A Flawed Huck
Huck Finn is flawed because of his self conflict issues, due to deciding between nature and society. Ever since from the beginning of the novel, Huck has issued to the readers that he wants a change and to do things differently. However, the widow forbids it and scolds him to follow tradition and the ways she has taught him. This situation somehow relates to Nurse Ratched when Randall Patrick McMurphy first comes to the ward. Both the widow and Ratched strive to follow the tradition, when McMurphy and Huck want changes in their lives. When Huck's father takes him across the Mississippi River, the tradition is gone and the "father" life blossoms. The "father" life consist of no rules, swearing, laziness, and lack of respect, while the widow's "schooling" life consist of rules, manners, order, and respect. Life with father Finn is shown as nature; life with the widow is shown as society. He is conflicted because he questions where he belongs in life, but an average typical person would say that everyone goes through that and he's not conflicted. According to Arthur Miller, part of the tragic flaw is attempting to find one's rightful place in society. In this scenario, it's Huck who's conflicted between society and nature.
Due to Huck's inclining friendship with Jim, a runaway slave belonging to Miss Watson, Huck is once flawed again with the nature of conflict with himself versus society, as well as with himself. Being flawed is described as "blemished, damaged, or imperfect in some way". Realistically, a conflict is considered as an imperfection because it causes a blemish in one's life. So, if Huck is facing conflict, then he must flawed. He is flawed because he questions who he is. He questions where he belongs. He questions his own identity. In Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller states that even though an individual is flawed, that individual gains "a condition in which the human personality is able to flower and realize itself." In this scenario, Huck faces the opportunity to turn Jim in because it's the right thing to do. He knows it's the right thing, but due to his sound heart, Huck keeps Jim's promise as he wished that Huck would not turn him in after he escaped.
"They'll call me a low down abolitionist. I promised I won't tell." Not only is the friendship between Huck and Jim developing, but so is Huck's sound heart: He had placed his own values ahead, even though he may have thought that keeping Jim from being turned in was the wrong thing. But even though Huck is flawed through his conflicts with society and nature, he still has that hope to help build his character. Because Huck was a Coming of Age character, he still had that hope to overcome many obstacles and the past from before. He differs from Holden Caulfield, main character of Catcher in the Rye, because unlike Holden, Huck attempts to find out his identity, like Arthur Miller states in his essay. Holden on the other hand suffers from isolation and because of his mental mindset, he causes his own problems, making himself his own worst enemy. However, he does not realize that, so therefore he is also flawed with similar actions of Huckleberry Finn.
Due to Huck's inclining friendship with Jim, a runaway slave belonging to Miss Watson, Huck is once flawed again with the nature of conflict with himself versus society, as well as with himself. Being flawed is described as "blemished, damaged, or imperfect in some way". Realistically, a conflict is considered as an imperfection because it causes a blemish in one's life. So, if Huck is facing conflict, then he must flawed. He is flawed because he questions who he is. He questions where he belongs. He questions his own identity. In Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller states that even though an individual is flawed, that individual gains "a condition in which the human personality is able to flower and realize itself." In this scenario, Huck faces the opportunity to turn Jim in because it's the right thing to do. He knows it's the right thing, but due to his sound heart, Huck keeps Jim's promise as he wished that Huck would not turn him in after he escaped.
"They'll call me a low down abolitionist. I promised I won't tell." Not only is the friendship between Huck and Jim developing, but so is Huck's sound heart: He had placed his own values ahead, even though he may have thought that keeping Jim from being turned in was the wrong thing. But even though Huck is flawed through his conflicts with society and nature, he still has that hope to help build his character. Because Huck was a Coming of Age character, he still had that hope to overcome many obstacles and the past from before. He differs from Holden Caulfield, main character of Catcher in the Rye, because unlike Holden, Huck attempts to find out his identity, like Arthur Miller states in his essay. Holden on the other hand suffers from isolation and because of his mental mindset, he causes his own problems, making himself his own worst enemy. However, he does not realize that, so therefore he is also flawed with similar actions of Huckleberry Finn.