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The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has many different, intertwining themes. The book spotlights the personal growth and development of the protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, through the theme of nature. The importance of nature is shown in several ways like the symbolism of the Mississippi River, through the forest and Huck’s time spent living there, and by the argument of human nature versus civilization. While there are many different themes throughout the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the aspect of nature and its significance is extremely important and is vital to the plot and character development of the entire book.
The Mississippi River is one of the most important aspects of the novel. The Mississippi most importantly symbolizes freedom. To Jim, the river is almost literally his ticket to freedom. He plans to follow the river to the free state of Illinois. Even though this plan does not work out, the river becomes the only place he is free, and feels like a real person with Huck. They do not worry about getting caught on the river because they travel at night, when most people were in bed. Huck describes this scene in this quote:
Sometimes we’d have that whole river all to ourselves for the longest time. Yonder was the banks and the islands, across the water; and maybe a spark- which was a candle in a cabin window- and sometimes on the water you could see a spark or two- on a raft or a scow, you know; and maybe hear a fiddle or a song coming over from one of them crafts. (131)
On the river, skin color does not matter. Society does not matter.
The river also has the meaning of freedom for Huckleberry Finn. Huck initially runs away because he wants to get away from civilizat...
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...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.
Throughout Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck learns a variety of life lessons and improves as a person. Huck goes through a maturing process much different than most, he betters a conscience and begins to feel for humanity versus society. His trip down the river can be seen as a passage into manhood, where his character changes as he can relate with the river and nature.
Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the greatest American novels ever written. The story is about Huck, a young boy who is coming of age and is escaping from his drunken father. Along the way he stumbles across Miss Watson's slave, Jim, who has run away because he overhead that he would be sold. Throughout the story, Huck is faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to turn Jim in. Mark Twain has purposely placed these two polar opposites together in order to make a satire of the society's institution of slavery. Along the journey, Twain implies his values through Huck on slavery, the two-facedness of society, and represents ideas with the Mississippi River.
-The conflict between man and nature in this book are shown many times, most occurring on the Mississippi River, as Huckleberry and Jim escape many towns. The first time it appears is when Jim predicts a storm coming. Two days later it does, and floods ensue. Jim and Huckleberry have to wait out for the next few days until the river recedes. Later on, Huckleberry loses Jim in a massive fog, but they are later reunited. Huckleberry makes up a false story explaining how he got lost, but Jim doesn’t buy it.
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 the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain illustrates several traits that are common in mankind. Among these traits are those that are listed in this essay. Through characters in the story Twain shows humanity's innate courageousness. He demonstrates that individuals many times lack the ability to reason well. Also, Twain displays the selfishness pervasive in society. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, many aspects of the human race are depicted, and it is for this reason that this story has been, and will remain, a classic for the ages.
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.
In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huck lives in two different settings. One of the settings is on land with the widow and with his father and the other is on the river with Jim. There are many differences of living on land as opposed to living on the Mississippi River. On land, Huck has more rules to live by and he has to watch himself so as not to upset the widow or his father. On the river, Huck didn't have to worry about anything except people finding Jim. He also had to worry about the king and the duke for a while. Even thought there are many differences of the two living styles, there are also some similarities.
Life, change, identity, they are all a big part of this book as well as life in general. Huck is a person who the author Mark Twain tries to portray as lost in himself as well as in society. Huck throughout the book is looking for an identity that he believes he will find on his journey down the Mississippi river. "I'd go down the river fifty mile and camp in one place for good, and not have such a rough time tramping on foot."(pg31) Why does he want to get away from his life? I think Huck's character is very independent and he has his own thoughts on where he wants to end up in life. In his old life everybody was always telling him what to do where to go how to eat and he was getting sick of it. On page 4 he says "All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was change , I warn't particular." He was looking to get out of his old life and into the life that he thought was right for him. Where there was no boundaries or limits, he wanted to be free from the shackles of Christian home life.
In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses nature not only as ally, but as a deterrent in Huck Finn's search for independence and Jim's search for freedom. The most prominent force of nature in the novel was the Mississippi River. The river was not only their escape route, but perhaps it became their biggest enemy because it was always unpredictable. Nature is the strongest factor in the novel because in a completely different geographical setting the story would have had not only a different outcome, but Huck and Jim might never have found friendship and freedom. Twain changes his tone when describing the Mississippi River from wry and sarcastic to flowing and daydreaming. This change in tone illustrates his own appreciation for the beauty and significance that nature holds for him.
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry’s loneliness in his life is reflected by Mark Twain’s description of the natural world at night. Twain achieves of his purpose of this loneliness in Huckleberry’s life by using imagery, diction, and
At the beginning of Chapter 19, Twain offers a long descriptive passage of Huck and Jim's life on the raft that seems, at first glance, to celebrate the idyllic freedom symbolized by the river and nature. The episode occurs immediately after the Grangerford episode, where both Huck and Jim were trapped--Jim in his hiding place in the swamp, and Huck in the absurd cycle of violence of the Grangerford's feud with the Shepherdsons. Now free to drift aimlessly down the river, Huck and Jim seem to escape the confining and destructive social world on the shore and return to nature. A close reading of this passage, however, shows that the river is not a privileged natural space outside of and uncontaminated by society, but is inextricably linked to the social world on the shore, which itself has positive value for Huck. I...
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.
Sometimes we'd have that whole river all to ourselves for the longest time…maybe you could hear a fiddle or a song coming over from one of them crafts. It's lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened. (1325)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, uses various concrete objects, such as rivers, to symbolize a diverse range of feelings, emotions, and even actions. The ultimate symbol in the novel is the Mississippi River. Rivers often times symbolize "life itself, they are the flux of the world in manifestation, the macrocosm' (Cooper, 139)" (Protas, Allison). "River symbolism is based around water in movement" (Fraim, John). "On the river Huck and Jim witness life and death, tragedy and comedy, strife and peace" (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). In this case, the river has served as a mechanism for the developmental maturity of Huck. Huck and Jim quickly discover is the key to happiness for them both. They begin to feel a special relationship between themselves, somewhat like mismatched friends. They realize they are beginning to rely on each other so much, that eventually they will need the other to survive. "The river symbolizes freedom, in contrast to the restrictions and responsibilities Huck experiences on land" (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). "A river can also provide a way of escaping from the culture of the nation. The stories of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn utilize the Mississipp...