In the 1850’s, life in the south was difficult for people of all kinds of people. Whites were expected to be the leaders of society, and were supposed to be educated and proper. Blacks were often enslaved, and they faced racism and discrimination wherever they went. Both groups often wanted to break free from the grip of the southern culture, but it was difficult to escape from social conventions and live by one’s morals. Huckleberry Finn and the runaway slave Jim have to face all of these problems, but these dilemmas are never directly explained in text. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, symbolism is used to show the struggles between freedom, morals, and social conventions through the river, the land, and the raft. The river represents freedom and how difficult it is to attain. Land shows the world as a place where society judges what is normal and makes the people blind to morals. Likewise, the raft is a symbol of following one’s heart rather than obeying society. While all of these symbols have meaning, the river must be focused on the most, as it is the main setting of the story and represents the most important theme.
The Mississippi River is a symbol of freedom from racism and society, but it also shows how difficult freedom can be to achieve. When Huck escapes Pap, he takes a canoe down the river toward Jackson Island. He makes it there, but a ferry is searching for him, with everyone he knows on board. He has become free from Pap's brutal lifestyle, but people are still looking for him. This shows that the river offers emancipation for Huck, but it will take work for him to escape completely. While traveling down the river, Huck and Jim are aiming to get to Cairo, Illinois--the mouth of the Ohio river and their rout...
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...aving to be bound in order to go in public freely, and the pair witnessing a bloody battle between two rival families, they realize that society was not on their side. On the raft, Huck and Jim learn to follow their hearts and live by their morals. They change how they view each other, what they will do to earn freedom, and how they will get necessities while still listening to their consciences. The symbols of Huck Finn are somewhat difficult to explain, but they are the best literary devices used to show the main themes of the book.
Works Cited
"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
· "Controversy Over Huckleberry Finn: Depictions of Slavery & Racism Caused a History of
Banning." Bright Hub Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
· Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Dover, 1994. Print.
In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim is now believing in Huck to help and free him. With all of the author’s craft techniques used by Twain shows how the adventure between Huck and Jim is getting somewhere where he can be free. Huck is looking out for Jim and wants the best for him by going out and getting the canoe, to head to Cairo. Feeling the pressure of becoming the people that they have always wanted to be is now happening, Jim becoming free and Huck escaping his father. The author’s craft that Twain uses help express the new lives the Huck and Jim are creating on their journey. The different ways that represent the journey help depict the passion for this change, the homebound feeling of escaping all
Mark Twain throughout the book showed Huckleberry Finns personal growth on how he started from the bottom as a lonely, racist, immature kid who knew nothing to where he is now, by finally breaking away from society’s values he was taught in the beginning. He has alienated himself from the from that society and revealed how in fact these values were hypocritical. He realized that he can choose his own morals and that the one he chooses is the correct one.
In, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author, Mark Twain contrasts what life is like on the uncivilized shore compared to the peaceful life on the river. Huckleberry Finn is a character that rejects society's behaviors and values because he does not want to be "civilized" like everyone wants him to be. Huck is someone with a mind of his own and someone who does what he pleases. Since Huck is someone who rejects society, he eventually ends up running away and traveling up the Mississippi River with a slave name Jim. The two runaways find peace on the river and they also find that they do not have to deal with the cruel society on shore. In this respect, what qualities make the river and society on shore so different from one another and how does Twain establish these contrasts? Huck and Jim are two individuals seeking freedom from the uncivilized people on the shore and during their journey together they find freedom on the raft floating up the Mississippi River.
The Mississippi River, the prominent setting in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the place that Huck discovered his own logic. The Mississippi River was calm and sweet. Huck especially liked it because it was away from society. “Not a sound, anywheres—perfectly still—just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bullfrogs a-cluttering maybe.” (Twain 108). Traveling on the river, Huck encountered some unlikely companions that taught him lessons about life. The first is when they encounter the two robbers on the Walter Scott, Huck and Finn board not expecting to see them there. They escape by jumping into the robbers’ boat and heading off as quietly as possible. When they are six hundred yards away, Huck feels bad for the robbers that were left stranded on the ship. It is an important aspect of Huck’s character development because he demonstrates that even though the robbers were bad men that did not deserve his compassion, they were also people in need of help. So he sends help for them. Huck reaches the point on the river where he meets the Grangerford family who are pleasant and respectable people. However, ...
Set in pre-civil war America, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place along the Mississippi river. As Huckleberry travels along it he learns lessons about life, society and most importantly; himself. Surrounded by a world of prejudice and racism, Huck is forced to learn to make decisions on his own. He is able to learn from the imperfections in the rest of the world as he views them. While on the river, Huck and Jim are at peace. The river symbolizes freedom for both Jim and Huck. The river is Jim’s path to freedom from slavery, and it is Huck’s freedom from society. When Jim and Huck journey onto the banks of the river they see the inhumanity to man that goes on in the world. This juxtaposition of the river and the land help emphasize the peacefulness of the river in comparison to the crazy society on land. Huck learns to think for himself, and tries not to conform to the ways of the people on the land. Although the world that he lives in teaches him to be a racist, his journey down the river teaches him to use his own mind, and find out what he really believes in.
In the story of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses many different types of symbols to get Twains numerous messages across. Twain signifies the Mississippi river as a symbol to get away from society for Huck and Jim. Twain also criticizes the way society runs and the things it teaches everyone to be. The river vs. land setting in Huckleberry Finn symbolizes Huck's struggle with himself versus society; Twain suggests that a person shouldn't have to conform to society and should think for themselves.Throughout the novel, Mark Twain shows the society that surrounds Huck as just a little more than a set of degraded rules and authority figures. When the new judge in town allows Pap to keep custody of Huck, adopters are things he doesn't need and doesn't care for. Twain gives Huck the power to think for himself, and come to adult conclusions, which show Twains message; think for yourself.Mark Twain's book Huckleberry Finn is for the reader to interpret for him or herself. But any reader could pick up on Huck's struggle with the freedom the Mississippi River gives him, and the society that holds him back. Huck realizes that he shouldn't have to conform, and he refuses to at the end of the book. Huck's trials and tribulations show the reader that he or she to think for themselves and not conform to societies standards from Huck's time period, or now.
In the novel, Huck's main goal is to get away from a terrible, abusive drunk of a father. Without the access of the Mississippi, Huck might not have ever escaped his father, and his father could have easily killed Huck. For Jim, who's goal was not only freedom, but to see his family again, the river was a free way to reach the free states. With Huck's fortune he could have bought a train ticket or paid another way to get to Cairo, but it was important for him to make his journey with Jim. In that time a black runaway slave could not have ridden on a train or even walked on land in the light of day without being caught in a matter of minutes.
the novel,The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,Huck lives on two different setting that change the way Huck feels.One of the settings is on land with the Widow Douglas and with his father and the other is on the Mississippi River with Jim.On land you can start to tell that Huck is not happy with the way he is supposed to behave and live.Life on land and the civilization that goes with it represents constructive rules and inhumanity..On the river,Huck didn't want have to worry about anything except people finding Jim.Life on the river represents freedom and humanity. Throughout the novel there are moments where Huck starts realize where he belongs and wants to to with the rest of his life.
Rivers flow freely, and smoothly, and people usually go to the river to escape from society and civilization. They feel free with the nature surrounding them, which allows them to rest, and relax in peace. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain uses symbolic importance of the Mississippi River. Throughout the story, the Mississippi River plays an important symbolic figure, and significance to the story's plot. For Huck and Jim, the river is a place for freedom and adventure. Mark Twain uses the Mississippi River to symbolize freedom, adventure, and comfort.
Another theme that is dealt with in this book is slavery. In fact, slavery is one of the main topics that has been frequently debated in regards to Huckleberry Finn since it was first published. Twain himself was vehemently anti-slavery and Huckleberry Finn can in many ways be seen as an allegory for why slavery is wrong. Twain uses Jim, a slave who is one of the main characters, as a way of showing the human side of a slave. Everything about Jim is presented through emotions: Jim runs away because Miss Watson was going to sell him South and separate him from his family; Jim is trying to become free so he can buy his family's freedom; and Jim takes care of Huck and protects him on their journey downriver in a very materialistic manner.
...by Mark Twain. The Mississippi River symbolizes freedom for Huck and Jim, as well as being their place of comfort. Nature is also a big part of Huck’s life because he is most comfortable living outside of civilization, in nature. Comparing Huckleberry and Tom, as well as showing how Huck has become affected by civilization, is important in supporting the human nature side of the human nature versus civilization conflict. In this novel, human nature has become more important than civilization because nature has taught Huck far more than living in society ever would. There are many themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Although many of them are important in the book, the theme of nature and its significance is the most important in developing the plot, as well as showing the growth of the characters, namely the protagonist Huckleberry Finn.
The Raft and the Mississippi River play a major role in this book. The river comes to symbolize many things, and one important role I believe the river play is being the deliverer for both Huck and Jim. The river takes both Huck and Jim away from captivity. As Huck was running from both Pap and the Widow, and Jim was running from Miss Watson the river helps to cover their footsteps. With Jim confined to the raft during the day it is very difficult for them to hunt. The river also helps to feed them.
In conclusion, the physical journey in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the central focus of the novel and serves many purposes; ranging from plot development to teaching Huck multiple lessons about equality and treating people for what they are, rather than what they appear to be. In this novel the beginning and the end are not significant, only the middle because this is where Huck learns things by experience that the rest of the country is ignorant to.
Through the various events in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain presents the life of a young and adventurous Huck. Huck embarks on the Mississippi river along with a runaway slave named Jim. The Mississippi River serves as a symbol of protection, freedom, retreat from society and Huck’s true morality. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain contracts life on water to life on land through Huck’s experiences. The life on the raft along the river, gives Huck and Jim a sense of freedom, they had no rules to follow unlike on the shore where there were no equal human rights or social standards.
Regionalism is emphasizing the local characteristics of a region whether they are good or bad. A regional writer is someone that writes what they feel is being abused universally through a person or place, and should be fixed. Regionalism usually results in criticizing a person, place, or country through literary techniques, such as symbolism, satire, and conflict. Mark Twain is known as a regional writer to some because of the geographic region he uses that exemplifies the country as a whole. Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, falls into the regionalism category because of its universal themes of slavery, morals, and society.