the ending of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is worth your while
Since its publication, Mark Twain's world famous novel has been under scrutiny for its abhorrently frustrating ending. Many have said it ruins the entire work in itself and is not worthy of such a book. After all, how could Huck seem to build such a beautiful, fruitful relationship with Jim only to turn around on him like that? His lack of progress or development makes no sense. My argument is not for the merits of the ending but rather its unique ability to let us imagine the future. Per Twain's notice in the start of the book, no motive or meaning is meant to be found from a 13 year old boy on a raft. Yet the ending does leave space for the readers to imagine Huck and Tom arriving in the "territories" of the Western US, ready for adventure. As written by Robert Coover in "Huck out West", Huck finds himself exactly in the place Twain may have intended- the wild, wild west before and after the Civil War. Huck and Tom now have Jim in tow, and plan to work...