Open Prompt #2

1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

One of the most controversial books of all time is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This novel is known for having many significant internal breakthroughs through the character of Huck Finn. Mark Twain shows the many internal conflicts of Huck as he is growing up and realizing that society does not always know what is best. Twain does a remarkable job of incorporating these internal conflicts and breakthroughs with exciting plot events in the story.
Huck had one of his biggest moral breakthroughs in the novel towards the end of the book when the duke and dauphin had sold his trusty friend Jim, who is also a runaway slave. Huck, scared and alone in this part of the book, decides it would be best to tell the Widow what has become of her slave, but at the last minute decides not to. This was the biggest moment in the book because you really see how Huck has grown up and decided that society does not know everything. All his life society had been telling him that having slaves of was normal, and that it was okay. At that moment though, Huck decides for himself that he was going to help his friend Jim get free. Twain gives some excitement to this moral breakthrough by sending Huck on a huge mission to get Jim back, which brings back another big character in the novel, Tom Sawyer. So not only so you see how Huck's morals have changed, but you are kept on the edge of your seat as Huck and Tom come to Jim's rescue. Twain's combination of a moral lesson plus an exciting mission makes this the novel's climax.
Another significant event that Huck learned from had to do with telling lies. Huck had told many lies to many different people in the novel. He always thought that telling lies were harmless until he met the Duke and the dauphin. He saw them lie to numerous innocent people and hurt a lot of them. Huck thought of them as horrible people for lying to everyone, but he does the same thing himself. He starts to feel bad for lying to a lot of people until he had to tell his biggest lie of all. One of the most notable lies that Huck told was to the slave hunter looking for Jim. Huck lied that his family had been exposed to smallpox and that it was highly contagious. This was a big conflict for him because throughout the novel he has learned that lying and conning people was bad, but in that certain circumstance he had to. Although this was confusing for Huck, he learned that it was okay to lie depending on the circumstance. I think that this situation was Twain's way of showing how Huck is breaking out of society's shell, and he is learning things on his own. If Huck had stuck with society's rules, he would have lost a great friend. Twain also makes this moral lesson much more exciting by making the person that Huck was lying to the slave hunter, and if Huck had told the truth, it would have created chaos in Jim's life.
Overall, Twain incorporates many exciting events with some serious moral lessons that Huck learns throughout the novel of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain is able to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, as well as get the main points across.