Kind of building on the previous post, while Huck Finn doesn't really have clear-cut cases of mistaken identity like in The Prince and the Pauper and Puddinhead Wilson, but it does have a lot of instances of Huck lying about his identity. If anyone asks him his name, he makes one up on the spot along with a plausible backstory to go with it; it's pretty impressive that he's able to come up with these stories on the fly like that. I'm not really completely sure of why Huck lies so extensively; it obviously has to do with the fact that he doesn't want to be found (since he faked his death and is traveling with a runaway slave and all) but he pulls it off so naturally that it's obvious that he's had a lot of experience in creating believable alibis. That aspect probably has a lot to do with Pap, since we see how Huck lies about why he's sleeping with the gun (he tells his father that he heard someone outside, when he was really trying to find a way to defend himself from Pap's drunkenness).
Anyway, it's amusing that it gets to a point where even Huck can't keep track of his lies, like when he asks Buck to spell his name for him and writes it down in case someone else asks. However, there are times when lying has come in handy, like when he made up a story about his family having smallpox so that the slave hunters wouldn't get near the raft and find Jim. Huck just takes on identities to fit whatever is going on around him, and despite the "moral reprehensibility" of lying, Huck uses this particular skill to save Jim on more than one occasion, and I think that protecting a friend is far more important than always telling the truth.
Yeah, I definitely think Twain would advocate the "little white lie" so to speak. It is also amusing what the people chose to believe or how they believe it. Huck comes so close to being figured out by women (when he is Susan and by the "Hare-lip") but escapes just barely every time. I think his lies are supposed to be entertaining and also exciting for the reader as they enable him to partake in these adventures while the other characters reveal deeper themes or ideas of Twain.
ReplyDeleteThis may not be true, but I can't think of any instance where Huck actually feels bad about lying. The closest he ever comes is when he lies to the slave catchers about the smallpox (a really good lie) but he doesn't seem to feel bad about lying so much as he feels bad about helping Jim. Of course people like the widow and the judge are opposed to lying but Huck points out that they've all lied at one point or another so I don't believe there's much moral conflict for Huck when it comes to lying. He does feel bad for tricking Jim after the fog but I think he feels bad about hurting Jim's feelings, not using deception for fun.
ReplyDeleteI think he also feels bad about lying to the Wilks girls. This is evident by him stealing the money from the king and duke to give back to the daughters. But, I do agree that he lies in order to survive.
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