A hero is often distinguished in literature as being a "character who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, demonstrates courage and the desire for self-sacrifice, which is heroism, for a greater good, at the origin of courage or martial excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. (Wikipedia.) It seems appropriate, then, to suggest that the main characters of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Homer's The Odyssey demonstrate these same character traits very clearly. Huck and Odysseus use their intelligence and quick wits to overcome many different obstacles. Both characters are willing to lie for a good cause and are both fiercely loyal to the people they love, and so it seems possible to see that their heroism also helps them grow as characters. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the character Huck considers himself to be a completely evil and ignorant character. However, throughout the story, Huck manages to commit many selfless acts and experience remarkable adventures that would give the reader the image of Huck as a truly selfless hero. At the time Twain's tale was written, many people were unaware of the inaccuracy of society's attitudes toward black people. However, through his heroism, Huck grows and learns from the experiences he goes through and is able to form his own perspective on race and discrimination. Indeed, it seems that the adventures of the story really begin when Huck meets the runaway slave Jim. “I was always very happy to see Jim. I warn you, I am not alone now. (Twain, page 36.) It is obvious to the reader that Jim is not seen as just Huck's slave but rather as his partner. So, middle of paper......ing Pap as an imitation of Homer's Cyclops. When Huck refers to his father as being "blind drunk", this appears to be a reference by Twain to the fact that Odysseus blinds the Cyclops in The Odyssey. Twain also draws the reader's attention to Pap's eyes when Huck tells the audience how wild they are, and Pap's drunken frenzy can be seen as closely resembling the Cyclops' wild and dangerous behavior. The most obvious difference between the two situations therefore seems to be that the character of Cyclops is mythical while Pap is a much more realistic character. It seems possible for an audience to find similarities between the two tales that would lead them to believe that Twain was attempting to use The Odyssey as a blueprint for his own tale, with both major storylines occurring for the novels' two main characters. occurs very early in both stories.