The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

It is hard to read two Mark Twain books in a row and not compare the two books, especially the two books being Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn is a book made up of many small adventures. Out of the two books, I enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer much more. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows Huck Finn, who is running away from his Pa, and Jim, a slave trying to become a free man, as they travel along the Mississippi River. Along the river many crazy and outlandish things happen and the two runaways run into many interesting characters.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn did not hold my attention as did The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Although many different things were happening that kept the book moving along, I still felt that I did not have as good a connection as I did with Tom Sawyer. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn did have its moments of excitement, and most characteristic of Mark Twain, humour, but it was missing the element of basic childhood life that made Tom Sawyer so great. Sometimes the adventures in Huck Finn were a little too exaggerated and over-the-top for me. On the other hand, I was impressed with some of the plot lines that developed between Huck Finn and the slave, Jim, and their relationship to one another. I was also impressed with Mark Twain's use of plot development towards the end of the story that was not evident in Tom Sawyer.

I'm glad I read it and I will probably read it again at some later time.


-Scott