Romeo and Juliet vs. Huckleberry Finn: Family Feuds
By: Annika Wilson

Buck and Tybalt

• Buck and Tybalt are both related to the female lovers caught in the family feud. They both die as a result of the feud.
• Both stories promote the idea that feud carries tragedy. In Huckleberry Finn, Miss Sophia loses her family members by loving an enemy. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet loses her beloved cousin as a result of loving an enemy.

Miss Sophia and Juliet

• Both Juliet and Miss Sophia are in love with the enemy's boy. They sneak around the family to get married and see their lovers.
• In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet fakes her death and eventually ends up killing herself to be with her lover.
• In Huckleberry Finn, Miss Sophia runs off with Harney Shephardson to get married. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, there is no death between the lovers due to the feud. It is just between the families and the feud carries on.

Harney and Romeo

• Both Harney and Romeo are in love with the daughter of family enemy's and plan to run off together. They both plan to secretly meet their lovers.
• In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is banned from the city where Juliet is and thinks she is dead. He kills himself.
• In Huckleberry Finn, Harney runs off with Miss Sophia to get married and the family finds out and tries to kill him. However, it is the majority of the other family that gets killed.

Feuds

• In Huckleberry Finn and Romeo and Juliet, the authors depict feuds the same way; they end up in death. Whether it may be physical death or emotional, feuds cause harm. In Romeo and Juliet, the family feud eventually ended. However, it was because of the feud that Romeo and Juliet were dead. The family had to deal with the emotional effects of losing a child. The love between Romeo and Juliet was killed through the family feuds because it was the feud that separated them and caused misunderstanding. In Huckleberry Finn, family feuds caused death as well. Huck lost a friend and Miss Sophia lost family. Although death did not separate the lovers, Miss Sophia and Harney Shephardson lost a part of their family and quite possibly themselves; their families were still torn with hate.