Although the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain and the epic poem "The Odyssey," by Homer were written in very different time periods, they show a lot of similarities. Both Huck Finn and Odysseus demonstrate the traits of a hero, a “character that, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage and the will for self-sacrifice -that is, heroism- for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence" (Wikipedia). Indeed, they are both stories of a reliable person going through the biggest adventure of their lives, while facing certain types of monsters, and using their cleverness in order to escape many obstacles. The only main difference is that while Odysseus faced more mythical challenges, Huck braved through the challenges of his modern society, and the types of people in it. But even so, we say that Huckleberry Finn made almost the exact same journey as Odysseus, with a slightly modern twist.
To start with, both of the characters are away from home in their adventures and are escaping one who held them captive. While Huck escapes his drunken Pap, Odysseus began his sea bound adventure because of the fact that he was allowed his freedom from Calypso, who has been holding him captive in hopes of turning him into her husband. The two protagonists escape through the use of a raft, although one set sales through Mississippi River and the other through the seas. Both Huck and Odysseus have a quick thinking that mark an intellectual superiority and help them in predicaments. For instance, Huck fakes his murder by robbers with great wit in order that nobody suspects his escape and comes after him, while similarly, Odysseus manages to fool the Cyclops with his cleverness, and rides on the belly of one of the Cyclops’s sheep in order to escape from the beasts’ cave. These are the beginning of a same linear episodi...