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all the superstitions in the adventures of huckle berry finn
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the theme superstition in the novel of the adventures of huckleberry finn essay example
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Mark Twain saturates the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with many examples of superstition and myths. These aspects of the novel help the story progress, they provide entertainment and help the story identify with the time. The most important
reason for the superstition and the rituals that come along with them are they are one of
the main reasons for the adventure in the first place. There are many examples throught
the story of the superstition from the spider in the candle to the rattle-snake skin and the hair-ball.
One of the first examples of superstition is a simple thing that carried some of the biggest consequences.”One morning I happened to turn over the saltcellar at breakfast. I reached for some of it as quick as I could to throw over my left shoulder and keep off the bad luck, but Miss Watson was in ahead of me, and crossed me off. “This is an example of how everything superstition has a ritual to remove the bad luck. Huck was not satisfied thought with what the widow had done for him he says “The widow put in a good word for me, but that warn’t going to keep off the bad luck, I knowed that well enough.” This fear of bad luck was acompanied by seeing his fathers shoe prints in the snow so Huck knew he had to do something. What Huck ended up doing was going to Miss Watson’s slave Jim who had a magical hair-ball. When Huck goes to find out what the hairball can tell him Jim tells Huck that the hairball needs money to tell his fortune. All Huck had however is a conterfiet quarter. Jim managed to make it work though by sticking it inside a potato to fool the hair-ball. What the hair ball ended up telling them is this “Yo’ole fathe doan’ know yit what he’s a gwyne to do.
Somtimes he spec he’ll go ‘way, en den ag’in he spec he’ll stay. De bes’ way is tores easy enlet so ole man take his own way. Dey’s two angels hoverin’ roun’ ‘bout him. One uv’em’s light en t’other one is dark.
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.
Huck faces many dangerous situations throughout the story and must use deceit to save himself from a racist society. Huck travels with an escaped slave putting him in fatal danger. When traveling with Jim on the river, Huck runs into a serious problem. Men searching for escaped slaves, wish to search Huck’s raft where Jim is hiding. If Jim is found, Huck could possibly be killed or be in terrible trouble. Facing a life or death situation, Huck uses the only thing that can save him. Huck deceives the men by lying to save himself. Huck tells the men, “He’s sick- and so is mam and Mary Ann”(Twain 95). The men are terrified that Huck’s family is sick and continue on without searching Huck’s raft. Jim is saved but more importantly, Huck has saved himself from any danger. Huck later runs into more trouble from slave hunters. The hunters have received word that Jim is hiding out possibly in a cave. Huck knows they are being tracked and nee...
Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994. 236-419.
The oldest sister, Mary Jane, questions Joanna about what she does not believe. Joanna answers with, “He’s told some stretchers, I reckon, and I said I wouldn’t swallow it all; and that’s every bit and grain I did say. I reckon he can stand a little thing like that, can’t he” (Twain 244). The passage then goes on to Huck deciding to steal the gold, hide it, and return the gold to the rightful owners: the daughters of Peter Wilks. The basic function of the passage in relationship with the plot is to show Huck and the development of his moral compass. This in turn helps him decide on what he has to do to protect the innocent orphans of Peter Wilks whom have been nothing but courteous to the three of them imposters. The passage shows a growth in Huck’s intellectual capacity and the maturing of his moral code. Instead of only thinking of himself, Huck starts feeling bad with “letting that old reptle rob her of her money” (Twain 244). The three sisters, Mary Jane, Susan, and Joanna, are depicted as well-mannered girls who were raised correctly and were very hospitable albeit the initial questioning of Joanna due to Huck’s inconsistencies with his story. The setting of this passage is based in the estate of the Late Peter Wilks. The mood of this passage is solemn yet lighthearted.
Twain’s skeptical take on religion can be elicited because superstition is a theme that both Huck and Jim bring up several times. Although both of these characters tend to be quite rational, they quickly become irrational when anything remotely superstitious happens to them. The role of superstition in this book is two-fold: First, it shows that Huck and Jim are child-like in spite of their otherwise extremely mature characters. Second, it serves to foreshadow the plot at several key junctions. For example, spilling salt leads to Pa returning for Huck, and later Jim gets bitten by a rattlesnake after Huck touches a snakeskin with his hands.
Twain satirically emphasizes the flaws of society and its unrealistic expectations in various manners (Gaither Par.9). One of the ways Twain accomplishes this is through the superficial expectations to be learned in the oppressive presence of Miss Watson. Huck finds Miss Watson to be oppressive and harsh at times. She expects a lot out of Huck, including understanding. An example of this is prayer. Miss Watson expects Huck to understand the meaning and purpose of prayer when she never adequately explains it to Huck, or allows him to learn about it without treating him as though he is unintelligent, when he fails to understand. When Huck prays for a fishing rod, he finds that he never receives one. He was under the impression that if he prayed he could expect to have anything that he desired because Miss Watson impressed upon him if he prayed he would get what he asked for “She told me to pray ever...
Johnson, Claudia Durst. Understanding Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Greenwood Press “Literature in Context” Series. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain during the late 1800’s (Mintz). The book brought major controversy over the plot, as well as the fact that it was a spin-off to his previous story, Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This book has remained a success due to Twain’s interesting techniques of keeping the audience’s attention. Chapters eleven and twelve of “Huckleberry Finn,” uses a first person limited point of view to take advantage of the use of dialogue while using many hyperboles to add drama to entertain the reader by creating description within the story without needing to pause and explain.
Twain, Mark. “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The Norton Anthology: American Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: Norton & Company Inc., 2012. 130-309. Print.
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.
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an immensely realistic novel, revealing how a child's morals and actions clash with those of the society around him. Twain shows realism in almost every aspect of his writing; the description of the setting, that of the characters, and even the way characters speak. Twain also satirizes many of the foundations of that society. Showing the hypocrisy of people involved in education, religion, and romanticism through absurd, yet very real examples. Most importantly, Twain shows the way Huckleberry's moral beliefs form amidst a time of uncertainty in his life.
The above analyzes Huckleberry Finn as a person, as a moral example, and as a revolutionary. Huckleberry (without even knowing it) led an attack on slavery and moral injustice. Mark Twain’s satirical genius allowed him to produce The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This novel addresses many problems such as social injustice, race relations, and relation to society. Consequently Huckleberry Finn is still an extremely important work of literature today and will remain as such far into the future.
Superstitions are a natural part of any culture's make-up. However, some superstitions are firmly rooted in one specific culture. This is evident in Baby Sugg's statement to Sethe where she says, "Not a house in the country ain't packed to its rafters with some dead negro's grief" (Morrison 5). Similarly, Ella comments to Stamp Paid, "You know as well as I do that people who die bad don't stay in the ground" (188).
Origins of superstition are deeply rooted in history and have a variety of reasons for the appearance, such as psychological, religious and economic aspects. Despite the fact that superstitions had different origins, according to Smith (2008), their function was to express the ideological associations of people and to indicate fears and anxieties of society at that time. To begin with, the psychological foundation of superstitions is the most deep-seated. It refers to the lack of knowledge and the impossibility to explain occurring events because of this. As Lindeman and Aarino (2007) argue, this fact can be compared with an understanding of the world by a child. As authors said, this understanding is explained by developmental psychologists by a notion of a core knowledge, which means process of cognitive learning about physical, psychological and biological entities and processes without any explanation, help or instructions. For instance, Lindeman and Aarino (ibid) recognize that animated subjects, such as ...