Wisdom is to maturity what writing an article is to taking an English class. And wisdom can only be gained through life experience, good, bad, or in between. Huck's maturity develops through his adventure along the Mississippi River, where he must make "adult" choices that will affect not only him but also his addict friend, Jim, proving that all children need is for them to responsibility is given in order to become responsible. At the beginning of the novel, Huck's life is completely controlled for him. Miss Watson is one of the main characters who influences him in this way. From the beginning, the reader sees Miss Watson step forward and take on the role of a true guardian to Huck. He does this the only way he knows how, which is to establish strict rules and guidelines that must be followed. Some of these are that he must attend school, he must attend church, he must have good manners, etc., demonstrated by when he states that Miss Watson would say, "Don't put your feet up there, Huckleberry"; and "Don't you crumple up like that, Huckleberry, stand up straight;" and soon she would say, "Don't spread yourself and stretch yourself like that, Huckleberry: why don't you try to behave?" Then he told me all about that bad place and I said I wish I was there. Then she got angry, but I didn't want to hurt her. All I wanted was to go somewhere; all I wanted was a change, I wasn't particularly fussy. Well, I didn't see any benefit in going where she was going, so I decided not to try. But I never said that, because it would only cause trouble and serve no purpose (Twain 13). Here, Huck demonstrates to the reader that Miss Watson is indeed controlling him. This is demonstrated when he claims he doesn't understand why these rules or regulations are passed, ...middle of paper...cences are incompetent and should not be allowed to deal with these difficulties they are just making the maturation process more lethargic. From his experience along the Mississippi, Huck grows into an adult even though he is only a child from society's perspective. All Huck needed was a chance to take on some responsibility, and he learned more than he ever could have learned in a classroom. Epstein comments on Twain's work by asking the same question: Why would you hold back an incompetent teenager when he has proven time and time again that all he needs to grow, to mature, is some responsibility? Works Cited Epstein, Robert. The case against adolescence: rediscovering the adult in every adolescent. Sanger, CA: Quill Driver /Word Dancer, 2007. Print.Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; And the adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Signet Classic, 2002. Print.