An Analysis of Huckleberry Finn’s Psychological Development试析哈克贝利·费恩的心理发展历程

1. A Brief Introduction of Mark Twain

Mark Twain （1835-1910） was born in Florida， Missouri. He gained his international fame as a gifted raconteur， distinctive humorist， and irascible moralist. He is regarded as a popular public figure， true father of the Nation， and one of America’s best and most beloved writers. Twain’s articles， stories， memories， and novels， characterized by an immense and witty humor and a deft ear for language and dialect， gained him an almost inconceivable celebrity. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn， written in 1884， is Mark Twain’s masterpiece of humor， characterization， and realism， marks the peak of Twain's literary creativity and is considered as the best book that Twain ever produced.

2. Five Layers of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow’s （1908-1970） hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology， proposed in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation， which he subsequently extended to include his observations of humans’ innate curiosity.

“Needs” refer to a state of tension or imbalance that demands a satisfying activity. In Maslow’s theory， the hierarchy of needs includes five levels： physiological （survival） needs， safety （security） needs， belonging （love or social） needs， esteem （recognition or status） needs， self-actualization （self-fulfillment） needs. The lower four layers are what Maslow called “deficiency needs” or “D-needs” while self-actualization （self-fulfillment） needs are the higher needs. He thinks that lower orders must be at least partially satisfied before moving on to higher levels of motivational needs.

3. The Analysis of Huckleberry Finn’s Psychological Development

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn， the 12-year-old protagonist Huck is in the fast growing status both physically and psychologically. Physiological needs are one’s fundamental and basic needs which play an important role on maintaining a life. He always wants to be free from this kind of society. Because of that， he pretends to be dead and successfully escapes. Jim escapes because he desires to flee from the civilized world’s exclusion and discrimination， and Jim’s motivation is largely contributed to his strong will to cast off the shackles of the civilized world.

As Huck’s partner， Jim is always in the spiritual and physical support towards Huck. Under Jim’s help， Huck’s safety needs are satisfied. Huck’s growth is totally affected by his living environment. He does not refuse “love”， but he has a hatred and conflict towards “love” from the civilized world. Huck’s subconsciousness expresses his deep desire for “love”. The accidental meets link Huck and Jim’s irrelevant life， after that， Huck and Jim chat and discuss all along the way down to the Mississippi River and have set up the most sincere friendship. Huck has never experienced his kind of “love” which is beyond the feelings of friendship and is more a feeling of father and son. Jim’s true friendships provide Huck a satisfaction of belonging and love needs. Huck’s inner mind slowly grows mature in Huck-Jim’s “free society”. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs， “love” establishes Huck-Jim’s intimate relationships， and makes Huck a feeling of satisfaction of social belonging needs.

In Huck-Jim’s “free society”， Huck achieves his experience of self-worth through the self-esteem needs. Children， in a period of development， can enhance their self-esteem， strengthen their confidence and establish their own direction of development if they can be recognized by others. The reason why Huck can be respected by Jim is because he respects Jim firstly. Huck admits Jim’s value and capability， and now their mutual trust and respects get stronger. In another way， the mutual respects increase Huck’s self-assurance.

The satisfaction of four lower needs： physiological （survival） needs， safety （security） needs， belonging （love or social） needs， esteem （recognition or status） needs ensure human beings’ daily lives. And the realization of human’s achievement relies on the satisfaction of the higher needs – self-actualization （self-fulfillment） needs. In the process of getting along with Jim， Huck gradually arises a need to achieve his self-value – to help Jim get free. Because of Jim’s help， Huck successfully finds the true meaning of life， and completes his self-actualization needs.

Five layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs represent the process that Huck gradually grows from a childish boy to a mature guy through several times of self-denial. Especially in the process of building up Huck’s self-actualization needs， the author perfectly shows us Huck’s full potential， his pursuit for free and fair world， and his pursuit for friendship and emancipation of slaves. Here， Mark Twain directly points to the slavery， and through Huck-Jim’s ideal “free society” he makes readers understand that the slavery is totally ridiculous. Twain’s excellent language capability produces the two vivid protagonists， Huck and Jim. In the very beginning of this work， Huck is eager to find a free life， and this paves the way for the following story that he finally decides to help Jim get free. Unconsciously， Huck finds his “needs” of psychological development in the course of getting along with Jim. These “needs” link Huck and Jim’s hearts closely together. There is an internal driving force in Huck’s heart telling him that he has to help Jim. Gradually he removes the white racist ideology in his heart.

Huck’s personal experience makes him re-examine the relationships between blacks and whites. He slowly realizes the Jim’s importance for him， so he finally breaks through the boundaries between blacks and whites and plays his full potential to help Jim escape to a non-slavery place. Inadvertently， Twain cleverly expresses his political thoughts， perfectly displays us Huck’s self-value， and accomplishes Huck’s “desire” of self-actualization. In this case， the significance of this work is sublimated.

4. Conclusion

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is widely used in the research of the children’s psychological development in the field of children’s psychology. Here， we fully apply the theory to literature， an analysis of the protagonist Huck’s psychological growth which expands the horizons of literary criticism and gets out of the limitation of traditional psychological analysis in literature. Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a window lets us see that empty civilized society cannot give people living in the real freedom. Huck’s spirits – not afraid of being bounded with the mainstream but upright –is always worthwhile to be praised of

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[6]Net.1.http：///EBchecked/topic/610829/Mark-Twain.