Twains Use of a Child in his Book
It is not by mistake that Mark Twain uses a thirteen year old as the main character in his book ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’. Huck Finn is a teenager and as the narrator in the book, there is definitely a certain effect that the author wanted to bring out. The book is set during a period when the U.S. was experiencing a lot of changes in its society and a young character was the best character to bring out these changes.
I believe that the author of this book had the idea that a child could bring out the different times that were being experienced. Huck Finn is a young boy, so there is a generation ahead of him. The author uses him to bring a contrast between the two and even three generations that exist during his time. This age difference between the young Huck and the adults is very important in the understanding of the events that take place.
By using a teenager, Mark Twain, was interested in the mischievous and cunning behavior of children. These character traits were crucial for the teenager because he used them to survive the harsh conditions that befell children during that time. For the events to be as interesting as possible, the author used this young character to show how one needed to be tactful and creative in order to survive during this period. An adult would not have been able to make the story as interesting as it is.
Calculate the cost of essay
Finally, an adult would have brought out a different story altogether, mainly because he is more sober and composed. An adult would not have been daring to do the things that a teenager would do, thus telling a different story than that intended by the author. More so, an adult would not have clearly portrayed the generational difference.