Huckleberry Finn as a Picaresque Hero Jamee Pullins

Picaresque -- what a scary word. What can it mean? By definition, the word picaresque is an adjective, which describe a genre of prose fiction that depicts in realistic, often amusing detail about the adventures of a roguish hero of low social degree living by his or her wits in a lower class society. Within these novels, a picaresque hero is often a pragmatist that undergoes little or no psychological changes (Websters 449). But, in order to fully understand this definition one must be familiarized with a roguish hero. A roguish hero is a deceitful, undisciplined, playful, and mischievous character. After understanding these definitions it can bee seen that Huck Finn from Mark Twains novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque hero. The novel is told through Huckleberry Finns point of view and in his dialect. This gives the story a somewhat humorous tone, and inside look into Hucks mind. He is not educated very much and is from a lower class. Other examples of how he meets the criteria of a picaresque character is that he uses his own common sense while on his adventure, displays numerous dishonest actions, and by the conclusion of the story it is obvious that he has experienced few psychological changes.

Throughout...