The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (vol. II)

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim and Huck find themselves constantly travelling between two worlds: the raft life and the shore life. On the raft, away from society, Jim and Huck live as close friends who spend their days in peace and happiness. Only when the two characters come ashore to the riverbank, to society, that violence and problems arise. Throughout this work, the reader watches as Huck’s view of Jim changes. The shift is not one from slave to free but from slave to human. Jim’s unending loyalty and love for Huck ultimately trump certain social norms Huck has been taught to believe. Late in the novel Huck remarks, “I knowed he [Jim] was white inside.” Huck’s description of Jim being white inside is in actuality a recognition of Jim’s humanity. The shift occurs because of the influence of the most basic of human emotions: love. Jim’s love for Huck wears away at the social norms which have been programmed into Huck. Therefore, perhaps the best reading of Twain’s work would be: In the newly reunited Union we must recognize that we are all travelling on one raft to a new destination in which mutual tolerance and love must be precedent. It is only our interactions with the old order of “civilized” society which breeds violence and difficulty.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (vol. I)

In his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, Fredrick Douglass makes countless observations on the impact of slavery on the human soul both for the slave and the slave owner. Douglass asserts that slavery not only degrades and dehumanizes the slave, but the slave owner is similarly corrupted. The issue of slavery is explored within Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the character of Jim and his relationship with Huck. In the work, Jim is one of the head slaves to Miss Watson. Huck and Jim first meet because Miss Watson took Huck in a kind of adopted son in hopes of civilizing him. The character of Miss Watson becomes a symbol for the civilized world for Huck. Her views on prayer, heaven and hell, education, etc are constantly being tested and examined by Huck. Interestingly, the “civilized” world is the one in which creates the world view which supports the system of slavery and all the injustices which result. Huck is ultimately confronted with the dilemma of accepting conventional morality and civilized life or to help his friend escape the inhumanity of his condition. Huck’s decision to go to Hell rather than allow Jim to be taken back to slavery is the summation of these underlying conflicts which Huck confronts and triumphs over.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (vol. III)

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is certainly a bildungsroman. The work focuses on the internal struggle within Harry during his adventures leading up to the final battle with Voldemort. Throughout the first half of the novel, Harry looks at the path which has led him to search for the Horcruxes and begins to ask serious questions. He questions whether the choices he has made in the past have been the right ones, whether the teachers he had in the past were the best, and whether his current path is the right. Harry’s doubt and disbelief render him nearly useless in the first section of the novel. However, the death of Dobby (485) becomes a catalyst for maturity for Harry. He formulates a plan, develops a sense of purpose, and proceeds with confidence in the path before and behind him. Harry’s greatest point of maturity occurs when he realizes he must die in order to stop Voldemort. Recognizing his own mortality and bravely facing his end (692), Harry boldly faces his challenges in a way which was impossible for him to do in the beginning of the work.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (vol. II)

The characters in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series were particularly interesting to me in the ways in which each character departed from the classical molds. The seventh installment of the series reveals that in Rowling’s work there are no purely good or purely evil characters. The wizard Dumbledore and the storyline he was involved in throughout the work continually fascinated me in the way in which it departed from the classical motif. In works of most classical Western literature, mentor to the hero is usually a person of endless wisdom and virtue. One can easily picture the blind ancient Greek prophet Tiresias always having the gift of fortune telling or Tolkien’s Gandalf being born a wise man. These characters are presented as having little to no faults, beyond sexuality, and always pure. However, the seventh book of the series reveals the dark past of Dumbledore, extra-literature words of Rowling describe his sexuality, and discussions with Snape demonstrate Dumbledore’s uncertainty. While the departure from classical models at times frustrated me, the change also made the character more life like to me. I am extremely close to my grandparents, who have all divorced and remarried. The stories of pre-divorce times when my grandparents engaged in heated arguments and were quite unpleasant to be around seem almost like fables to me. The grandparents I know now are incredibly loving individuals who are a wealthy of patience and wisdom. Harry’s revelation of his mentor’s troubled past deeply resonated with me as it reminded me of my own realizations about my grandparents.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (vol. I)

J.K. Rowling’s seventh installment of her highly successful Harry Potter book series proved to be an interesting work but left much to be desired. As a new comer to the series, I had only two basic ideas beginning the work: 1) as the seventh book, one infers that Harry has fought and defeated six villains/problems before making him a tested hero. 2) Harry has some special ability which must be developed in order to defeat the villain. However, the first half of the book finds Harry struggling with issues of his mission’s worth and even finding a course of action to take. His companion Ron remarks to Harry in desperation, “We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan” (307). The harsh assertion by Ron is quite accurate as Harry only formulates a firm sense of purpose and plan after the death of Dobby (page 485). I personally felt that the seventh installment of a hero series should wrestle with deeper issues in the heart of the hero. While Harry’s struggle to regain confidence in his mentor and his purpose was interesting, I think a deeper exploration of Harry’s sense of his own mortality (which was touched on at the end of the work) would have been more engaging.