University of Texas Press
Overreaching: Critical Agenda and the Ending of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author(s): Richard Hill
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Vol. 33, No. 4, Late Nineteenth-Century
Contextual and Psychological Configurations (WINTER 1991), pp. 492-513
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40754964 .
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CriticalAgenda
Overreaching:
and theEndingofAdventures
of
Finn
Huckleberry
RichardHill
has gone so
since the Ten Commandments
Possiblyno proclamation
Advenunheededinliterary
circlesas theauthorialedictthatcommences
Finn:
turesofHuckleberry
willbe prosePersonsattempting
to finda motivein thisnarrative
to finda moralin it will be banished;
cuted; personsattempting
to finda plotin it willbe shot.1
personsattempting
Whilemostreaders,even youngones, have transgressed
againstthe
second proscription,
some moderncriticshave violatedall threewith
Finnhas been describedas everything
abandon. Huckleberry
froma
a
manner
racist-sexist
with
all
of
to
biracial,homoerotic
diatribe,
romp
and
in
between.
theories
psychosocial,
historiopolitical, pan-mythological
The moregrandiosesuppositionstendtorunup againsta deflationary
thornin theendingofthebook,and thePhelpsfarmsegment,wherein
In reTomSawyerreenters
thestory,has occasionedmuchcontroversy.
centyearsthosetwelveshortchaptershave spawneda critical
industry
of theirown- an industrythisessay will attemptto sortand classify,
aimofrebutting
withtheparticular
thenegativereadingsand examining
thevariousagendasthatinspirethem.In theprocessthreecritical
questions will be considered:First,is the ending,as has so oftenbeen
dead end,fullof"flimsycontrivances"?
asserted,a thematic
Second,do
the last chapters"demean" or "reduce" the characters
of Huck,Jim,
and Tom?And third,is the endingan abdicationof authorialresponon Twain'spart?
sibility
As a concept,"The WeakEndingofHuckleberry
Finn"is a givenformost
TexasStudiesin Literature
and Language,Vol. 33, No. 4, Winter1991
©1991by the Universityof Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713
The EndingofHuckleberry
Finn
493
HamlinHilland WalterBlairsumup thepopularoutlook
moderncritics.
a newjustification
forthe
nicely:"Everyoncein a whilesomeoneoffers
lastchapters. . . buttheveryfactthatthisinsistenceis necessarysuggestsan uneasinesswhichthe endingcauses. . . . Whateveralibiscan
be offeredforit reducebothHuck and Jimin stature."2This idea of
reducedstaturewillbe discussedin depthlater;offargreater
ininterest
itiallyis the assumptionthatany defenseof the endingis a "justification"or an "alibi," as ifthelawfulopinionweresetin stoneand onlya
fewapostatesstood againstit. Such fierceconvictionwould certainly
have puzzled earliergenerationsof critics.Althoughmanydismissed
thebook as profaneor merelysensational,notone singledouttheending forthe utterdisdainso commonoverthe past fortyyears.Of the
T. S. Perry,
dozensof1885-1900essaysI haveexamined,onlyone critic,
The majority
dislikedtheendingin particular.3
ofearlyreviewers(discountingthose who dismissedthe book on moralgrounds)seem to
side
followBranderMatthews'swholehearted
approval:"The romantic
ofTom Sawyeris shownin mostdelightfully
humorousfashionin the
devices to aid in the easy escape of Jim,a
accountof his difficult
runawaynegro."4
During the years immediatelyfollowingTwain's death, when
"serious" criticalinterestin his workswas in its infancy,even H. L.
tookup thebannerforHuckleMencken,theprofessional
curmudgeon,
Finn.
He
was
stated
that
it
"one
ofthegreatestmasterpieces
berry
flatly
neithercomplaintagainsttheendingnor
oftheworld,"and he offered
concernoverTom Sawyer'sbehavior.5Not onlydid earlycriticsmost
starwho "stole the show" in the
oftenperceiveTom as the returning
best sense of the term,but Twainhimselfapparentlysaw Tom as the
strongercharacter.Huck was billedas "Tom Sawyer'sComrade" on
the coverof thebook,and thoughhe narratedand participated
in the
his
was
to
he
not consideredworthyof
two publishedsequels
story,
mentionin theirtitles.6
Modern criticswould seem to know better:in currentscholarly
gospel, Huck is consideredthe premierAmericanliteraryhero, a
shanghiedby that
quintessentialradicalspiritwho is unfortunately
rumbleof
selfishincarnation
ofbourgeoispiracy,TomSawyer.The first
in1932whenBernard
discontent
withtheendingsurfaced
moderncritical
De Votofoundthefinalchapters"farbelowtheaccomplishment
ofwhat
has gonebefore.Markwas oncemorebetrayed.. . . Nothinginhismind
enabledhimto understandthatthisextemporized
or training
burlesque
was a defacement
ofhispurerwork."7Hemingway
pickedup thistheme
"s
in Green
HillsofAfrica
a fewyearslaterand calledtheending"cheating.
In 1942DeVotoraisedthestakesagainby citingthePhelpschaptersas
themost"abruptand chillingdescent"ofthe novelin English.'
494
RichardHill
The escalationofcritical
withtheendingofHuckleberry
dissatisfaction
Finnwould evolvewithina generationintorealmsof criticaldiscourse
morearcanethaneitherDeVotoor Hemingwaycould have foreseen.10
The stageforthisrapidcritical
evolutionwas set,oddlyenough,bytwo
men who likedthe ending.In midcentury
forewordsto two separate
editionsofHuckleberry
Finn,T. S. Eliotand LionelTrillingweremildly
supportiveofthe "evasion" sequence,thoughneitherconsidereditof
in theirdiscussions.Trilling'sessayfeaturesone of
primary
importance
thefewtrulybrilliant
critical
commentson Huck's storyas a whole.In a
intellectual
to breaktheauthorialtabooagainst
straightforward
attempt
Finn,he writes:
findinga moralin Huckleberry
No one who readsthoughtfully
the dialecticofHuck's greatmoral
crisiswilleveragainbe whollyableto acceptwithoutsomequestion
and some ironythe assumptionsof the respectablemoralityby
whichhe lives,norwilleveragainbe certainthatwhathe considers
the clear dictatesof moralreason are not merelythe engrained
beliefsofhis timeand place.11
customary
Butas literary
fatewouldhave it,another,relatively
minorpoint-Trillthe
a
assertion
that
has
"certain
formal
ing's
ending
aptness"- would
attract
themostattention.12
Eliot'sessayis mostconcernedwithhisfamousgodliness-of-the-river
buthe mentionsin passingthat"it is rightthatthemoodofthe
theory,
end ofthebookshouldbringus backto thatofthebeginning.Or ifthis
was not the rightendingforthebook, whatendingwould have been
He expandsthisstatement
somewhatand assertsthattheendright?"13
is
"if not this ending, what?"
"unconscious
but
Eliot's
art,"
ing
remarkhas been isolatedand interpreted
by variouscriticsas evidence
ofintellectual
sloth-or, as we shallsee, of somethingeven worse.
The firstfullyrealizedattackon the endingofHuckleberry
Finncame
fromLeo Marx,who presentsa two-part
to
attack
agenda:
"reactionary"
and toprovethattheending"jeopardizesthesignificance
criticism
ofthe
entirenovel"14(emphasisadded). To addressthelattertargetfirst,
itis
Marx
to
out
was
that
not
in
important point
using "significance" the
sense thatearliercriticsunderstoodit. In his conception,
Twain'sartful
attackon falsepietyand blindconformity
was really,withoutthat"bad
burlesque" ending,a dialecticagainstbourgeoisAmerica,a dialectic
that,ifithad notbeenbotched,couldhaveprovidedclear(thoughpain1S
ful)answersto "complexquestionsof politicalmorality."
Marxbeginsby claimingthat"all but a handful"of "hundreds" of
collegestudentswithwhomhe had discussedthebookfoundtherescue
of Jimdissatisfying.16
My experiencefourdecades laterwas quite dif-
The EndingofHuckleberry
Finn
495
ferent:none of the studentsin mycourseon narrative
literature
were
botheredby therescue,thoughseveraldid have troubleacceptingthe
coincidencethat,ofall thethousandsoffarmsalongtheMississippibetweenMissouriand Louisiana,Jimwas prisonerin the veryone that
houseddistantrelativesofTom Sawyer,who justhappenedto be visitingthemforthefirsttimein his lifeon theveryday thatHuckarrived.
Thisfeatureoftheplotalwaysseemedto me to be themostdefenseless elementof the story,but Marxis aftermore"significant"game.
Miss Watsonis his firsttarget:she is "The Enemy,"therepresentative
of"valleysociety"and "a perfect
specimenofthedominantculture."17
Marx sees her freeingJimas a capitulationon Twain's partand her
and reprehensible
behavioras patentlyunrealistic
fora pious hypocrite
slaveholder.HenryNash Smithsecondsthisviewwhenhe asks,"Who
can imaginethe scenein whichMiss Watsondecidesto liberate[J]im?
Whatwerehermotives?"18
be portentous
Butmusttheold spinster'schangeofheartnecessarily
or a symptomof authorialreaction?Criticscould, if theywere more
a last piece droppinginto
open-minded,see it as finecraftsmanship,
fill
Huck'
s
view
ofhercharacter.Despite
to
out
two-dimensional
place
his problemswith"valleysociety,"SamuelClemensknewand had affectionforseveralpeople like Miss Watson.19Thoughboth Jimand
Huck complainthatMiss Watson"pecks on [them]all thetime,"she
was certainly
no brutaloverseeror SimonLegree.We knowfromJim's
thathe was marriedwithchildren("Po little'Lizbeth,po'
conversation
littleJohnny"),and fromthe storyabouthis daughterand the scarlet
fever,we can assumethathe was providedwithsomesortofprivateliving quartersforhis family.Miss Watsongave himlatitudeenoughto
earn his own moneyand to engage in "speculat'n'," and his cattledrivingdutieswereso looselysupervisedthathe was notmissedfrom
dawn untilafterdarkon theday he ran away (53-55).
MissWatsonwas, in short,one ofthose"Northern"Southerners
(like
theWilksgirls)who,intheirratherquaintand twistedsocialcosmology,
elevatedthemselves
abovethosefromtheDeep Southwhoownedplantations.As such,it is reallyno wonderthatherplan to sell Jimhardly
gotpastthetemptation
stage.As CatherineZuckertpointsout:
WhentheyarguethatMiss Watson'schangeofheartat theend of
thenovelis incredible,
neitherH. N. SmithnorLeo Marxpays attentionto the factthatJimrunsbeforeMiss Watsonhas entirely
madeup hermind.He tellsHuckthat"I hearold missustellde widdershe gwyneto sellme downto Orleans,butshedidn'twantto,but
she couldgiteighthund'd dollarsforme, en itwuz sicha big stack
o' moneyshe couldn'resis!De widdershe tryto githerto say she
496
RichardHill
wouldn't do it,but / neverwaitedtohearde res.I litout mighty
quick,I
tellyou" [53;emphasisadded byZuckert].MissWatson'sChristian
morals,rigidand strictas we know fromHuck, stand against
materialism.
We do notknowthatshe actuallydecidedto sell Jim
overhersister'sopposition.In anycase, she definitely
had an attack
ofconscience.20
Marxhas other"significant"
besidesthoseassociatedwith
complaints
Miss Watson.His nextis thatTomand Huck's extensivepreparation
to
tooexprovide"a 'gaudy' atmospherefortheescape" is "toofanciful,
and itis tedious." ForMarx,thewholeaccountoftheboys'
travagant;
vastlaborsunderthenoses ofthePhelpsesfailsas burlesque:itis "out
of keeping,"and "the slapsticktonejars withtheunderlying
seriousness of the voyage."21But Marx's indignant,"What is [thisbad burlesque] doinghere?" can be answeredsimplyenoughby mosttwelveyear-oldreaders.The Tom/Huck/Aunt
Sally dynamiccontinuesthe
same mannerof boy versusmother/older
sisterburlesquethatTwain
has presentedthroughout
thenovel,including
passagesin the"serious"
and
Wilks
This
Grangerford
chapters.
particular
componentofthestory
demonstrates
the
wide
between
how old womenand
beautifully
gulf
view
the
natural
that
world,
youngboys
especially
partofitcomposed
ofinsects,rats,and snakes.AuntSally,probablybecauseshewas so unas to be introducedin a "questionable" section,has been
fortunate
over
in the
passed
bycriticsfordesignationas thebestfemalecharacter
novel,a titleusuallyreservedforJudithLoftus. I thinka close reading
supportstheidea thatSallyPhelpsis a moredevelopedversionofMrs.
Loftusand as such is one oftheforemost
ofall Twain'sfemalecharacters.Huck's blandnarrative
at
puzzlement herescalatingpanicis hilarious even afterseveralreadings,yetthewildhumorofherconfusionis
temperedwitha finepathoswhenhersentimental
qualitiesare played
her
vexations.
against
Whatis also goingon here is a beautifully
craftedcomédiebuildup
underscored
withHuck's tensionas he sees Tom's plansinchingslowly
intodangerousterritory.
Marxand his disciplesseemto
Unfortunately,
find,in Mencken'swords, "humor and sound sense essentiallyanand moreunfortunately,
as DeVoto pointedout decades
tagonistic";22
areunqualifiedcriticsofpainting. . . [and]the
before,"the color-blind
solemnhave been grantedauthority
abouthumor."23
Marxfinds"much moreseriousgroundfordissatisfaction
thanthe
Miss
in
of
Watson"
his
notion
Huck
and
that
unexplainedregeneration
Jimbecome "comic characters"in the ending. Though Huck has
maturedsocially,over the courseof the firstthirty-one
chapters,to a
in
with
Marx's
the
critic
feels
thatHuck
degree keeping
expectations,
Finn
The EndingofHuckleberry
497
role." The "traitswhichmadehimso ap"regressesto thesubordinate
pealinga heronow disappear";he "submitsin awe to Tom's notionof
whatis amusing[and]makeshimselfa partyto sportwhichaggravates
Jim'smisery."24
Manycriticshave advancedthisidea, but does Huckreallyfalloutof
intheending?Certainly
he is in awe ofTom: "Whata head for
character
If
I
a
have!
had
Tom
to
just boy
Sawyer'shead I wouldn'ttradeitoffto
be a duke,normateofa steamboat,norclownin a circus,nornothingI
can thinkof" (291-92).Thisis no new attitudeon Huck's part;suchadthe book. As the storybegins,
mirationis well distributed
throughout
Huckis at thewidow'sso thathe mayremainin Tom's society.He tells
Miss WatsonthatifTom goes to Hell, he wantsto go too because "I
wantedhimand me to be together"(4).
Even aftertheraidon the SundayschoolpicnicconvincesHuck that
therationaleforit is "one ofTom Sawyer'slies" (17), he continuesto
admireTomand to comporthimselfas he imaginesTomwould. And it
seems reasonablethathe should. Tom Sawyermaybe an unpopular
notionsmayhave evenirfigurein modernacademia,and his romantic
ritatedhiscreator,butto thecitizensofSt. Petersburg,
he is a demigod
-the boy braveenoughto accuse Injun Joepubliclyand to save the
deathin thecave. Tomis notonlythe
judge's daughterfroma horrible
and
kid
in
smartest
hoardof
town,he is enrichedbya fantastic
toughest
robbergold thatenableshimto thumbhis nose at all theWillieMufferson-typeswho previouslydisdainedhim. In addition,he is the unon theliterature
thatboysenjoy,and as a
challengedscholarly
authority
of
the
seems
hoax
to be the national
(which
practitioner
imaginative
in
Twain
is
he
the
also
country),
sport
village'spremierartiste.
Huck is certainlypragmaticwhen comparedto Tom, but he has
alwaysheld artistic
aspirationsas a hoaxerhimself,and he displaysno
smalltalent.He can tellamazinglycomplexyarnsand inventelaborate
plotsat a second's notice,and he does so on a dozen occasionsin the
he usuallyacknowledgeshis menbook. Afterhis finerperformances,
tor:when he pulls offhis elaborateself-murder
(arguablyhis mostartistic"dodge"), he wishesTom werethereto see it (41), and whenhe
tellsJimaboutit,JimsecondsTom's claimto highauthority:
"He said
Tom Sawyercouldn'tgetup no betterplan thatwhatI had" (52). Huck
uses theirmutualadmiration
ofTom's "style"tocoaxJimintoboarding
the WalterScott(81) and congratulates
himselfupon gettingthe gold
fromthekingand dukewith"I reckonedTomSawyercouldn'ta doneit
no neaterhimself.Ofcoursehe woulda throwedmorestyleintoit,butI
can't do thatveryhandy,notbeingbrungup to it" (248).
HuckobviouslymisseshisbestfriendTom- he neverconsidersJimas
such,as muchas LeslieFielderand otherswouldliketomakethematch
498
RichardHill
-and as JamesM. Cox pointsout,he wantstobe likeTomwheneverhe
Tom's
can, orwheneverhe is not"livingon too thina marginto afford
luxuriousromances."25
setthestageforTom's grandcomicenAlthoughTwainhas carefully
a moreliterary
venue.Likemanyothersconcerned
trance,Marxprefers
withthe "significance"of the novel, he desperatelywants Huck to
grow up fast,at least in the area of social awareness. This desire
promptshimto makemuchof Huck's rejectionof the SundaySchool
raidat thebeginning:
how are we to believe thata year laterHuck is capable of awestrucksubmissionto thefarmoreextravagant
fantasieswithwhich
Tom investsthe mock rescue of Jim?. . . Huck leaves Tom and
the A-rabsbehind,along withthe Widow, Miss Watson,and all
ritualin whichnice boys mustpartake.. . .
the pseudo-religious
to returnto thatmoodjoyously
is to portraydefeatin the guise of
victory.26
forthistheory,Huck,as we have seen,has lostnoneof
Unfortunately
his admiration
forTomthroughthewholeseriesofriveradventures,
or
"sad initiations"on whichCox concentrates
elsewhere.He even cites
on the "significant"
Tom's authority
matterofconscience,a supposed
his
"If
of
product
post-Tommaturity: I had a yallerdog thatdidn't
knowno morethana person'sconsciencedoes I would pison him. It
takesup moreroomthanall therestofa person'sinsides,and yetain't
no good nohow.Tom Sawyerhe saysthesame" (290).To expectHuck
and Tom Sawyeris to
to giveup instantly
bothhis ongoingpersonality
the
his
of
tear
decision
to
push
epiphanyaspect
up the letterto Miss
Watsonintotheexcessesofmodernsocial-agendafiction.
BruceMichelsonagreeswiththepopularviewthatHuck's "passivity
in theseclosingchapters,his reversion. . . oughtto troubleus"; noneHuck's character
theless,he resistsMarx's criticalurge to strengthen
when he pointsout thatto makeHuck disdainTom and suddenlyact
likethematureman"we mightwanthimtobe" wouldbe "cheatingindeed," for"Huck has come as faron his moraljourneyas a plausible
boy ofthattimecould."27
ReadersconcernedwithJim'splight(especiallythosecriticswho are
moreworriedabout it than eitherHuck or Jimseem to be) mightbe
disappointedin Huck when he takes timeofffromthe rescueto go
orto stealwatermelons,
orto plugup ratholes.Theymaychafe
fishing,
when Huck obeys Uncle Silas's orderto go home, whichleaves Jim
stuckwithTom in theheatofthemanhunt,or whenHuck obeysAunt
Sally'swishthathe notleave thatnight.Buteach ofthesechildishacts
The EndingofHuckleberry
Finn
499
(or refusalsto act) is trueto thefactthatHuck is, afterall, a fourteenyear-oldboy who, as AlfredKazin pointsout, "must steal fromthe
adultworldthepower,butalso thefun,he needs to keep feelinglikea
boy."28Huck is also a fourteen-year-old
boy who is feelingrelatively
safeforthefirsttimein months.Tom Sawyeris on thejob, so Huckcan
affordto relax.
Butwe shouldbyno meansconcludethatHuckis in helplessthrallto
Tomor thathe has lostall humanity.To declareHuck's "moraldeath"
underTom's spell as Harold Simonsonsolemnlyintones,29
or to read
some sortof "tragicloss of self" intothe plot deviceof Huck's using
Tom's name(as do Marx,Smith,and severalothers),is to ventureinto
intellectual
exercisestoo separatedfromthe textto be takenseriously.
As RichardP. Adams, in his discussionof the generaltendencyof
Twain's criticsto bend thematicpatternsintoagendacizedplots,aptly
observes:"When a criticgetsthatfarouton a limbitis notnecessaryto
shoothim."30
Butperhapswe stillowe itto Huck to rehabilitate
his reputation
after
all the slander.Firstof all, he has alwaysbeen amiablyinclinedto let
associateshave theirown way as long as doingso prostrong-minded
motesgeneralharmony.He did itwithPap and laterwiththekingand
whenhe says,"I see
duke,so whynotwithTom?Huck is in character
in a minute[Tom'splan]was worthfifteen
ofmineforstyle,and would
makeJimjustas freea manas minewould,and maybegetus all killed
besides.So I was satisfiedand said we wouldwaltzin on it" (292).The
thatHuck has finalapprovalof the plan31is an important
implication
in
a
forTom,Huck
mosaic
ofevidencethat,despitehisadmiration
piece
at least theoretically
retainscontrolof the operation.While allowing
Tomroomto "spread himself"(since,afterall, thewholethingis supposed to takeonly"about a week," 294),Huckreservestherightto end
ifanything
theelaborations
goes wrong.Farfrombeing,as Marxsees it,
"submissiveand gullible" and "completelyunder Tom's sway,"32
Huck contradicts
at times)and challengeshim
Tom (even sarcastically
As Alan Gribben,
on severaloccasionswhen the situationwarrants.33
abone ofthefewcriticswho disagreethat"Huck Finnis completely,
in
to
out:
thralldom
Tom's
solutely
bidding,"points
an unjaundicedreadingof the texts[bothTomSawyerand HuckleFinn]confirms
berry
quitethereverse:thatHuck resistsTom at virin
turn
their
tuallyevery
manycolloquies.Itis truethatTomusually
winshispoint,relying
in extreme
cases on hisprinted"authorities"
-but he nevergainsHuck's acquiescenceand cooperationuntilhe
has rephrasedhis argumentin termsthatsuit Huck's notionsof
and reason.34
practicality
500
RichardHill
The factthatCorporalHuck findsout all too soon thathe has allied
himselfwitha generalwillingto ferryhis troopsover the edge of an
AlexandreDumas/Walter
Scottromanticwaterfallprovidesboth the
narrative
tensionand thehilarity
(forthosewitha senseofhumor)ofthe
tosetup thosetwinjoltsofreality:
episode.Thecomedyworkssplendidly
fifteen
farmersin the parlorwithguns and, later,the bulletin Tom's
leg. The pointhereis that,withall hisquirks,Huckis muchtruerto the
textualbuildup of his characterin Twain's endingthan criticswho
assume a higherknowledgeof "thematicunity"would have him.As
Michelsonpointsout: "The book would certainly
be tidierif Huck's
were
the
Mark
Twain
did notsacriat
but
end,
boyishness
utterly
gone
ficehisbestcharacter
forthesakeoftidiness,and we shouldbe thankful
forthat."3*
ButwhatofJim?Does his character
reallydegenerateintothatof an
"end man at a minstrel
show" or "submissivestage-Negro,"as Marx
and so manyothercriticshave asserted?Marx feelsthatin the final
fromhumanity:
chaptersJimsuffers
nothingless thana de-evolution
On the rafthe was an individual,man enoughto denounceHuck
when Huck made himthevictimof a practicaljoke. In theclosing
episode,however,we lose sightofJimin themaze offarcialinvention.He ceases to be a man. . . . Thiscreaturewho bleeds inkand
feelsno pain is somethingless thanhuman.36
Marxscornsthefactthat"Jimdoesn't seem to mind[theevasion]too
and
ittoJim's"dehumanizingtransformation"
much,"forhe attributes
the "discordantfarcialtone" of the ending.HenryNash Smithalso
speaksofJim'sbeing"reducedtotheleveloffarce,"butI assertthatJim
is smarter,
morehuman,and muchmorepragmatic-bothbeforeand
aftertheevasionepisodes- thanMarxor Smithhave noticed.
David L. Smithsums up the generalunderstanding
of Jim'spreas
character
shrewd,
Phelps
"compassionate,
thoughtful,selfand
and
when
he
he
notes
thatJimexwise,"
sacrificing,
goes deeper
to his
common
attitudes
about
behavior"
ploits
"superstitiousNegro
in
As
cites
scenes
which
uses
Smith
the
Jim
early
advantage. proof,
and notes
Tom's pranknickelto raisehis statusin theslavecommunity
withHuck
in "wilyand understated
economicbartering"
Jim'striumph
and
hair
ball.17
overthecounterfeit
the
quarter
Thoughhe does notmentionitin hisessay,David Smith'sconclusion
that Jim"clearly possesses a subtletyand intelligencewhich "the
ΛΗ
In
'[stage]Negro'allegedlylacks" leads intoa stilldeeperobservation.
the riverscene whereHuck decidesthathe mustgo no further
in the
"crime"ofhelpinga slaveescape,-whe paddlesoffin thecanoe,osten-
Finn
The EndingofHuckleberry
501
siblyto findout whethertheyare nearCairobut reallyto turnin Jim.
HenryNash Smithnotes in his discussionof raftdynamicsthatJim
"seems to guess whatis passingthroughHuck's mindand does what
Thispercepand gratitude."40
he can to invoketheforceoffriendship
canbe gainfully
tiveobservation
expandedifwe imagineJim'sfeelingof
impotenceas he perceivesthewhiteboy'sinnerturmoil.Whatamazing
presenceofmindhe showsas he adroitlymanipulatesHuck's feelings:
"Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n'forjoy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts
o'Huck; I's a freeman,en I couldn'teven ben freeefithadn'tben for
Huck;Huckdoneit.Jimwon'teverforgit
you,Huck:you's de bes fren'
Jim'severhad; en you's de onlyfren'ole Jim'sgot now" (125). This
psychologicallyaware inducement,probablysuggested to Jimby
Huck's new willingnessto treathim as a humanand even "humble
himselfbeforea nigger,"takes "the tuck" out of the boy. As Huck
waversin his decision(hisinnerturmoilmade evidentto thehypersensitiverunawayslaveby a slowingdown in his canoe paddling),Jimincreasesthe pressurewith:"Dah you goes, de ole trueHuck; de on'y
whitegenlmandat everkep' his promiseto ole Jim"(125).
thatJimis ableto employbothsidesofthe
Thispassage demonstrates
naturethathisslaverolehas forcedupon him.He is thewise
adult-child
on a boy,and at thesametime,
adult,skilledat usingchildpsychology
he is a powerlesschild(slave) who has learnedthe hard way to use
not brawn,to manipulatethe giant(white)creatureswho
subterfuge,
intellectual
rulehim.Straightforward
argumentwillnot do: in a child,
is "upity." Whenin doubt,Jim
a
in
it
is
"smart
slave,
alecky";
arguing
and manhoodintoa seemingchildlike
mustsublimatehis intelligence
passivitywhilehe controlsthesituationas besthe can.
This readingwould probablyseem reasonableto mostof the critics
withwhom I have disagreed;however,whereasMarx,HenryNash
thatJimabdicateshis "manhood" inthe
Smith,and othersfeelstrongly
I
would
that
so
arguethatnone ofJim'scourage,
they despise,
ending
and
intelligence, humanitydisappearonce he is "Tom's prisoner."If
thefinalchaptersprovehimmoreshrewdand/ornoblethan
anything,
actuponcaptureis to exposethekingand duke,an action
ever.His first
an inclination
towardrevengenotfoundin passive
thatdemonstrates
is
characters.
two-dimensional
Jim hardlysubmissivehere,as we can
withthatofHuck,
his attitudetowardretribution
see whenwe contrast
who is willingto continueplayingthe cowed childto thosemonsters
even when he has nothingto lose: "I wantedto stopJim'smouthtill
thesefellowscouldgetaway. I didn'twantno troublewiththeirkind"
(275).
to provethathe has lostnone ofhis shrewdJim'sfirstopportunity
comeswhen he is surprisedby Tom and Huck in
ness and intelligence
502
RichardHill
Tom's plan to foolthewitch-haunted
his hut.He quicklycomprehends
and he playshis partin theruseperfectly
old turnkey,
(296). Certainly
Jimneedscheeringup in thischapter,buthissituationis notso bleakas
would have us believe.He knowsthathis captors
some commentators
arerelying
on a falsehandbilltolocatehis "owner,"whichwillgivehim
forhe is not
valuabletime.Andtheprospectsforescapelookpromising,
he
is "looking
a
in
maximum
situation.
Meanwhile,
security
exactly
and
he
is
and
over,
well-fed,
suppliedwith
healthy";
prayed
hearty
and
that
Huckis close
He
tobacco
of
too,
knows,
(298-312).
plenty pipes
if
can.
will
him
he
and
has
the
reason
to
hope
boy
help
by
Butsuddenlya wholenew worldofpossibilities
opensup. Hereis not
in
the
of
ensconced
Huck,
family hiscaptorsbutTom
only
miraculously
and
wellbrilliant
awesome
TomSawyer,herononpareil
as
the
Sawyer
"If
hear
him:
ofSt. Petersburg,
anydigginggoingon nights,
you
telling
it's us; we're goingto set you free"(297). SmallwonderthatJim,like
Huck, relaxesa bit in these finalchapters;afterwhat he has been
he is, whilestillanxioustoescape,naturally
pronetooptimism
through,
and disinclinedto questionHuck or Tom.
someIt could even be arguedthatJimis, underthe circumstances,
whattoo assertive.The nexttimehe sees theboys,Tom- brilliant
Tom,
him
his
"Tom
he
showed
how
richTom- virtually
freedom:
guarantees
and
him
all
frills
and
set
no
would
down
told
be,
unregular[a
escape]
about our plans, and how we could alterthemin a minuteany time
therewas an alarm;and nottobe theleastafraid,becausewe wouldsee
he gotaway,sure.So Jimhe said it was all right"(309).
he said itwas "all right":toJim(and Huck),Tom Sawyer's
Naturally
"sure"is a sacredguarantee.Tomalso promisesJimfameand gloryas a
notnecessarily
loston someonewho has,
royalprisoner-a proposition
like Huck, alwaysadmiredTom's "style." But whereasmostmen in
to
Jim'sposition-blackorwhite-wouldhave enduredalmostanything
find
has
fault
when
Tom
a
the
to
such
courage
keep
patronhappy,Jim
prisonercomplainsaboutthe
beginsto "spread himself."The official
the rats,the spiders-and he positively
coat of arms,the inscriptions,
rebels at rattlesnakes:"I's willin to tackle mos' anything'at ain't
in heahforme to
butefyouen Huckfetchesa rattlesnake
onreasonable,
is
all
shore"
assertive
adulthere,
I's
dat's
to
tame, gwyne leave,
(325).Jim
let
it
let
it
and Tompromptly
retreats
then
with,"Well,
go,
go, "which
much
less than
his
that
Tom
dominates
"subordinates"
suggests,first,
somecriticschargeand, second,thatJimis in a morepowerfulposition
thanMarxand otherscareto note.Jim,likeHuck,has reservedtheright
wheneverthe need arises.
to call offTom's elaborateovermanagement
In short,Jim'swilland mindhave by no meansbeen stolenfromhim
bya capriciousauthoror a cruelboy. So longas things"ain't onreason-
The EndingofHuckleberry
Finn
503
to stickwithTom.He knowsthatphase
able," itis in Jim'sbestinterest
twooftheescape- theworldbeyondthePhelpsfarm-willbe infinitely
withoutTom's resources.Besides, even when Jimhas
moredifficult
onions in his coffee,bugs in his bed, and no end of tediousand/or
itseemsreasonablethathe wouldfinditdifridiculoustaskstoperform,
ficultto arguewithsomeonewhomhe has alwaysadmired,especially
when thatsomeoneseems so absolutelypositivethathe has provided
"moregaudierchancesthana prisonereverhad in theworldto makea
nameforhimself"(328). All theseconsiderations
Jim
notwithstanding,
a character
as he has beenthroughout
thenovel;
is atleastas substantial
"man enough" to takelittleon trustand to proclaim
he is consistently
thathe "wouldn'tbe a prisoneragain,notfora salary"(331).
in theendingofthe
As to thesupposedloss ofJim'snoblecharacter
book, his nobilityis nowheremoreevidentthanin the climaxof the
escape. WhereasearlierJimhas givenofhimselfin smallways,suchas
what
standingextrawatcheson theraft,in thefinalchaptershe forfeits
is probablyhis last chanceforfreedomin orderto help the old doctor
operateon Tom. Moreover,when he is drivenback to the farmwith
blows, loaded down withchains, and threatenedwith hanging,he
refusesto say a wordto implicatehis accomplices,even thoughat this
a justifiable
resentment
againstTom
pointhe mightwell be harboring
(352).
of Jim's
A slightlyless noble,but no less interesting
interpretation
is also possible;we can, ifwe lookclosely,see morebesidesa
character
in JimwhenTwaingiveshimthefinal"nub"
fullmeasureofhumanity
in the story.Jim'stimingin revealingto Huck thatPap was the dead
man in the floatinghouse suggestsmore,not less, shrewdnessthan
believethatJim'sbeingset
in theearlierchapters.Manycritics
anything
but it was Jimwho
freeby Miss Watsonmakesthe storyanticlimatic,
anticlimatic
secretfromthe hero of the
withheldthe mostimportant
book: "Doan' you 'memberde house datwas float'ndown de river,en
deywuz a manin dah, kiveredup, en I wentin en unkiveredhimand
didn'tlet you come in? Well, den, you kin gityo' moneywhen you
wantsit,kase dat wuz him" (361-62).
Withthis,Jim'slast speechin the novel,we mustconsiderthe idea
and
thattheentirejourney-fromJackson'sIslandon, withall itsterrors
heartaches-has been completelyunnecessaryso faras Huck is concerned.IfJimhad toldhimthatPap was dead, Huck could have gone
back,recoveredhis money,and livedthetrulyfreelifefromwhichPap,
and Pap alone,had alwayskepthim.So whydidJimnotmentionitunreasonis thatifHuckwerefreeto go back,
tilnow?One verypragmatic
where would thatleave Jim?One could argue thatJimdid not tell
becausehe wished,in a fatherly
way,to protectHuckfromthesadness
504
RichardHill
of losinghis real father,but Jimpromptlyrevealsthe "gashly" truth
whenthereis no moredangerofhis beingabandoned.Untilthen,the
thatwhiteboyand "dasn't tell."
desperaterunawayslaveclearlyneeded
The argumentthatonlyan emasculatedparodyof Jimwould abide
Tom's nottellinghimhe was freeis weakerin thislight.Afterall, Jim
had his own interesting
littlesecret.But whetherwe see nobilityor
shrewdnessas Jim'soutstandingtrait,he is, in the last scene of the
dollarsfor
book,freeatlastand awareofthefact.He has beenpaid forty
threeweeks' work,and Tom is no doubtplanningto buyhima steamboattickethometo see hiswifeand children.Thisis simplyno timefora
wise adultlikeJimto show irritation.
A productof "raised consciousness"Hollywoodor a mass-market
paperbackversionof the storywould of coursepresentus witha Jim
who speaksperfect
Tomand Huckinrelativemorality,
English,instructs
outwitshiscaptorsat everyturn,and single-handedly
exposesSouthern
in
all
its
even
But
with
full
the
modern
he
treatment,
slavery
hypocrisy.
would be no moreof a man- a "compassionate,shrewd,thoughtful,
and wise" man- thantheJimthatTwainportrayed
in
self-sacrificing,
the ending of Huckleberry
Finn.Jimneitherloses his humanitynor
becomes a "stage Negro" in the finalsection;to claim eitherpoint
withoutreservation
is to ignoreevidence.
2
Ifwe are willingto lookbeyondthecritical
clichéofthe"bad endingof
a
we
can
see
clear
rationale
forHuck's and Jim'sconFinn/'
Huckleberry
ducttherein.ButsurelyTomSawyer,theoft-cited
villainofthefinalsecrailsat Tom's
tion,deservessome censure-or does he? Marxcertainly
business."41
Kazin
calls
a
him
David
"brat."42
"preposterousmonkey
Smithfeelshe is a "distasteful
a
all
is
of
that
interloper," representative
odious in the "southerngentleman,"and speaks disparagingly
of his
Fielderdescribes
"lengthyjuvenileantics"and "gratuitouscruelty."43
his escape plan as the "hundredtorments
dreamedup by Tom in the
name of bulliness,"44
and numerousotherscriticshave insultedTom
an
otherwisemildlypro-endingwriter,takesthe
Michelson,
heartily.
assassinationofTom's character
tothelimitofa reader'scredulity
when
he citesthequiteinnocent"Pinchbugin Church"and "Peterand the
Painkiller"episodesin TheAdventures
toassertthatTomis
ofTomSawyer
not onlycruelto Jimbut has a long historyof sadism as well: "We
remember
thatTom,on occasion,takespleasureintormenting
dogsand
cats."45
poisoning
Thissortofassertionis, toborrowMarx'sphrase,preposterous
critical
business
a
on
with
Tom's
excesses
and
worst
a
makes
weak
monkey
par
Finn
The EndingofHuckleberry
505
case forTom's "lengthycruelty"to Jim.As we have seen, theoriginal
escape planwas to takeonlya week.Evenwithall thegaudyadditions,
was in prettygood shape" for
"by the end ofthreeweeks everything
theescape,and threenightslatertheywereoff(331).Duringthosethree
and anxiety,but the chargeof
weeks, Jimsufferedsome discomfort
thatJimhad
mentalcrueltydoes notreallyhold up whenwe remember
Tom's wordthathe would altertheplans ifnecessaryand gethimout
of the Phelps chaptersalso shows that
"sure." A carefulexamination
Tom neverreallypulls rank(or race) on Jimbut cajoles himwiththe
promiseofhonorand glory.And whenHuckorJimrebelagainstTom's
morefanciful
schemes,he alwaysbacksdown.
truethatTom overstepsthe bounds of prudence;he
It is certainly
and endangersJimand Huckunnecesbecomesdrunkon romanticism
Gullason'stheorythatTomis the
"nonnamous
letters."
with
the
sarily
that
theromanticism
realantagonistofthenovelbecause he represents
and Gullason
MarkTwain set out consciouslyto "kill" is interesting,
tendencieswhenhe
providesotherevidenceofTwain's"romanticidal"
notesthatthenamesofthetwowreckedsteamboatsinthenovelarethe
toThomasMoore'sromantic
Walter
Scottand theLollyRookh(a reference
"Lalla
Rookh").46
poem,
of those infatuatedwithfalse
Tom Sawyeris a finerepresentative
whomTwainlikedtoparody,and as suchhe makesa good
romanticism
symbol(ifone is lookingforsymbols)foryetanotheraspectoftheriver
thatis an important
society(carriedover fromLifeon theMississippi)
Finn.But Tom is morethana symboland more
subtextof Huckleberry
thana strawman. Twain makeshis firstliterary
boy-child,whomhe
a
and alwaysbrave
brilliant
sometimes
indeed
distrust
on
one
level,
may
lad. As we have seen, Tom respectsJim'sfeelings,and despitethe
on most
delusions,he is willingtocompromise
pressureofhisromantic
of his schemes.Duringthe planningstagesof the evasion,Tom also
and showsthat
keepsHuckfromstealingfromtheslavesunnecessarily
whenhe mendsUncleSilas's ratholes
self-centered
he is lessthantotally
withouttakingcredit.In theescape he insistson beingthelastone out,
so itis he who is shot.Ratherthaninhibittheescape (probablyrealizing
thata claimthatJimwas freemightnotbe believedin theheatofcapratherthanseek a doctor.
ture),he is willingto suffer
is
like
not
Twain,
Tom,
easilypigeon-holed;he is silly,yetnobleas
well.He is, in a sense,an updatedDon Quixote:exasperating,
yetsymSouth" or "the
pathetic.Ifhe is thesymbolof"the decadent-romantic
spiritoftheGildedAge," or somesortofpsychopath(ormanifestation
tendtosee
ofSamuelClemens'spsychological
problems)as somecritics
the
full
is
the
heroic
he
of
also
him,47
pioneerspirit, give-me-liberty-orgive-me-death,I-only-regret-I-have-one-life-to-give-for-my-country,
506
RichardHill
AmericanRightStuff.It is well
damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead
thathe has thisaspectto balancethesoftspotsin his character:
without
it he would be as flatand boringas all the othertwo-dimensional
"social" symbolsin literature.
Good satiristsknow thattheircharactersmustnot only carrytheir
ofAmerimessagebutbe realhumansas well. Subsequentgenerations
can realistwritersfollowedTwain's lead: SinclairLewis and Theodore
Dreisermade GeorgeBabbittand Qyde Griffiths
in spiteof
sympathetic
all theiremptyideals, and RichardWrightfilledBiggerThomaswith
greed and lust despitehis loftysymbolism.Waxingliterarily
may be
ratheraudaciousunderthetermsofthisessay,butifwe takeTomas the
Iago ofthenovel,he is an antagoniston theorderofMilton'sSatan or
Thackeray'sBeckySharp. We cannothelp but like him, even if we
despisesomeofhis actions-thoughTom,withhis three-week
delayof
the escape, is hardlyin Satan's or Becky'sleague as a candidatefor
despising.
3
And yet,forall theseobjectionsto moderncriticalassumptionsabout
Huck,Jim,and Tom,can we notatleastbe certainthatthe"tone" ofthe
endingis all wrong?Regardlessofhow we defendhis behavior,is the
endingnot,somehow,a "failureofnerve" on Twain's part,a "major
error,"a "chillingdescent"in a Classicthatcouldhavebeen?Thisidea
is thelastlegMarxand hiscoteriehavetostandon, and itgetswobblier,
notsteadier,as thepressureon it increases.
readersadd too muchpressurebypointingout,in
Some professional
theirintricate
dissectionsofthenovel,thatthefinalchaptersaremerely
a continuation
ofa consistently
sloppyproductionand, as such,ought
notbe especiallysingledout forcensure.WilliamVan O' Connercitesa
numberof "awkwardand unconvincing"
plotpointsthatoccurbefore
his
he
theending.48
seems,
despite objections,notunwillingto
Though
feelscompelledto pointout thatthe
O'Conner
a
book
the
little,
enjoy
mixtureof realityand of comedyand
whole storyis a "melodramatic
horror"and suggeststhatTwain,likeTom,is a practicaljokerwho interferes
too muchwithhis own bestart.4y
JohnSeelyeadvancesthisidea withthesuggestionthattheendingis
Twain's practicaljoke on the readerbecause he resentshis role as
popularentertainer.50
Seelyeis also notableas theonlycriticso farwho
has actuallytakenup Eliot'schallengeof"ifnotthisending,which?"In
1969he rewrotethenovelas TheTrueAdventures
Finn.His
ofHuckleberry
versionfeaturesplentyofreal-life
and his
sex,violence,and profanity,
climaxhas Jimdrowningwhilerunningfroma Mr.HydeversionofSilas
The EndingofHuckleberry
Finn
507
Phelps.In thefinalbleakpages,Huckis leftas miserableas anyrespectable 1960santi-hero
exoughtto be.51Despitea fewsixties-influenced
cesses(suchas Jimand Huck's smokingmarijuanaon theraft),Seelye's
versionof the storyis remarkable
not onlyforthe author'sadmirable
commandof Huck's voice
knowledgeof the storyand trulymasterful
but also forits"novel" solutionto complaintsabouttheending.In his
criticsfollowhis
introduction,
Seelye suggeststhatotheranti-ending
lead in writing
theirown conclusion,butas yetTrueAdventures
remains
theonlyfullyrealizedalternate.52
Returningto those who admit that the ending exists, critics
Michelson,Zuckert,and Lane, while not exactlyembracingthe final
chapters,have nonethelesspointedout that they are by no means
in thescholarly
capricious.Adamsand Gullasongo stillfurther
questto
the
and
in
of
coherence
the
the
untangle question unity
story, former
froman aestheticand thelatterfroma thematicpointofview. Adams
sees theentirebookas "havinga symbolic
ofimpatternororganization
a
not
in
the
and
sense"
feels
while
endtraditional
the
that,
agery,
plot
was
"difficult"
for
it
is
"it
not
for
Twain,
irrelevant,"
ing
"altogether
and completesthesatireon sentimental
. . . caps the
furthers
literature
ridiculeof aristocratic
pretensions. . . [and] is as much an attackon
as Huck's discomfortsat the Widow
conventionalrespectability
or
his
on thecultureoftheGrangerfords,
observations
orhis
Douglas's,
rebellionagainstslaveryitself."53
GullasonsuggeststhatTwain did not findthe ending"difficult"at
all, but rather"had a verydefiniteplan in thefinalepisode." He also
perceivesechoes of Don Quixoteand a neat finishto several major
themes:
It is only in the last chaptersthatHuck completelyrejectsboth
Tom'sromantic
(whichhe firstsuspectedin Chapter
irresponsibility
and
cruel
nature.
is onlyhere thathe understands
It
II)
society's
true
after
worth,
Jim's
battlinghis conscience throughmany
and humblewayin whichhe faces
it
is
the
honest
chapters.Finally,
and thenresolveseach oftheabove-mentioned
conflicts
thatshows
Huck's developingstrength
of character-and thismakeshimthe
heroofthenovel.54
BothAdamsand GullasonanswerMarx'sattackson theendinginthe
criticaltermsMarx employs; and in a detailed discussion of the
issue of AmericanRacial Discourse,David Smith
ultra-"significant"
concludesthatthefinalchaptersare notworthless,butin fact"offera
indictment
of the societythey
harsh,coherent,and uncompromising
Even
readers
can
sense
the complacent
that
veryyoung
portray."55
508
RichardHill
of the Phelpses and the casual brutality
of those pious
Christianity
neighbors,Sister("I'd skineverylast nigger")Hotchkissand Brer("I
'low I'd take 'n lash 'm") Marples,offeran authorialindictment
as
of
powerfulas thatin anyothersectionofthenovel.Thisis notthestuff
"evasive" burlesqueor minstrel
show humor(346-47).
The more one looks at the endingof Huckleberry
Finn,the tighter
drawsthenoose ofthemeand plot.Marx'sblanketdismissaloftheendtermsas "glaringlapse of
ing, even couched in such gaudy literary
moralimagination"56
finallydoes not stand up at all. But beforewe
dismisshim altogether,
we should look at the second partof Marx's
agenda.The "coil ofmeaning"(touse hisownphrase)ofhisessayis, as
his titlehintsand his conclusionreveals,notso mucha dissatisfaction
withthe Phelps episode as it is a diatribeagainst"The Enemy"- and
The Enemyis notMiss Watson:
Finnis notthe
Perhapsthekindofmoralissue raisedbyHuckleberry
kind of moralissue to whichtoday's criticism
readilyaddresses
itself.Today our critics,no less thanour novelistsand poets, are
most sensitivelyattunedto moral problemswhich arise in the
sphereof individualbehavior.They are deeply aware of sin, individualinfractions
ofourculture'sChristianethic.Butmyimpressionis thattheyare,possiblybecauseofthestrength
ofthereaction
mechanical
the
criticism
of
the
thirties,less
against
sociological
sensitiveto questionsof what mightbe called social or political
morality.57
Thisconclusionis, ofcourse,an attackon T. S. Eliotand all he stands
Finnhas beenmerefor,an attackforwhichthediscussionofHuckleberry
a
In
vehicle.
Marx
echoesseveral
Eliot,
ly
mounting
literary
siegeagainst
other"progressive"critics
who wroteintheearly1950s.Thezeal ofthis
new generationofscholarsto exposewhattheysaw as thereactionary
classirepressionofthepostwarperiodas embodiedin themonarchist,
of
Eliot
was
most
cist,Anglo-Catholic
sympathies
plainlyexpressedby
RossellHope Robbins:
[Eliot's]unsubstantiated
dogma [is] repellent. . . and for all its
moralpretensions,
thereligionexpressedin Eliot'sworkis always
self-centered
and negative.. . . Eliothas so filledmostofhis recent
with
writing
dogmaand doctrine;he has so increasingly
employed
has so insistedon the cleavage
specializedreligiousterminology,
betweenritualistic
Christiansand therest,thatitsessentialappeal
has becomelimitedto ritualistic
Catholics.. . . [Eliot'sphilosophy]
Finn
The EndingofHuckleberry
509
is comforting
... to vestedinterestsin an age of decay,[and conviews.58
tains]hiddenpropagandaand reactionary
of
"The Eliotproblem,"is, Robbinsconcludes,"the logicalreflection
kind
the
warns
off"
of
decadence."
He
who
those
"shrug
presentday
are
the
fronts
toward
that
Eliot
that
supthey "heading
"proto-fascism"
includingtheirown,and the
ultimately
pressionofall creativeactivities,
and enlightenment."59
tradition
ofculture
abandonment
ofthemainstream
Marxis morecircumspect
thanRobbins,but his conclusionsare no
and ideological.He commandeersthe literary
less vituperative
pulpit
witha controversial
readingofa classicnoveland uses itto sermonize
againstEliot,a publicfigurewho, in his view,standsin thewayofreal
"social awareness." His homilyeven comescompletewitha warning
the greatsin is to "shy away frompainfulanswersto
forcritics-to-be:
complexquestionsofpoliticalmorality."60
in
Finnshouldbecomea battleground
ThatAdventures
ofHuckleberry
when
is
battles
Moreover,
twentieth-century
inappropriate.
ideological
we considerauthorialintentand the aestheticof Twain's primaryaudience,manyof our criticaledifices,both forand againstthe novel,
sand.We canarguethematic
wouldseemtobe erectedon scholarly
unity,
of
of
organization imagery,and thepsychobiologipatterns symbolism,
cal roleoflaughter;we can makeall mannerofallusionsand processthe
criticism.
Butall ofus,
novelthroughall thecurrentschoolsofliterary
eventhemostsolemnand ideologically
lockstepamongus, knowinour
heartsthatHuck'sstorywas written
especiallyforchildren.Itsintended
audiencealwayswas children,and afterall the criticalcommotion,it
Adultswho attemptto fititinto
alwayswillbe especiallyforchildren.61
or
aesthetic,
intellectual, ideologicalagendaswillneverbe
sophisticated
satisfied
with
the
mixed-upand splendid ambuscade that is
quite
Finn.
Huckleberry
This is not to say thatthe book is forinsensitiveor overlynaive
butalso
foritis concernednotonlywithadventureand hilarity
children,
and societalhypocrisybothofwhichare
with"respectable"morality
primaryconcernsof children,as any parentwho has heardthe high"It's notfairl"can attest.Hucknotonlysetschildren
pitchedcomplaint,
to buildingraftsoutofpopsicklesticksand bitsofclothbutleads them,
as Trillingso nicelypointsout, to philosophicalmusingsabout "selfevident"truthsas well.
Rorschachtestforindicating
Finnserveas a literary
Can Huckleberry
how muchof thebestfeaturesand truestperceptionsof childhoodan
adultreaderretains?Ifonlywe could runsuch a test(withthestrictest
scientific
controls,of course)on all the grown-upswho have
literary
510
RichardHill
writtento condemnthe novel thatgave themsuch pleasurein their
childhoods.
as thekingand theduke discovered,"don't pay."
Butoverreaching,
Lakeland College
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
NOTES
1. Mark Twain, Adventuresof Huckleberry
Finn, ed. Walter Blair and Victor
Fischer (Berkeley: Universityof California Press, 1985), xxv; hereaftercited
parentheticallyin the text.
2. Hamlin Hill and WalterBlair,"The Composition of HuckleberryFinn," in
Finn (San Francisco: Chandler, 1969) rpt. in Huck Finn
The Art of Huckleberry
amongtheCritics,ed. M. Thomas Inge (Frederick,Md.: UniversityPublicationsof
America, 1985), 20-21.
3. Thomas Sergeant Perry's reservationabout the ending is rathermild by
modern criticalstandards: "It is possible to feel, however, that the fun in the
long account of Tom Sawyer's artificialimitationof escapes from prison is
somewhat forced" (review of Adventures
Finn,CenturyMagazine30
ofHuckleberry
in
34.
[May 1885]); rpt. Inge,
Finn. Saturday
4. Brander Matthews, review of Adventuresof Huckleberry
Review(London) 59 (31 January1885), 153-54; rpt. in Inge, 31.
5. H. L. Mencken, "The Burden of Humor." TheSmartSet38 (February1913);
rpt. in Inge, 67-71.
6. TomSawyerAbroadand TomSawyer,Detective.
7. Bernard De Voto, Mark Twain's America(Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin,
1932), 312.
8. Ernest Hemingway, The GreenHills ofAfrica(New York: Scribners,1935),
22.
9. Bernard DeVoto, Mark Twain at Work(Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1942), 92.
10. Two examples of "arcane discourse" should suffice:James M. Cox sees
Pap as a correlativeto Ahab's white whale ("Remarks on the Sad Initiationof
1954]; rpt. in Inge, 148);
HuckleberryFinn," SewaneeReview62 [July-September
and in Leslie Fiedler's view, Huck (or more precisely,Twain) has a pathetically
presumptuous homosexual attractionforJimborne of a need to amelioratehis
"white guilt" ("Come Back to the RaftAg'in, Huck Honey," Panisan Review15
[June1948]; rpt. in Inge, 101).
11. Lionel Trilling, The Greatness of Huckleberry
Finn, in TheLiberalImagination(New York: Scribner's, 1978); rpt. in Inge, 88.
12. Ibid. (Inge rpt.), 90.
Finn (New York: Chan13. T. S. Eliot, Forward to AdventuresofHuckleberry
ticleer,1950); rpt. as "Mark Twain's Masterpiece," in Inge, 110.
The Ending of Huckleberry
Finn
511
and Huckleberry
Scholar
14. Leo Marx,"Mr. Eliot,Mr.Trilling,
Finn/'Amencan
22 (Autumn1953);rpt.in Inge. 113-39.
15. Ibid. (Ingerpt.),128.
16. Ibid.,114.
17. Ibid.,161,121.
18. HenryNash Smith,MarkTwain:TheDevelopment
(New York:
ofa Writer
115.
Atheneum,1974),
andMarkTwain(New York:Simonand
19. See JustinKaplan's Mr. Clemens
Shuster,1966)fora discussionofMaryFairbanksand other"motherfigures."
20. CatherineH. Zuckert,"Law and Naturein TheAdventures
ofHuckleberry
1 (Fall1984);rpt.in Inge,245,n. 12.
Finn,"Proteus
21. Marx,(Ingerpt.),117.
22. Mencken(Ingerpt.),67.
xii.
23. DeVoto,MarkTwain'sAmerica,
24. Marx(Ingerpt.),119.
25. Cox (Ingerpt.),150.
26. Marx(Ingerpt.),123.
27. BruceMichelson,"Huck and theGamesoftheWorld,"Amencan
Literary
Realism13 (Spring1980);rpt.in Inge,225-26.
tinn(PsiewYork:BantoAdventures
28. AlfredKazm,Arterword
oftiucKleoerry
tam,1981),287.
29. Harold R. Simonson,"HuckleberryFinn as Tragedy,"Yale Review59
(Summer1970):532-48.
"
30. RichardP. Adams,"The Unityand CoherenceofHuckleberry
Finn, Tulane
Studiesin English6 (1956);rpt.in Inge,176.
of thispassage- thatHuck has some sortof death
31. The otherimplication
critics.See, forexample,Forrest
wish- is bestleftforinterested
psychoanalytic
G. Robinson's"Silencesin Adventures
Finn,"Nineteenth-Century
ofHuckleberry
37 (June1982):50-74.
Fiction
32. Marx(Ingerpt.),118.
himsar33. Examplesof Huck's standingup to Tom and evencontradicting
and
arefoundthroughout
thefinalchapters:"Tom,ifitain'tunregular
castically
to sejestit," I says (235). "If a pick'sthehandiestthing... I don't
irreligious
thinksaboutit nuther"(237). ThomasA.
givea dead ratwhatthe authorities
overthe moat,the rope ladder,and
Gullasoncitesseveralothers(arguments
Finn,"
sawingJim'sleg off)in his study,"The 'Fatal' Endingof Huckleberry
29 (March1957):89-90.
Amencan
Literature
" Ί Did WishTom
34. Allan-Gribben,
SawyerWas There':BoyBookElements
YearsofHuckleberry
Finn:The
andHuckleberry
in TomSawyer
Finn,"inOneHundred
and J. Donald
Boy,His Book,and AmencanCulture,ed. RobertSattelmeyer
ofMissouriPress,1985),169.Gribbenalso points
Crowley(Columbia:University
thenoveland is one of the
of Tom's influence
out theimportance
throughout
Finnas essentially
a "boy's book."
fewcriticswillingto viewHuckleberry
35. Michelson(Ingerpt.),225-26.
36. Marx(Ingerpt.),119.
37. DavidL. Smith,"Huck,Jim,and AmericanRacialDiscourse,"MarkTwain
22 (Fall 1984);rpt.in Inge,249,253-55.
Journal
512
Richard Hill
38. D. Smith (Inge rpt), 256.
39. UnfortunatelyforMarx's thesis that Huck's moral growthis unswerving
untilthe last chapters,the decision to turnJimover to the authoritiesfollowshis
repentanceof the joke he played on Jimand his supposed awakeningto Jim'sinviolable humanity.
40. H. Smith, 120.
41. Marx (Inge rpt.), 117.
42. Kazin, 283.
43. D. Smith (Inge rpt.), 258.
44. Fielder (Inge rpt.), 101.
45. Michelson (Inge rpt.), 222.
46. Gullason, 87.
47. For a book-length denunciation of The Adventuresof Tom Sawyer,with
relateddiscussions of Huckleberry
Finnand laterTwain novels, see ForrestRobinson's In Bad Faith:TheDynamicsofDeceptionin MarkTwain'sAmerica(Cambridge:
Harvard UniversityPress, 1986). Robinson has made a careerof psychoanalyzing
Tom and Huck, but the real subject (patient) seems to be Samuel Clemens,
to an asylum for
whom, one gathers,the criticwould like to commitretroactively
the criminallyinsane. See also Robinson's "Why I Killed My Brother:An Essay
on Mark Twain," Psychology
and Literature
3-4 (1980): 168-80.
48. O'Conner wonders why Jimsimply did not escape to Illinois, ridicules
Huck's knowledge of European royalty,notes that Huck forgetsJimaltogether
FinnIs Not
duringhis stay with the Grangerfords,and so on ("Why Huckleberry
the Great American Novel," CollegeEnglish17 [October 1955]: 6-10).
49. O'Conner, 6-7.
50. John Seelye, "The Craft of Laughter: Abominable Showmanship and
Finn," Thalia: Studies in LiteraryHumor 4 (Spring-Summer 1981):
Huckleberry
19-25.
51. John Seelye, The True Adventuresof Huckleberry
Finn (Evanston: NorthwesternUniversitvPress, 1970).
52. In "Mr. Eliot,Mr. Trilling,and Huckleberry
Finn," Marx does advance a few
ideas as to what the general shape of a "rightending" should be, but evidently
he feltno great compulsion to produce one.
53. Adams, 176, 190.
54. Gullason, 91.
55. D. Smith, 257.
56. Marx (Inge rpt.), 123.
57. Ibid., 128.
58. Rossell Hope Robbins, TheT. S. EliotMyth(New York: Schuman, 1951), 68,
86.
59. Ibid.
60. Marx (Inge rpt.), 128.
61. Seelye, using Huck's voice, discusses this matterof audience in the introductionto The TrueAdventures
Finn: "Some years ago, it don't
ofHuckleberry
matterhow many,Mr. MarkTwain took down some adventuresof mine and put
themin a book called Huckleberry
Finn- which is my name. When the book came
out I read throughit and I seen rightaway thathe didn't tell it the way it was.
Finn
The Ending of Huckleberry
513
... I was curiouswhyhe doneitthatway,and I askedhim.He toldmeitwas a
and someofthethingsI doneand said warn'tfitforboysand
bookforchildren,
read
about. Well,I couldn'targuewiththat,so I didn'tsay
to
girlsmy age
He made a pileof moneywiththatbook,so I guess he
it.
more
about
nothing
knowedhisbusiness,whichwas children.Theylikeditfine"(v).
Editor's note: Recently,morethana dozenseparateattemptshave beenmadein the
UnitedStatesto ban Adventures of HuckleberryFinn fromclassroomsand school
libranes.An instancein Texasoccurredin November1990, whena Piano CityCouncil
member
movedthatthisbookbe in everyway "removed
atmosphere"
fromourclassroom
"
becauseitcauses"racialhurt. Duringthelasttenyears,Adventuresof Huckleberry
in America. -W.J.S.
Finn has beenthefifth-most
populartargetofcensorship