Final answer:
Huck dresses up like a girl in 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' to protect his identity and to gather information, illustrating themes of gender as a social construct.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why Huck Dresses Like a Girl
In Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck dresses up like a girl as a disguise to protect his identity. He does this to gather information without being recognized. As he interacts with Mrs. Judith Loftus while in disguise, the narrative explores themes of gender and identity. Mrs. Loftus uses Huck's awkward attempts at femininity to reveal his true gender.
This encounter illustrates how gender roles and expectations are socially constructed, as Huck has to learn the 'performance' of being a woman, such as throwing something daintily or threading a needle in a certain way.
The gender criticism offers deeper insight into the story's themes, recognizing that gender is a performance and identity is multifaceted.
Twain uses Huck's disguise to challenge the essentialist views of the time and to portray the complexity of identity that incorporates race, class, and gender. Huck's experience as a girl questions established gender norms and affirms that identity is more than a mere biological categorization.