Comparing Metamorphoses in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Color Purple

The Characters' Metamorphoses in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Color Purple, and Catcher in the The main characters of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Color Purple, and The Catcher in the Rye begin their stories as lonely, confined, and dependent people battling with their own thoughts versus societal pressures. The three long to be self-reliant and free, but lack the means and the confidence to find themselves. Huck, Celie, and Holden ultimately venture on life-altering journeys to attain their individuality and to discover their worth as human beings. Huckleberry Finn has tremendous difficulty transitioning from an easily influenced person to an independent one. He begins as one of many faithful followers to Tom Sawyer, willing to trail behind him into any dangerous situations because Tom seems more self-confident than he ever allows himself to be. "Everybody was willing" (Twain 9) to Tom's declaration, "we'll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's gang" (Twain 9) where their business is "Nothing only [sic] robbery and murder" (Twain 10). Tom is so self-assured that Huck, lacking confidence in himself to make his own decisions without leadership or outside assistance, is restricted from locating his level of confidence while around his dictatorial best friend. Another dominant source of influence in Huck's life is his father, whose relationship with his son is comparable to that of a lord to a slave. Pap tries to cheat Huck out of his money, claiming "all the trouble and all the anxiety and all the expense of raising [Huck]" (Twain 26), so he can go into a drunken stupor and not be concerned about reality. To vent his anger for failed attempts, he punishes his own son through kidnapping, imprison... ... Through beautiful depictions of their characters' metamorphoses, the authors present the feeling that embracing struggle to define individuality and become independent is something everyone needs to do. The authors essentially disclose through their writing that without opinions, ideas, and liberations of their own, people have nothing else to look forward to in life. Huck, Celie, and Holden, who are each representatives of the diverse American culture, must each to look ahead to uncover their full potential as human beings rather than participate in social order. Works Cited Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, May 1991. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, NY: Bantam Books, March 1981. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, NY: Pocket Books/Washington Square Press, June 1983.