The review that I liked, enjoyed, and agreed with the most was the one by T.S. Eliot ... Obviously! And no, its not just because that was the article that I was assigned. I find that Eliot's perspective and ideas about the book was quite interesting and agreeable. For starters, it is a masterpiece. I mean think about it: A whole book was written just to argue if Huck, one of the characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was black (Shelly Fisher Fishkin). That's pretty BOSS if you ask me!
Eliot does a great job with talking about all of the major aspects of the novel. He right away mentions the boy and the river (two key symbols) and states that they are what makes the book great. One of the key ideas that Eliot talked about that stood out to me was Huck's point of view. Twain wrote the novel so that the audience would see it through Huck's eyes. This did indeed give it a more realistic feel. His comparison of the two characters, Tom and Huck, were also quite interesting. Tom is said to have imagination while Huck has vision. This is the result of all the books that Tom has read and Huck's expedite to mature and think as an adult ("unlike other boys, he has to bear the responsibility of a man"). What I really loved about Eliot's article was when he characterized that Huck was a passive observer and Jim was a submissive sufferer. There are many instances in the novel where Huck would just sort of sit in the background when there's action going on and Jim suffering because of that. For example: Huck knew that the Duke and the Dauphin were not who they claimed to be and were very malicious people. However, he just went with the flow and that eventually led to Jim being sold to Silas Phelps. Eliot also talks about how Twain's way of writing lets you experience the river rather than just hear about it. It is a "dictator to the raft/steamboat" that controls the voyage of Huck and Jim. He concludes the article by stating that the novel's ending simply just disappears. There's no tragic or happy ending, it just ends with "I been there before." This reinforces the idea of letting people judge things for themselves similiar to how Huck allows the world to judge him rather than he judge it himself.
I've come to the conclusion that this novel is indeed a masterpiece. I'm with all of the critics out there that have positively commented on it! Yes it has been a century long controversial novel, but I think that's what's so great about it. There are so many formed opinions, ideas, and views of this novel from so many great literary people that it just can't be ignored. When Twain wrote this book, we can all assume that he did not intend for it to become such a hit as it has. Like Huck, his novel was quite innocent and he wrote it the way that HE believed a child would have given the same circumstances.
Just remember that at the end of the day, it is just a book. Go easy on the guy! He's dead for god's sake, he no longer has a voice. Two thumbs up for the awesome packet that Mr. Beddginfield has put together for us. I'm overwhelmed by all these mind blowing reviews that I no longer have anything to say.
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