Utjecaj društvenih čimbenika na karakterizaciju likova: Usporedba Toma Sawyera i Huckleberryja Finna

Mark Twain wrote two most famous American novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is often called the Great American Novel. In his novels, Twain depicted American society of the antebellum period. The main characteristic of that time was the political division of the United States between abolitionists and pro-slavery supporters which strongly influenced American society both economically and socially. Since Twain was a humorist, he used complex social issues to mock social rules of that time. Some of the topics that Twain depicted in his novels are: violence against children, slavery, and religion. In addition, the main characters of Twain’s novels, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, are symbols of freedom and rebellion. Thus Tom and Huck are both rebellious, creative, and very brave when it comes to embarking on dangerous adventures. The biggest similarity between the two boys is their easy-going attitude towards life and adopted rules. The greatest difference between Huck and Tom is their family situation that strongly influenced their personalities. Domestic violence is the reason why Huck has lower self-esteem than Tom, and is often more passive. Tom is a romantic who likes other people’s attention, and steals ideas from the books he once read. To sum it up, Tom is more childish than Huck who deals with serious life issues