Symbolism and Growth in Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn, a realistic fiction novel written by Mark Twain, contains many levels of symbolism. The novel attempts to describe the journey of a runaway slave and a young boy who accompanies him. Both Jim, the runaway slave, and Huck, the young boy, are from the South and are trying to travel to the North in seek of freedom. Geographically, the North and the South were separated by the Mississippi river. Thus, all of Huck and Jim’s travels take place on the river, and Huck and Jim are forced to spend a lot of time together. While on the river, as Huck and Jim’s relationship grows, Huck discovers new truths about life and ultimately matures on the river. Mark Twain brilliantly uses the river to symbolize both freedom and growing up for

The entire South at the time was filled with slavery and racism. However, the river serves as a safe haven from the awful Southern society that surrounded the river. The book is replete with many scary and threatening situations, however, majority of them take place outside of the river. Off the river, Huck and Jim encounter all kinds of life-threatening situations: burglars and potential murders, witnessing the Grangerford-Shepherdson bloodbath, meeting up with the duke and king which leads to nothing good, and losing Jim back to slavery. However, when the two return to the raft, everything seems to be okay because they are safe from society. Twain creates a stark contrast between the river and the surrounding cities and states: while the surrounding society is segregated and racist, Jim and Huck live on an integrated, free raft. Mark Twain’s love for the Mississippi is made clear in the various novels that he has written. Therefore, it must be that there is a deeper meaning to the Mississippi as a motif in every one of Twain’s novels. In Huckleberry Finn, the river has many different functions. The river serves as a home for the two main protagonists, as a symbol of freedom, and as an environment of growth for Huck. Most importantly, however, the river serves as an integrated, safe place in contrast to the racist, slave-filled