In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the narrator is a 14-year-old boy by the name of Huck. He escapes his drunken, abusive father and sets out on his own, encountering many challenging adventures along the way. Throughout the novel, Huck proves that he is smarter than the average 14-year-old boy. .
Huck proves in the very beginning of the novel that he is smart for his age. When he sees a footprint with a cross on the left heel he knows it is his pap and immediately runs to Judge Thatcher's house. He knows pap is after his money and tells Judge Thatcher to keep it because he understands that his life is more important that 6,000 dollars. The average 14-year-old boy would try to keep the money and lie about it, but not Huck.
Huck is also different from other boys, such as Tom Sawyer, because he is realistic. Huck is creative and can think on his feet, but he also realizes that the real world has limits and consequences. When he escapes from pap he says, " I did wish Tom Sawyer was there; I knowed he would take on interest in this kind of business, and throw in the fancy touches. Nobody could spread himself like Tom Sawyer in such a thing as that" (Twain 33). Tom's plan would probably be more detailed and creative, but it would also take longer and possibly fail. Huck does not have much time and is in a very dangerous situation. His plan works out perfectly and he gets away safely. .
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He also has better morals than most of the adults in this novel, and he can distinguish between right and wrong. The major example in this story is his relationship with Jim, Miss Watson's runaway slave. Society tells him that helping a runaway slave is wrong, but he looks past what others say is right and does what he feels is right. A few times throughout the novel he is unsure what he should do concerning Jim's freedom. He almost gives Jim away to the two slave hunters he meets along the river, but ends up making up a story to keep them from finding Jim.
