Essay on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Disguise refers to modifying ones appearance to avoid being recognized. In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry, some characters wear disguises and pretend to be other people while others do not. For instance, Huck Finn, the main character in the novel searches for freedom and personal truth, which he attains by lying tom people. He wears disguises to survive. Regrettably, the people he encounters also wear disguises, which they use to cheat other people in the society. For instance, Jim, a runaway slave disguises himself to survive after escaping from unfair sentence and social predisposition. The Duke and the King are conmen who cheat members of the society in order to take what they possess.

In the case of Huck, he does not want to follow the rules that his aunt has set in the house. He also wants to run away from his abusive father who drinks excessively. As such, he believes that he must lie in order to conceal his identity. To succeed in this initiative, he fakes his death and later disguises himself as a girl in order to get certain information from the society. He meets with a local woman, Judy Lawson, who tests him whether he is a girl. Judy stipulates, “What is your real name? Is it Bill, or Tom or Bob? (Twain 70). Here, Huck realizes he cannot lie. He reveals his real name and becomes friends with her.

In an effort to protect his friend Jim from being captured, Huck confronts the men looking slaves who have run away. He says to them that his father is suffering from “smallpox.” (Twain 112). After the men her this, they say, “Why didn’t you come out and say so? (Twain 112). Here, Huck manages to help his friend from being taken to slavery. He is willing to tell lies and disguise himself and his friend in order to protect him. By the end of the novel, Huck camouflages himself as Tom. He visits the home where Tom Sawyer grew up and the individuals present confuse him with Tom Sawyer. They aske Huck, “It’s you at last, isn’t it?” (Twain 229). Huck trusted in fate and said yes without hesitation. Aunt Sally then told the children, “it’s your cousin Tom, -tell him howdy.” (Twain 229). Huck felt comfortable when telling this lie because he was not aware that Tom would come. When Tom arrived, he also lied about his identity because Huck had already pretended to be him.

Apart from Huck and Jim, the King and the Duke are also major characters in the Novel. They disguise themselves in order to cheat as well as deceive people to get their money. They later join hands with Jim and Huck to gather fortune from the people. However, since Jim escaped from slavery, he is disadvantaged over the others. He is forced to devise strategies that will protect him from being caught. To help Jim in this case, the King, the Duke, and Huck treat him as a slave while traveling on a raft. Nonetheless, regardless of the deceit evident in the novel, a number of people have not disguised their identity. These include Huck’s aunt and father, Judy Lawson, and Aunt Sally.

From Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry, Huck, the Duke, the King, and Jim employ disguise throughout to help them attain what they desire. Instead of following the rules of life, they use shortcuts to help them avoid trouble. Moreover, even though some of the plans they made failed in certain instances, they changed them into civilized and mature citizens.

Works Cited
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ramona: Cherry Hill Publishing, 2012. Print.