narrator


 * How does Huck's** **//youth//** **affect his position as a narrator?****What** **//characteristics//** **does he have that allow him to be a** **//reliable narrator//** **?****What characteristics might make him an** **//unreliable//** **narrator?**

Within the novel, __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__, Mark Twain uses the youthful Huck as the narrator to convey an unaltered, first-hand account of life in the South. The adolescent narrator of 13, offers fewer biases than that of a more mature narrator. Elder narrators tend to express an event through opinions they develop, while younger narrators are apt to present relative information, lacking in prejudice. In thequote, “Pap he hadn’t been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for me,” it is evident that Huck has little relation or communication with his father (20). The absence of a role model, or a poor one at that, empowers Huck to possess a rather e xpansive perspective of Jim despite societal visions. However, Huck's independent, stubborn behavior towards his father causes him to opposehis father's veh e mant protests against "inferal, white-shirted free niggers"(43). Thus, inclining himself to welcome an idea rejected by his father. Without someone to guide him, Huck establishes his own ideas of the world around him. Even with an untarnished mind, Huck's youth also causes him to be naive. Huck's naive nature leads him to believe con-men to be dukes and kings, as seen in the quote, "So Jim and me set to majestying him, doing this and that and t'other for him, and standing up till he told us we might set do wn ." ( 136 ). Furthermore, due to the fact that Huck i s the only narrato r for the entirety of the novel , there is no way to determine how many "stretchers" are composed within the story(1). From an overall perspective, Huck is an honest and reliable narrator. U nfortunately, upon closer inspection, the source and accuracy of the work are put into question. Sabrina, Zoe, and Danielle Your answer was very good, and you used many tactfully embedded quotes, however later in the story Huck says “It didn’t take me long to make up my, mind that these liars want no king nor dukes”(120) therefore you may want to change your naïve argument we do not disagree that he is naïve but could you provide a better example?. Overall your response was very knowledgeable and enjoyable to read J Kaylee, Sabrina, and Mia.

Analysis of the Narration in __The Adventures__ __of Huckleberry Finn__ In Mark Twain’s novel, __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__, the narration by Huck was enriched due to his youth because it allowed the reader to experience his adventures through the eyes of a boy that is innocent, humble, and skeptical, while still exhibiting mischievous, impressionable, and loyal qualities. Huck’s innocence is a direct result of his meager 13 years of life, and is reflected in the ways in which he addresses the reader. One example of this in the novel is when Huck expresses his sympathy by saying that he is “sorry for them poor pitiful rascals” once the King and duke had been tarred and feathered (Twain 250). While Huck’s innocence presents the story in a more interesting manner, it also makes him a more reliable narrator because he is uncorrupted by the evils of society. Huck is also mischievous, with the tendency to be an avid liar, stating himself that the story he tells contains “some stretchers” lending to his unreliability as a narrator (Twain 1). One very distinguishing trait that Huck possesses is humility.In the novel, Huck does not refer to himself as clever or courageous, despite all of the adventures and obstacles he overcomes throughout his journey, and instead focuses on his adulation of Tom Sawyer in his narration, stating that if he “had Tom Sawyer’s head” he “wouldn’t trade it off” for anything that he could imagine (Twain 253). This trait could be seen both as a trait that makes Huck a more reliable narrator, as well as a slightly inaccurate one because he might underplay his own roles in a situation in order to maintain his humble manner. Being a skeptical person, Huck again asserts his role as a dependable storyteller by proving to the reader that he is not deceived by the antics of the King and the duke, or by the lies told by Tom Sawyer, by saying that he decided “that all that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer’s lies” and that he realizes “that they liars warn’t no kings nor dukes at all,” (Twain 16) (Twain 136). Another quality that can be considered a contribution to his trustworthiness or unreliability is Huck’s loyalty toward Jim and Tom Sawyer. Huck is unwavering in his faithfulness to Tom throughout his journey, and his dedication to Jim grows as the novel progresses. Huck’s devotion toward his friends means that he also directs more of his attention toward their actions, which will make his chronicle of their adventures far more accurate, especially since they are his first-hand accounts of what took place. However, Huck’s loyalty also indicates that he could be blinded by his devotion, as is exemplified by his continual acceptance of Tom’s eccentric schemes. All in all, we can conclude that Huck’s youth has a major role in his narration of __The Adventures of Huckleberry__ __Finn__, and that in general, with a few exceptions, Huck has proved himself to be a reliable narrator. Samantha, Zachary, and Monica's group We think you have great context and word choice, though some of your sentences were run-ons. Make sure to follow the prompt directions (it asked for a paragraph, you wrote three). You had great sentence variation. We would like to know if you believe Huck’s opposition towards his father influenced his perspective as a narrator. Sabrina, Zoe, and Danielle In response to Sabrina, Zoe, and Danielle We did feel that Huck's relationship with his father was an influencing factor upon his attitude as a narrator, however, while we found this to be a contributing factor, we did not consider it to be one of his //characteristics// that greatly impacted the narration. Samantha, Zachary, and Monica's group