Free Response Question 7- The Duality of First-Person Narration by Huck Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn enthralls readers with its style and wit. Mark Twain removes himself from the story at the beginning, seeking to convince the reader that Huck is the one telling the tale. This beginning, starting in first-person, continues throughout the book, and we can see that this adds much meaning and personality to the book.

The ability of first-person writing to have a duality of persona greatly adds to the book. Huck narrates both in the moment and as a more mature, omnipotent narrator. These two presentations add a dynamic character to the work as a whole. Huck, as the older, wiser narrator, proves to us that somehow he has learned from the happenings in his life, and grown as a result. This is exemplified in Chapter 28, when Huck is speaking with Mary Jane. There is dialogue and narration, and finally, Huck (as the knowing, older narrator right at first, and then when he thinks as the in the moment Huck),says, "Well, I says to myself at last, I'm agoing to chance it; I'll up and tell the truth this time, though it does seem most like setting down on a dag of powder and touching it off just to see where you'll go to." The wiser Huck clues us in to the trouble he goes through in making this moral decision, and the in the moment Huck tells the reader what happens. It's a very clever way of adding personality and explanation of true feeling into the story. Most of the time the book is told in the present, and the reader can clearly see Huck as he is in the story, trying to get down the Mississippi and have a few adventures along the way.

This duality adds an element of suspense which could not be replicated without the two forms of first-person. The older Huck knows what will happen, and so can narrate in a style worthy of the story, creating suspense. Then through dialogue and interaction with other characters in the present, the story fleshes out. It is not a one-dimensional story; there is the added dimension of wisdom which adds suspense and a sense of expectancy in the telling of the story.

This first-person telling also contributes to the relationship the reader develops with Huck. This method of storytelling almost makes Huck seem like he is right in the room telling the story to you. It is much like a raconteur, spinning a grand tale, and less like a dry account of Huck’s journey down the river. Twain makes it as if Huck is really telling you just what happened, without author or editor intervention. This endears Huck to the reader, and helps add Huck’s true personality to the writing. The writing itself conveys Huck’s personality since it is first-person, and this colors the book in a way millions have come to love.

Finally, this duality grants a sense of growth in light of the narrator’s former naivety. We can see how Huck has developed through his older narrations, and in juxtaposition with his dialogue and present actions, we can see that he grows. Huck’s trip down the Mississippi matures him in many ways, including helping him see himself without the domineering leadership of Tom, letting him see that Jim is much more than some slave, but a true man and father figure, and just overall growth and wisdom through interactions with the likes of the Grangerfords and the King and the Duke. He has certainly changed, and we see this more mature narrator throughout finally become the narrator at the end, though it is still the same uncivilized and rambunctious Huckleberry Finn readers have come to love.

The Almost-Mythological Level Attained by Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet could most assuredly be called one of the most famous love stories of all time. Their names have seeped into common language, those sappy-eyed lover-boys being deigned, "Romeo", and the girl he's perpetually after, "Juliet". There is no mistaking that this play has achieved the highest level of literary and cultural recognition; it is famous all over the world.

The realization that this play has become immortal begs the question: why has it become so famous? To answer this, one only need look into the universal qualities this play exemplifies. Romeo and Juliet has the whole package. It has forbidden lovers, dramatic fight scenes, comic relief, family rivalries, characters from all walks of life, poetry, passion, minute-by-minute action, and death. It has suspense, yet flagrant foreshadowing. It has arduous love, yet is centered around the hate between two families. It has the boy every girl wants: love-struck, willing to do anything for love, risky, daring, forbidden, handsome, in pursuit. It has the girl every boy wants: beautiful, young, forbidden, cautious yet willing,courageous, faithful, completely sold-out. All of these factors combine to weave an immortal story, unforgettable to the ages.

Romeo and Juliet not only contains these literary factors which enthrall audiences, it also comes in the form to awe them as well. Shakespeare wrote the whole play in blank verse, which is a remarkable feat in and of itself, but this method of writing also lends itself to a certain poetic element that draws viewers in. Without being blatantly poetic (lacking rhyme, for the most part), Romeo and Juliet oozes the language of romance and passion in a way that is conveyed subtly to the audience, not thrust upon them. Shakespeare also added rhyming couplets, telling viewers and readers alike when something of great import was happening. These couplets are mostly delivered at the end of scenes, to wrap up events and add to the coming suspense of the next scene. These elements of form and structure really add to the solidity and passion of the play, further endearing them to the whole world.

This play also contains scenes which have attained almost mythological proportions. The balcony scene is one of the best-known scenes in all of literature, evoking images of two forbidden lovers, conversing from two different altitudes in the dark moonlight. This scene is immortalized in the oft-quoted lines of Romeo, "But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?/ It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." These lines, murmured quietly in the seclusion of Juliet's garden, entice audiences because of their poetic nature and secretive environ. Though Romeo has not known Juliet for more than a couple hours, he can compare her to the sun, and he can utter beautifully poetic lines about her, even when he is not addressing her. This scene, about the first private exchange between the two lovers, has most likely become Shakespeare's most famous scene.

Finally, one of the main reasons why Romeo and Juliet is so famous is the events at the end of the play. It is simply unforgettable when the two lovers narrowly miss each other and separately take their own lives when they think the other is dead. To love so much, so quickly, means a whole lot, and the tragedy of the final act stick in the hearts of those who read and watch it. When Romeo drinks over Juliet's seemingly dead body, uttering, "Here's to my love!", the hearts of all beholding it sink, and they know that there is no saving the unfortunate lovers from their "untimely death[s]". All the world would want so badly to aid Friar John, to speed up the awakening of Juliet, to prevent the apothecary from selling his lethal dose, but alas! they cannot. This element of preventable tragedy, unstoppable even as it is being played out, touches the hearts of those who behold it. Romeo and Juliet have gone down in history as the couple for whom everyone would save if they had the chance. An aching heart, inherent to the end of the play, is felt by all, and this has made the story virtually mythological: everyone remembers the tragic story of Romeo and his Juliet.