Huck Finn Like Holden Claufield

Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
January 24, 2008
Journal #10 Mark Twain


Quote:
"Then I sat down in a chair by the window and tried to think of something cheerful, but it warn't no use. I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead"(Twain 110).


Summary:
Huck Finn had been taken in by the widow Miss Watson. Huck Finn finds the civilized life boring and not to his liking.



Response:
This quote dives deep into the internal struggle that plagues Huck Finn throughout the novel. He had a very troubled childhood which is what led to the lifestyle that he is accustomed to. His father was an alcoholic who constantly beat him and showed him no love. This is what Huck Finn really wants, is someone to care for him and love him for who he is. Huck Finn finds this in a Miss Watson's slave, Jim. All the time they spend drifting on the Mississippi river forces Huck and Jim to grow and develop a close and caring friendship. The above scene with Huck Finn staring out his window and wishing he were dead reminds me exactly of the narrator of my favorite book, "The Catcher in the Rye". From the first time I read this book I knew it was special and I have read it many times over. Holden is a young teenager that is very antisocial. His antisocial behavior stems from his view of everybody being "phony". A reoccurring thought that Holden has is wishing he were dead. Just as Huck wishes he were dead. I think the connection here is that these two characters are a lot more deep and sensitive then people give them credit for. They are both the kind of person that will not go out and seek help but rather they would keep their problems stuffed inside away from peoples ridicule. Its striking to me how both of these characters seem to be reaching out for the love and caring hand that they never knew while growing up. Yet there is no one there for them when they need it.