t perpetual conflict of the two in their mutual quest of a common objective: the liberation of Jim. Clemens turns this conflict into a tit-for-tat comparison of an "honor" student from the school of hard knocks in the so-called "real world" and his counterpart from the school of human civilization who functions mostly by using knowledge acquired from books.Where Clemens's sympathy lies in this comparison becomes evident from the lengthy introduction Huck gets regarding his character development through inner conflict. This inner conflict materializes when Huck's innocent faith in the presumably wise and moral ways of human society clashes with what personal experience has taught him to value: his friendship with Jim. Huck agonizes a long time over committing the "sin" of helping a "nigger" acquire his freedom and his inability to refuse this help which he considers to be "immoral." What finally emerges from this inner struggle finds expression in Huck's decision rather "to go to hell" (167) than to leave his friend at the mercy of his captors.By comparison, Tom Sawyer, as Clemens's representative of book knowledge and formal learning, has no such qualms. He readily accepts the idea of helping a "nigger," even though (or perhaps precisely because) this help would be against the law. Compared to Huck Finn, in other words, Tom Sawyer lacks a social conscience; in fact, he almost comes across as a sociopath. Also, he seems to be driven primarily by his thirst for adventure and an overactive imagination which he employs primarily in an effort to create farfetched pretexts and downright idiotic plans for the actual implementation of these adventures. When the two boys begin to work toward the common goal of liberating Jim, a distinct pattern emerges. Huck proposes practical solutions that work, and Tom proposes totally unworkable plans based on "artistic" values and style according to some absurd Romantic notions acquired from books. ...
