Comparing Nature In Huckleberry Finn And Into The Wild

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Nature as a Sanctuary Nature can mean many different things to people. It can be interesting and exciting to some, while being scary and gross to others. For some people, though, it can be a place of refuge or a sanctuary. In the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, and in the movie, Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn, nature is portrayed as a symbol of hope and freedom. In both of the stories, nature is used as an escape from pain, as freedom from society, and as hope for a better life. Nature, in both stories, acts as a way to escape the pain and suffering of the protagonists’ daily lives. When Huck Finn was kidnapped by his father and taken to live with him, he was constantly beaten and tortured. “By-and-by pap got …show more content…

At the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a women named Widow Douglas took Huck Finn in, and had him live with her. The Widow promised to “sivilise” Huck, as he would say, but Huck wanted nothing to do with that. Huck did like and respect the Widow, but he refused to live as a confined member of society. “The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me… and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out” (Twain 1). Huck ran off to hang with Tom Sawyer and his gang, showing that Huck would much rather be away from society than emersed in it. Later on, Huck and Jim were sitting on the raft, floating down the river after they escaped the war between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons. He told the readers, “We said there weren’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (Twain 139). Huck was stating how he felt about being in civilization versus being in nature. He is a more free individual while being in nature, and he feels confined and held back while being in society. Chris McCandless believed in this same philosophy so much that he burned his money to rid himself of all things civilization. He said, “I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don’t want one.” Chris’s idea of a good life was to …show more content…

In Huck Finn’s story, oftentimes something bad happens in society, and it is followed up by a better moment in nature. For example, after Huck runs away from his abusive father, he finds himself on Jackson’s Island. “I laid there in the grass and the cool shade, thinking about things and feeling rested and ruther comfortable and satisfied” (Twain 38). Huck goes on to describe his peaceful experience on a deserted island, and this shows how after being beaten by his father, Huck is made happy again by nature. The tranquility of the island too Huck’s mind off of his father, and gave him hope for life in nature. Later on in the story, Huck encountered the Grangerford family. The Grangerfords were in a constant battle with another family, the Shepherdsons. During one of their battles, Huck was distraught at all the fighting and the shooting, and he wanted to get away from it all. As he was trying to escape, his one friend from that family, Buck, got shot and killed. This really affected Huck, and he was deeply saddened by this loss. But he eventually did escape, and he made it back to his raft. “I never felt easy till the raft was two mile below there and out in the Mississippi” (Twain 139). Once Huck was back in the wild, he felt safe. Just being out away from society made Huck feel like things would get better. Chris McCandless felt this same tie with nature. After Chris

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