Is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn more realistic than The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

Question

Why are they realistic? What are the similarities and differences between both?

Additional Details

I've read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass completely and up to ch23 on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn like my teacher instructed us to do so for the final.

Therefore I don't need summaries of the book, just insight from different perspectives.

Please understand what Realism is before you answer...
Realism is the act of portraying life as it is without idealizing anything. In Frederick Douglass, he is idealizing the abolition of slavery and, if you will, Romanticizing abolitionists. On the other hand, Huck Finn is full of Twain's criticism for America. The real question is, although Huck Finn is full of such criticism, does it accurately portray normal life in America? Strong evidence support Huck Finn's realism comes from the incidents involving the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons and the Duke and Dauphin.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

No, not remotely.

Huck Finn is a pure work of fiction, so you find speeches people will never make and all the conventions of fiction. It is also written by a white man, who tempers his views for a buying public. It might be more powerful, but it also is as contrived as any hollywood movie.

Life is autobiographical, which might have exaggerations, but is still written by a man who was an actual slave. While it was designed to make a point, it still stands as a first person account of slavery.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

A literary work does not require it to contain events that actually took place in order to be Realistic in the literature sense. I think you misunderstood realistic or you just don't know what Realism is.

Answer 2

Narrative of frederick douglass is a personal narrative by frederick douglass unlike huck finn. in the narrative you get see first hand how slavery was and the question about how slaves were even kept in slavery for so long and the idea that slaves were like children and their owners their are their parents(paternalism). he shows how white slave owners with didn't want slaves to learn how to read in order to keep them ignorant.

as for huck finn i don't remember much..

hope that helps...