I like Huck

All my life, I wished my childhood was like Huckleberry Finn's. 'Why?' you may ask. 'Huck was a racist. Huck was homeless. Huck had an abusive father. Why would want to be like Huck?'

The answers are not easy. When I was young and read Mark Twain's novel, I saw Huck as freest child ever. He could do whatever he wanted whenever wanted and usually did. He wasn't concerned about rules, religion, school or family, more than that - he shunned them. He was only concerned about being a boy and where the next adventure may lie. I never equated him to Peter Pan or even his buddy Tom Sawyer. Huck always seemed more real. I believed Huck could've really existed. I dreamed of gliding down the Mississippi at night gazing at the stars or running from Injun Joe; of playing like thieves and having my own hideout; of cooking fish over campfires and exploring sunken ships. Huck's world was totally different than mine. Not that I didn't have adventures but they seemed tame in comparison. I had to go to school. I had to be home before dark. I couldn't go past a certain distance from my house (although I did anyway). And there were no Injun Joes around even though I looked very hard.

As I got older and reread Huckleberry Finn, I admired Huck for the fact that he seemed to always be able to do the right thing no matter what. He was able to leave his abusive father as fatal as that might have been. Huck saw the evil in the con men and helped the family out at risk to himself and Jim. Most importantly he was able turn aside everything he had learned and everything he believed to help his friend and slave Jim. Jim's very life was in young Huck's hands. Do not be fooled, Huck believed in slavery and racism but he believed in friendship and people more. We have nothing to equate this courage to in our modern era, in my opinion. Comparisons will be made but I don't think the hold up. I wanted and still do want this level of courageousness.

Now that I have children, I want their childhoods to have some Huck in them. The days of playing upon hours outside far from the watchful eye of overly protective parents are over. The days of hideouts, forts, and general mischief are over. The days of just having friends no matter who, what or how old are over. I try to let my kids play, to let a little Huck enter their lives whenever I can but sadly, Huckleberry Finn could not and would not exist today.

I want to be like Huck.