Huck Finn runs away from his foster mother to raft down the Mississippi with an escaped slave; the young Buddha leaves his father’s palace to begin his spiritual quest in the forest; Luke Skywalker leaves his home planet to join the galactic rebellion. All three set off on epic journeys that make each into an adult, complete with a set of new virtues. These hard-won virtues are especially admirable to us as readers because they reveal a depth and authenticity of character that we don’t see in the obedient kid who simply accepts the virtues he was raised with.
