aluable so far as it is practical, and if he cannot use it immediately and directly, he sees no need to know it. His knowledge is entirely pragmatic, and as such he cuts through to the essentials in life.
The contrast Twain creates through Huck is the contrast between American pragmatism and European romantic idealism, and Tom Sawyer represents the latter. Tom is an overpowering presence when he is on the scene and imposes his view of the world, a highly romantic view, on his friend. Huck, however, even as he participates in Tom's recreations of the novels of Sir Walter Scott, always has a certain piratical sense that keeps him from believing the reality of the code of honor that Tom is always touting as necessary for heroic action.
The nature of the contrast between American realism and European romanticism serves as an undercurrent throughout this novel. Early in the journey down the river, Huck and Jim come upon two robbers looting the wrecked "Walter Scott," and the name of the vessel refers to the great romantic novelist Sir Walter Scott, whose adventure novels are the epitome of what Twain criticizes about European society. Huck and Jim do not engage in any false heroics when confronted with these criminals. Instead, they pragmatically cut loose the skiff and float away. It is significant that part of the loot left on the skiff is a set of books filled with the same sort of stories made famous by Sir Walter Scott.
Much of the trip down the river will bring Huck into interactions with others who profess to live by a code that sets them apart from others and makes them more noble, more virtuous, and more honest. The education that Huck gets shows him that most of these people are hollow, that their codes of honor are false, that they are hypocritical about the values they claim to believe, and that those who represent the civilization the Widow Douglas has been trying to get him to join are not the role models ...