Huckleberry Finn’s Moral Compass

Nathan Walker Mr. Dickenson Period 3 1/7/12 Critic Keith Neilson writes, And so Huckleberry Finn ends, one of the saddest happy endings in literature. Jim is free, after an dire initiation that nearly gets him lynched. tom is al well-nigh killed, yet learns nonhing from the experience. But Hucks loss seems the superlative of all. After finally letting his nubble overcome all of the prejudices and moral inhibitions that society has put into his head, having determined to defy society to go whole hog to rescue his friend Jim, he meets Tom Sawyer and immediately crawls back under Toms Romantic Wing.Hucks character and moral nature seem violatedOne of the greatest characters in literature has been forced to go backwards and we feel cheated. For years, critics have argued over the ending of Huckleberry Finn. Critics tear apart theracial content, issues about gender and sexuality, and most interestingly the ongoing controversy over the final chapters. The debate remainsregardingwheth er or non Twain wrote the ending with a purpose, or if he that took an easy way out. For example, the ending comes abruptly.In addition, readers are upset abouthow Huck disappears and Tom reemerges. On the other hand, others feel that the ending is a masterpiece. Personally, I mess see both sides of the debate. On one hand, it seems that Twain created a masterpiece just to throw it away at the end. We see that Huck, who we were rooting for all along, has not changed and will continue to carry out Toms whims and fantasies. All the progress he has made with Jim has been destroyed. This is one of the manyaspects that make the novel picaresque. On the other hand however, I can see why Twain did what he did.In order to be honest with Hucks character, Twain could not have allowed Huck to become the hero. Furthermore, in the time period of the Southern 1800? s, if Huck had changed his ways, society would have been shocked. If society hated the book, Twains pass on would not have been s o wide spread as it was, as the book would have probably banned. Another possible idea is that Twain precious to make his readers wonder, and leave them to make their own decisions. One thing is convinced(predicate) however, either way you translate the ending Twain sure knows how to stir controversy.