Leo Marx's Critique of Huckleberry Finn's Ending

Introduction: The Controversy Over the Ending

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a controversial ending, which, as stated in Leo Marx's 1995 analysis, resulted from: the enforced happy ending, the author's basic betrayal of Huck's companion Jim (Twain, 1994), and the return of the tale to the original mood reflected at the novel's start (Broussard, 2011). Marx states that Huckleberry becomes a powerless, naive, and subservient accomplice of Tom the robber (Marx, 1995, p. 296), akin to the eager boy prepared to become part of Tom's gang of thieves at the novel's outset. This argument is a compelling one: Tom's wild scheme holds no significance after the revelation that Jim was, all along, a liberated man. Further, Huck discovers his father is deceased and is, therefore, freed as well. Ultimately, Twain (1994) ties up loose ends, providing readers with a seemingly happy ending that nonetheless carries a dark aspect easily discovered by critics.

This opinion is not held by Marx alone. A number of readers are alarmed by the fact that, in the last chapters, both Huckleberry and Twain revert to their old ways. Huckleberry's arrival at Phelps's Farm creates a glaring contrast between the novel's ending and the prior three-quarters of it, wherein Huck essentially comes of age. He is no longer the boy playing pirates and electing "Tom Sawyer first captain" (Twain, p. 10), but rather taking that captainship upon himself — for instance, when he says, "All right, then, I'll go to hell," after deciding not to deliver Jim up in order to "save" his own soul (Twain, p. 217). This change in Huck, from follower of Tom to commander of his own destiny, is the result of the journey that transpires in Huck's own heart and mind once he leaves Tom behind. Yet that journey is suddenly and unexpectedly rerouted with Tom's return at the novel's end, when Tom commandeers the narrative and turns it back into a childlike adventure. This is the crux of Marx's argument, the validity of which is displayed in this shallow full-circle turn.

Huck's Early Character and the Novel's Opening Mood

The story abruptly reverts to the playful mood encountered in the initial chapters, prior to Huck's father's return and prior to the journey downriver. In these early chapters, Huckleberry is a naughty boy with a somewhat questionable moral compass who is in constant need of correction. Miss Watson attempts to fill the role of disciplinarian with such lines as "Take your hands away, Huckleberry; what a mess you are always making!" (Twain, p. 17) and "Don't scrunch up like that, Huckleberry — set up straight" (Twain, p. 3), highlighting the way in which Huck is still a little boy in need of "civilizing," supervision, and guidance.

In these same chapters, Huck does not shy from playing practical jokes — such as offering up Miss Watson as a ransom to the boys in his make-believe pirate gang ("Oh, she'll do. That's all right. Huck can come in" [Twain, p. 8]) — a sign not only of Huck's mischievous innocence but of the other boys' as well. His act of placing a dead rattlesnake on Jim's blanket is another such joke, one that could have proved fatal. These early scenes establish Huck as a child who has not yet developed the moral depth or self-command he will later acquire on the river.

Huck's Maturation During the River Journey

Though his mischievous spark still remains, his trip downriver helps Huck understand the growing complexities of a better life. His maturation can be best portrayed by the deepening of his and Jim's friendship and his inner conflict at the idea of turning Jim in. But it can also be discerned in the way he takes charge of the situation when he sees that the Duke and the King are planning to steal everything from Miss Mary Jane and her sisters. Huck becomes like a real-life general, plotting with exquisite foresight so as to catch the Duke and the King without arousing suspicion: "I says: 'Miss Mary Jane, I'll tell you what we'll do, and you won't have to stay at Mr. Lothrop's so long, nuther … lay low till nine or half-past tonight, and then get them to fetch you home …'" (Twain, p. 191).

It is an example of just how masterfully Huck has come into his own, taking charge not only of himself but of the situation around him. That he should so willingly hand over this newfound authority to Tom upon the latter's arrival is about as illogical and out of character for the come-of-age Huck as it would be for him to suddenly start playing "pirates" again now that he has truly witnessed the fate of real pirates on the Mississippi. Leo Marx's broader body of literary criticism is particularly attuned to these moments where social structures undercut individual moral growth, and Huck's regression is a prime example.

Conclusion: Civilization as Threat

A moral motif remains, despite much appearing to have been lost in the end. This is principally because Jim's fate leaves scant hope for him, in both the pre- and post-Civil War Deep South. The author is realistic rather than racist in the final chapters — and in the final lines: "But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before" (Twain, p. 295). It is Twain's way of declaring that civilization is not something a free individual should be bound by — instead, the frontier is where he belongs, pushing boundaries, exploring, and not looking back.

Yet Twain himself cannot resist looking back, and it is for this reason that one can fully sympathize with readers' disappointment at how Jim's progress throughout the novel ultimately unravels. Again, this reversion results from their return to American society, which Twain simultaneously resists and lovingly regards. Jim epitomizes Black America, and through a perfect, if disastrous, ending, the author demonstrates how society poses a grave threat to a Black man's progress. Twain's broader literary legacy has long been defined by this tension between satirical social critique and the conventions of popular storytelling. Marx's (1995) review of the novel's ending reveals that Jim's freedom at the story's conclusion is nominal. Twain's realism is effectively concealed by Huck and Tom's maze of nonsensical invention (Marx, 1995, p. 296); nonetheless, that realism persists beneath the agreeable, apparent happy ending. While Twain presented this startling finale to readers in 1885, hoping to demonstrate how American society threatened progress, his tale continues to challenge readers today — to decide whether they desire such an ending from modern society as well (Broussard, 2011).