Submitted by Elyssa

Forget Jerry Springer.  With family issues, cross-dressing, and a touch of homoeroticism, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an engaging, first person point-of-view set during the Civil War-era.  Considered a “Great American Novel” and one of the first to use common-day vernacular, Huck Finn has been highly contested novel, resulting in its current #4 slot on the Banned Books List. 

Huck Finn is our narrator, the typical misunderstood bad boy, living with two older women.  Until his alcoholic, abusive father returns, kidnapping Huck to his place in the woods.  In order to escape his father, Huck fakes his own death, taking a raft to a nearby island.  There he meets Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave, who explains why he needs to make it North––he was going to be sold and separated from his family.  Deciding to see if the situation is as precarious as it seems, Huck goes into town––dressed as a girl.  There he finds out that his “death” has made the rounds, but also Jim and Huck’s father are suspects.  At that moment, Huck decides to help Jim become free.

Faster then you can say “Brokeback Mountain,” Huck and Jim hop on a raft on the Mississippi River.  Even though you get the sense Jim loves Huck, it’s an interesting dynamic since they are of different races and power.  Jim has to agree with Huck’s decisions because Huck is white while he is a runaway slave.  In one pivotal scene, a dense fog separates them; afterwards, Huck plays a trick on Jim, convincing him it’s all a dream.  When the truth comes out, Jim’s disappointment makes Huck see Jim as a person and not as a “slave.”  Saving Jim now becomes a very real thing, and not just some adventure. 

Unfortunately, they end up not going North but deeper into Southern territory.  After a steamship overrides them, Jim and Huck are yet again separated, and Huck lands on shore, meeting the Grangerfords who have a long-standing feud with a neighboring family.  When a mini-war breaks out due to an elopement between the two families, Huck makes his escape.  He reconnects with Jim, and they come across two con artists, the Dauphin and the Duke.  The two men include Huck and Jim on their schemes; however, the Dauphin captures Jim, getting the reward money.

Huck discovers that Silas Phelps, Tom Sawyer’s uncle, has him.  Tom’s aunt mistakes Huck for Tom.  When Tom actually appears, he pretends to be a cousin and convinces Jim and Huck to an elaborate escape plan––one that fails, resulting in their capture.  A whole mess of secrets comes out: Aunt Polly (a different Tom Sawyer aunt) reveals who Tom and Huck are; Tom reveals Jim has been free this whole time (Miss Watson’s died); Jim reveals that Huck’s father is dead.  Knowing he doesn’t want to be civilized and tamed, Huck decides to head West.