Common Themes in the Heart is a Lonely Hunter and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Hemingway's comment that all great literature comes from Huckleberry Finn is probably true. Obviously both these authors are Southern, and these are Southern novels. They also both contain quite a menagerie of oddly mismatched characters. Carson McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was written in the 1930's and focuses on the isolation of human beings in this world as well as the racial tensions that hold true. While Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is set during the Civil War before the slaves were free, it was actually written during the time of the Jim Crow laws. Twain uses the time of slavery as a setting to show the reader really how little things have changed in the South since slaves were emancipated. Twain's novel also deals with the isolation of its characters and the idea that there is no one to count on in this world as characters struggle to have a true connection with each other. Carson McCullers gives a voice to the mistreated of the world like John Singer while Twain gives a voice to the mistreated of the world like Jim the slave. McCuller's characters are morally isolated and alone in the world, and so are Twain's. Twain goes to show the reader that slavery and inequality distort both the oppressors and the oppressed. In a world like this, even the "good" people don't express their attitudes about the injustices of slavery. Aunt Sally, for example, is not at all bothered by slavery but accepts it as fact. While Huck and Jim struggle against the moral confines of slavery, Dr. Copeland also struggles against racial injustices. He talks about the importance of an education for blacks. His very struggle for justice seems to keep him at arm's length from his own family, reinforcing McCullers views about human isolation. In both these novels the characters are not only alone but lonely.

Many of the character just cannot seem to fit into the prescribed roles of society. John Singer and Huck Finn exemplify this to the extreme. John, because he is deaf and mute, already is at a disadvantage. Huck Finn cannot conform to the narrowness of the civilization he lives in and has no desire to be civilized. The idea of hypocrisy is very much emphasized in both books. In Part Two of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter narrated by Jake, it is stated: "But the main thing he sees is that the whole system of the world is built on a lie. And although it's as plain as the shining sun-the don't-knows have lived with that lie so long they just can't see it" (McCullers). These lies are hypocrisy. Huck and Jim see hypocrisy everywhere they look. In a world where people are supposed to be upstanding and religious, they also allow a deplorable practice like slavery to continue. At least Huck and Jim do have a place where they are free; unlike the characters in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. "Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft" (Twain). This raft is their freedom and they do not have to conform to the rules of society as long as they are on the raft; they can avoid the hypocrisy.

There are other similar themes as well, such as that of lies and cons. Dr. Copeland is outraged when his daughter Portia tells him about scam artists stealing money from blacks. In Huck Finn, the Duke and the Dauphin function totally in terms of scams they can pull. Both Huck and Dr. Copeland receive their first acts of kindness from white people. Jim in that he escapes with Huck and Dr. Copeland in that John Singer lit a cigarette for him. Just as Huck Finn teeters on the brink of manhood but is not quite there, Mick Kelley teeters on the verge of being a woman. Religion functions as a way to self-delude in both books.

The characters that impressed me most were Huck Finn and Dr. Copeland. Huckleberry Finn seems like a real thinker, willing to challenge the prevailing beliefs of his time. With quotes such as "If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the (Twain). Huck is profound in his own way. He realizes early on how to function well in the world. He is also one of the only characters who is able to look past the racist views of the time. "I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n" (Twain). For its time this quote is very profound.Huck is his own person. He does not attempt to fit into the accepted ideas of the time, and while this gets him in trouble again and again, it is admirable. Similarly, Dr. Copeland's struggle to end injustice gets him into some trouble and he is disliked by some people because of it. Dr. Copeland takes a huge risk by delivering the speech about Karl Marx in order to help enlighten them. He stands up for his son even though a racist sheriff ends up beating him up and throwing him out of the courthouse. Even though he ends his life feeling that his efforts have failed, the reader knows he has not failed. "Our pride must be strong, for we know the value of the human mind and soul. We must teach our children. We must sacrifice so that they may earn the dignity of study and wisdom. For the time will come. The time will come when the riches in us will not be held in scorn and contempt. The time will come when we will be allowed to serve. When we will labor and our labor will not be wasted. And our mission is to await this time with strength and faith" (McCullers). This quote from his powerful Christmas speech shows his dedication and courageous behavior. In a way, he expresses the same ideas that Twain does in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-that the time should and will come when black people will be counted and their voices will be heard.

Both of these novels are still relevant to today. We still live in a world where people are not equal and injustices are seen every day. It is our job to remember the words of people like Huck Finn and Dr. Copeland to remind ourselves that we must fight against these injustices. People are alike; we are all just people regardless of skin color or anything else. Sadly, as McCuller's points out the isolation in the world, the idea that in our own hearts, we are all alone, it seems as thought the world is heading more and more in this direction. We are becoming more isolated not less. Technology leads us to be more isolated. For example, cell phones should be a tool to keep us in touch with others, and they do. However, cell phones also remove us from the social situation we are in. While we are talking on the phone, we do not have the time or inclination to interact with people in the world around us. Cell phones are better meant to talk than listen, and we end up talking at people or holding meaningless conversations while withdrawing from our very social sphere. Instead of talking to people around us in that elevator, we talk on the phone.

The themes are also still pervasive. Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to show the reader that slavery is a crazy institution. Blacks should have the rights of white, and even after slavery ends, they don't. That is a relevant issue today. The salaries of blacks and their levels of higher education are not equal to whites; injustice must play a role in that. As stated above, the idea of isolation becomes more and more relevant as we isolate ourselves more and more. We work from home. We don't have "communities" anymore. We never have to leave our homes with the advent of the internet. We talk a lot, but we don't listen. People don't speak their hearts today anymore than the characters did in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

These summaries provide "in a nutshell what happened in the novels, tracing only the most important plot elements. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter begins with John Singer and Antonapoulos living together, but when Antonapoulus gets sick, he must go away so John goes to a boarding house run by the Kelly's. Bill Brannon owns the café where Singer eats his meals. Mick Kelly is the frustrated teenager who loves music but is frustrated with her talent. Jake Singer, another customer at the café, tries to tell his co-workers about socialism but is shot down and ends up hanging out with John Singer. Dr, Copeland, the town's physician spends his life trying to fight oppression. All of these characters begin to visit John Singer on a regular basis and become sort of a cast of misfits. In Part Two, Biff's wife dies, although he is not particularly sad about it. Dr. Copeland's son is sent to jail, and Dr. Copeland starts to get ill. Jake shares his ideas with Singer. Dr. Copeland throws his Christmas party and delivers his powerful speech. Singer still misses Antonapoulos, so he goes to see him. Dr. Copeland goes to the courthouse to protest the treatment of his son Willy, who is punished severely, and is beat up and thrown out of the courthouse. Jake and Dr. Copeland fight about political ideas, and Jake ends up getting drunk. Singer goes to see Antonapoulos again, and when he finds out that Antonapoulos has died, he goes home and shoots himself. Finally, in Part III Dr. Copeland is sent to his father's farm. Jake wants to make up with Copeland but when he discovers Copeland has been sent away, he decides to move away and start anew. Mick works at Woolworth's and does not devote much time to her music but maintains a positive attitude. Biff continues on in the café with new patrons but has something of a revelation about the meaning of life and maintains optimism. ""Then suddenly he felt a quickening in him. His heart turned and he leaned his back against the counter for support. For in a swift radiance of illumination he saw a glimpse of human struggle and of valor. Of the endless fluid passage of humanity through endless time. And of those who labor and of those who-one word-love. His soul expanded. But for a moment only. For in him he felt a warning, a shaft of terror... he was suspended between radiance and darkness. Between bitter irony and faith" (McCullers). This is the final note of optimism in the book. While these misfits don't really connect, some of them believe that life can get better.

Now as for Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck has been adopted by the Widow Douglas and taken from his drunken father. He is not doing well with all the rules and restrictions now placed on him in an attempt to "civilize" him. When Huck's father reappears, a new judge tries to reform him. Just when Huck is beginning to adapt to new ways and learning to read, his father kidnaps him. Huck fakes his own death after being locked in the cabin repeatedly by his father, and escapes to Jackson Island. He runs into Jim, who has run away from Miss Watson. He fears that he will be sold and forced to leave his family. When the island floods, the two are able to get a raft, and they become afraid that people are coming for Jim, so they set out on the raft together. They are attempting to get to a free state and have many adventures along the way. When they encounter a group of men who are looking for runaway slaves, Huck faces his first real moral crisis. Should he protect Jim and break the law? In the end, he tells the men that the person on the raft has smallpox, and the men leave. The very next night a steamboat hits their raft and they are separated. Huck is then taken in by the Grangerfords, who are having family feuds similar to the infamous Hatfields and McCoys. Jim shows up again and has fixed the raft. They pick up the Duke and Dauphin who scam people down the river. They try to impersonate the brothers of a dead man but are discovered when the real brothers show up. Then they sell Jim but Huck gets him back. Jim is sold to Tom Sawyer's aunt and uncle and Huck impersonates Tom to get Jim back. In an unnecessarily elaborate plan to free Jim, Tom is accidentally shot in the leg. Jim chooses to give up his freedom in order to help Tom. They ironically discover that Jim had been free all along because of Miss Watson's will. Aunt Sally offers to adopt Huck, but he has plans to head west. Huck avoids being "civilized" yet again. "But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before" (Twain).

Both of these novels deal very much with the racism of the time and the struggle of blacks to gain rights in the world. Carson McCuller's and her odd mix of characters emphasize the loneliness that everyone faces in the world. Mark Twain focuses more on the hypocrisy of slavery even among the "good" people.

McCullers, Carson, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.