Individualism Anonymous 11th Grade

The main characters of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Color Purple begin their stories as lonely and confined individuals battling between their own thought versus the pressures and expectations of society. They strive to be self-reliant and free but lack the means and confidence to find it within themselves. Huck and Celie ultimately undertake on adventures to gain their own individuality and discover themselves.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry Finn has great difficulty transitioning from an easily influenced person to being independent. In the beginning of the novel the widow and Miss Watson attempt to instill a “dogmatic and technically morality” in Huck while he is living with them (Boone 3). He is also a follower, a loyal friend and follower of Tom Sawyer, willing to follow him into almost all dangerous and adventurous situations because of Tom’s confidence. “Everybody was willing, we’ll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer’s gang” (Twain 9). In this gang, their business is “Nothing only robbery and murder” (Twain 11). Tom is assured that Huck, without confidence in himself at this point, wouldn’t make his own decisions and would follow whatever Tom said, even taking it to the...