Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He is 12 or 13 years old during the former and would be a year older at the time of the latter. Huck also appears in and narrates Tom Sawyer, Detective and Tom Sawyer Abroad, as well as the unfinished Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians and Tom Sawyer's Conspiracy. Huck is Tom Sawyer's closest friend. Their friendship is partially rooted in Sawyer's emulation of Huck's freedom and ability to do what he wants, when he wants. In one moment in the novel, he openly brags to his teacher that he was late for school because he stopped to talk with Huck Finn, something for which he knew he would (and did) receive a whipping. Nonetheless, Tom remains a devoted friend to Huck in both the novels they appear in. For his part, Huck recognizes Sawyer's emulation of him and his lifestyle, however he tends to view Sawyer as his closest friend. However, Jim tends to be another dominant friend in Huck's life. He is the symbol for the awakening Huckleberry Finn undergoes throughout Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The main theme of this book, according to author Mark Twain, is the conflict between consciousness and conscience.

Huck is the son of a vagrant drunkard. He enjoys lazing about and joining Tom Sawyer in adventures. At the end of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huck is adopted by the Widow Douglas in return for saving her life. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in some respects a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the widow attempts to "sivilize" (Huck's spelling) the newly rich Huck. Huck is kidnapped by his father but manages to fake his own death and escape to Jackson's Island, where he coincidentally meets Jim, a slave of the Widow Douglas's sister, Miss Watson. Jim is running for freedom because he has found out that Miss Watson plans to "sell him South" for eight hundred dollars. The two take a raft down the Mississippi River in the hope of finding freedom from slavery for Jim and freedom from his father and controlling foster parent for Huck.

The character of Huck Finn was based on Tom Blankenship, the real-life son of a drunkard who lived in a "ramshackle" house near the Mississippi River behind the house where the author grew up in Hannibal, Missouri.

Actors who have portrayed Huckleberry Finn in movies and TV include Gordon Griffith, Junior Durkin, Mickey Rooney, Eddie Hodges, Jeff East, Ron Howard, Ian Tracey, Patrick Day, Elijah Wood, and Brad Renfro.