Analysis Of Mark Twain 's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Essay

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a piece of fiction that is so strongly written it can be conceived as the truth. Mark Twain’s ability to paint a clear and realistic picture of the Southern way of life in 1885 is unparalleled in any author. The story of Huckleberry Finn is one that gives ample opportunity for interesting sights into the South at that time. The story consists of Huck and a runaway slave, along with two men and Huck’s faithful friend Tom Sawyer and some points of the novel, floating down the Mississippi’s shores and encountering different feats of Southern culture, tragedy, and adventure. A nice example of Twain’s ability to turn an event on a river into an analysis of Southern culture is a fun bit of the story where Huck

People often hesitate to accept what they do not understand. In the absence of love and compassion, it is no question that fear, ignorance, and hatred, all contribute to a melting pot of negativity in the world. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is about the love and friendship cultivated by a young boy and a black slave on the Mississippi River. Despite the pair’s differences, they are able to endure the struggles and difficulties that the toilsome journey brings. Mark Twain, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, emphasizes the shift in Huck’s view towards slavery by contrasting Huck’s initial tone of reflectiveness to his assertive tone, both collectively addressing the issue of racism in society.

In Huckleberry Finn there are several themes. There are themes of racism and slavery, civilized society, survival, water imagery, and the one I will be discussing, superstition ( SparkNotes Editors). Superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation (“Merriam-Webster”). Superstition was a very popular theme in Huckleberry Finn that you saw throughout the story. Huck was somewhat superstitious, but Jim speaks a wide range of superstition and folk tales. In the story it makes Jim seem as if he is unintelligent, when really his superstitions and beliefs come true and shows he

Oppression has been a problem in this country, dating all the way back to the Europeans traveling to the New World, and forcing themselves on the Native’s and famously the British oppression of the thirteen colonies. Oppression is still a serious problem today, with almost all minorities, such as women, African-Americans, and the LGBT community feeling it’s pressure. Although these groups have gained seen many changes in their freedom, they are still being oppressed. Oppression is a common theme throughout American Literature, weaving in and out of many that are seen as classic American novels and poetry. Some of these books include Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the poetry of Langston Hughes, Richard Wright’s Native Son and Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. The form of oppression that is evident throughout all these works, is racial oppression, and narrowing it down even further, the oppression of African Americans.

A work of literature can be read by ten different people, and it will be understood ten different ways; Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is no exception. At the end of the novel, Tom reveals his plans for the “evasion” which is relatively immoral, but Tom and Huck would never know whether it was or was not. In addition to its blind cruelty, it is misleading in that it seems as if it is meant to be interpreted, which is one reason why it is constantly critiqued. Another reason it is hotly debated is due to its contextual inconsistency and the potential underlying meanings of those anomalies. The multiple possibilities it opens up to the reader can be interpreted in a variety ways and has been by many literary critics. By using the commentary made on the “evasion” by literary critics, and through examples drawn from the novel itself, it will become evident that Twain did not write the “evasion” for any consistent reason, other than to fit the inconsistency of his novel.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a coming of age novel set in the 1840’s in St. Petersburg, MO. Although written 20 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, America, especially in the south, was struggling with racism. The novel contains many thought provoking themes such as racism, social class, morals, and conforming to society’s expectations. Perhaps, one of the most important themes of the book is Huck’s refusal to conform to society’s rules or to be “Sivilized” by Widow Douglas. Throughout the novel Huck proves to the reader that staying true to himself rather than conforming to society’s expectations will allow him to live a more satisfied life.

The highly lauded novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, entertains the reader with one adventure after another by a young boy (and his runaway slave friend Jim) in the mid-1800s who is on strange but interesting path to adolescence and finally adulthood. What changes did he go through on the way to the end of the novel? And what was his worldview at the end of the novel? These two questions are approached and answered in this paper.

The latter part of the nineteenth century saw civil war and the end of slavery in the United States. The post-Reconstruction years have been romanticized and popularized in the literary world and a nostalgic obsession followed those years of mayhem and political turmoil. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is one novel that has continued to make its literary mark, always controversial, to the curiosity of pre-civil war years of slavery in the South. Huckleberry Finn is an excellent study on Jim’s treatment as a commentary of post-Reconstruction life for African Americans.

The character development of Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain’s piece, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” reflects the transition from boyhood to manhood of the main protagonist who is challenged by society to either maintain his own unique perspective and attitude or assimilate into a civilized community that upholds traditional White-American beliefs. Similarly, Kate Chopin in her novel “The Awakening,” utilizes fictional storytelling to articulate the internal struggle of Edna Pontellier on her quest to part from her conventional role as a woman and for the first time since youth, pursue her self interests. Chopin’s work targets current social understanding of morality and ethics, removing the notion that you have to abide by what society demands from you based on predetermined unjustified reason. The development of the characters’ identity in these texts reciprocate the complex nature of living life with society pushing down on you with standards and expectations, challenging your own thoughts and visions. This a persistent topic that Chopin and Twain, both engage in explaining through storytelling to highlight current social issues, where they indirectly reference the American Civil War and Women’s Rights Movement during the mid to late eighteen hundreds. The social conflict in Huckleberry Finn examines the nature of an individual’s process to gain consciousness about their role in life, which enables them to do what they consider morally just. This thinking is also

In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain juxtaposes two environments that tackle many different aspects of life. From Christian reforms, domestic abuse, and slavery to reflective solitude and liberation, Twain brings together a plethora of obstacles for the main character Huckleberry Finn and his companion Jim to encounter and assimilate. The two contrasting settings depict intermingling themes of the repressive civilization on land, the unrestricted freedom on the raft, and the transcendentalism that Huck and Jim experience during their escape from captivity towards liberation.

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious.

“The situation of the orphan is truly the worst, you’re a child, powerless, with no protectors or guides. It’s the most vulnerable position you can be in, to see someone overcome those odds tells us something about the human spirit. They are often depicted as the kindest or most clever of characters.” Michelle Boisseau describes how important these types of characters are. In a Sunday Times article, she states that a lot of the stories and novels are considered to be apologues about orphans becoming the hero of the book. Huck’s story is quite like this subject. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain, it’s about a boy named Huckleberry Finn, who sets

“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” (Twain, ix) Mark Twain opens his book with a personal notice, abstract from the storyline, to discourage the reader from looking for depth in his words. This severe yet humorous personal caution is written as such almost to dissuade his readers from having any high expectations. The language in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is completely “American” beyond the need for perfect grammar. “Mark Twain’s novel, of course, is widely considered to be a definitively American literary text.” (Robert Jackson,

Throughout the evolution of the world’s societies, the roles of women seem to act as a reflection of the time period since they set the tones for the next generation. Regardless of their own actions, women generally appear to take on a lower social standing and receive an altered treatment by men. In Mark Twain’s pre-civil war novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, lies a display of how society treats and views women, as well as how they function in their roles, specifically in regards to religion and molding the minds and futures of children. The novel’s showcase of women affords them a platform and opportunity to better see their own situation and break away with a new voice.

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is widely considered a classic - an embodiment of American literature. It rightfully tackles the issue of slavery through the illustration and vernacular of the young protagonist, Huck Finn and his adventures with a runaway slave, Jim. However, beneath a linear challenge towards slavery, Twain’s depiction of Huck’s changing views of Jim reveal Huck’s unique attitude and philosophy towards slavery, and in particular - his partner-in-“crime” - Jim. Although Huck never abandons societal opinions of slavery and never opposes the bondage, his exception for Jim unveils the follies of his society and flawed upbringing.