This part of the novel concerns one of the Duke and the
King's most ambitious scams - the impersonation of the brothers of Peter Wilks so they
can seize his inheritance from his daughters, sell the property and take all the money.
What is key about this stage of the novel is how it ties in to the overall theme of
Huck's coming of age - his growing maturity as an individual and his sense of what is
right and wrong plus his determination to act to support what is
right.
It is in Chapter 26 where this turning point occurs
in Huck's life. He is forced into telling ever more elaborate lies by one of the Wilks
sisters, Joanna, about his life in England. As he fears he is going to be doubted and
denounced, Mary Jane and Susan rebuke their sister for denouncing and doubting their
guest and force her to apologise. This has a major impact on Huck as he is made to see
how nice and pleasant the Wilks sisters are:
I says to myself, this is a girl that I'm letting
that old reptle rob her of her
money!
It is after this
episode that Huck determines to do something to prevent the success of the Duke and the
King's scam and decides to rob the money. Although at this stage he is unwilling to
denounce them openly, at least we are seeing that he is beginning to act on his
conscience and defend what he thinks is right.
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