Many literary critics have identified Huck Finn as an unreliable narrator. An unreliable narrator is one who does not understand the full significance of the characters and events
that he or she is describing and commenting on. Huck is not intentionally unreliable.
His narration is unreliable because Huck is a teenager who lacks formal education and
experience. In fact, much of the humor in the first chapters comes from Huck's incomplete
understanding of the adults around him and their “sivilized” ways. Reread the first
paragraph. Cite examples from the text that you find humorous, and explain how that text
begins to establish Huck as an unreliable narrator.