civilized whites were protestant. When the Widow Douglas attempts to teach Huck about religion he responds negatively, “…by and by she let it out that that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didnt care no more about him, because I dont take no stock in dead people” (Pg. 2). Huck does not care about the people of the bible, he is a realist and since all of the characters in the bible are dead, he does not see why he should care about them. Huck is only religious when he needs something, and he prays for it. But other than asking for things through prayer, he does nothing religious. Instead he is very superstitious, which is not seen from civilized white people in the book, but from slaves like Jim. So he has more in common with blacks spiritually than he does with white society.
Huck is a border character because he does not follow the rules of civilized society. Huck describes how he struggles under the rules of society, “The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldnt stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied” (Pg. 1). Huck prefers to live outside, to wear rags, and to live without manors and such things, but in order to live among civilized people he must change himself. It is too much for Huck, living in civilized society makes him miserable, so he leaves. He does go back, but only so he can be with Tom. Tom is the only reason he tolerates civilized society. This preference of not following traditional rules of society makes him more like a slave than a civilized white person.
Huck is a realistic person while most civilized people are romantics, this is a major factor in allowing Huck to see Jims humanity. When Huck goes to the circus he is appalled when other people take pleasure in seeing a mans misery and he thinks “It warnt funny to me, though; I was all of a tremble to see his [circus man] danger…” (Pg. 148). Huck, being a realist, sees the danger of the situation while other people in the circus are romantics and just have fun, not realizing