Huck Finn: A Bildungsroman?

This controversial book portrays the immense, but maybe easily over-looked growth of a boy. Because the world Huck grew up in, there would be no surprise if he were pulled back into the family-cycle he was born into. Yet, through his adventures with Jim, he realizes there is more to him than he has given himself credit for. He no longer sees himself is second best to his friend Tom Sawyer, and he also recognizes that his friend, Jim, is a human just like any white man he knows. Of course, it would be possible to read over these two key factors in the growth of this boy, but to do so is to deny him of his self-discovery.