Freedom And Inhumanity In Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the development of a young boy named Huck Finn. We see Huck develop in character, attitude and maturity as he goes on his adventure down the Mississippi River. This is displayed through his search for freedom from civilization and it's beliefs and through his personal observations of a corrupt and immoral society. Most importantly, we are in Huck's head as he goes through his confusion over his supposedly immoral behavior and his acceptance that he will “go to hell” as he conquers his social beliefs.

"Sometimes we would 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 or two--on a raft or a scow, you know; and maybe you could hear a fiddle or a song coming over from one of them crafts" (Examining the River in Terms of Symbolism in 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'). Freedom is a wonderful thing many Americans today take for granted. According to Webster's Dictionary, the word freedom is defined as "the condition of being free from restraints." Although, both characters, Huck and Jim, were free in different senses, they were still free. "...Because the river was so peaceful and calm that it led to their freedom to do as they please without the barriers given by society on land" (Examining the River in Terms of Symbolism in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn")"Jim is safe from those who hunt runaway slaves. On the river, Huck has the time to ponder all that goes on around

“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

     Life on the river was also good at first, but it also became tiresome for Huck. He liked the sense of freedom that he had while he was on the river with Jim, he didn't have to go to school nor did he have any rules that he had to live by. He didn't have to worry about what his father was going to do to him. However the river still set limits on their freedom, Jim and Huck were only able to travel at night because they were afraid of Jim being found and whenever they would stop for the day, they would have to cover up the raft with leaves and foliage. Huck did not like having to be the one that would have to go look for food and water for them, he never had to be responsible until this time and, he didn't like having to use such precautions so that Jim would not be found. Huck could have made life easier for himself and turned Jim in, but he looked at him as a friend not as a fugitive slave.

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, a theme of freedom is expressed. Freedom takes on a different view for each character in the novel. In Huck's journey, and in Jim, the runaway slave, they acquire freedom. Jim's hunt for freedom is an escape from slavery, while Huck's is a method to get away from the civilized world. Their search for freedom is for one reason, their happiness. This is expressed throughout the novel in Jim's wish of escaping slavery and Huck's desire for being uncivilized.

Huckleberry Finn is also lifted into great literary status by Twain’s compelling use of symbolism. An example of this symbolism is the Mississippi River. Throughout the novel, the river symbolizes life’s journey and, eventually, Huck’s natural integrity. It represents a place of ease and safety for both Huck and Jim. There is a major difference between their life on the river and their life on the land. On the river, life for Huck is peaceful and easy yet not without its dangers, whilst life on the land is most often cruel, demanding, and deceitful. Another example is how life on the raft is a paradox because, even

While Twain's book was rubbing Mrs. Smiley the wrong way, she grew critical of American Literature all together. She pondered about the definition of American Literature and concluded that “we have lost the subject of how various groups who may not escape to the wilderness are to get along in society”. This notion, valid as it may be, is in the end a moot point. It is just not possible for a vast majority of the people to escape to the wilderness due to the various social relations that reside. Few of us can be in Huck's situation, to not have a family or a place to call home, a rather lonesome position, but an advantageous one for sailing down the Mississippi. Huck is lucky to have a friend such as Jim to sail along side him, because the trip could have been a quite deal more lonesome. Escaping to the wilderness can be just as unattractive as being restricted by society. Like Huck dashing towards the towns and fleeing straight back to the river, we always dream of the opposite of what we already have, but never truly reaching an equilibrium. What, then, is even the point of romantic freedom if it but an illusion? We can take the alluring aspects from the illusion and learn from them. It isn't the illusion that we want, for it has its own problems like an angry town victim to a scam or a wreckage filled with robbers, but the thought experiments from it which brings us a step closer to a perfect world.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck experience different way of life and different people. Huck and Jim are on a raft throughout there adventure and it becomes there home. Huck considers a raft a home because Huck has a horrible home, other people are rude and murders, and it goes places, anywhere even and keep from society.

There were many reasons why Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain was trying to point out all the flaws or corrupt judgments that society considered okay to have during that time. Twain was trying to show that people don’t change but they should be mindful of how their actions and opinions are affecting society. This book also showed that people didn’t really have much freedom, even living in a free country many people were held back by beliefs, authority, age, race, etc. The author, Mark Twain, also showcased many symbols throughout the book. One symbol that is the main character, Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn symbolizes America. Both were born free and were trying to fight for their freedom back. Two other symbols that I noticed were the river and raft. The river first represented the possibility of Jim and Huck finding freedom from their imprisonment, but later on in the book the river represented the actual freedom of the friends. The raft symbolized the friendship of Jim the slave and Huckleberry Finn the abused child. The two spent lots of time bonding on the raft as it drifted them to their freedom. All three symbols connect to the author's purpose. The main connection of the symbols is freedom, but they also help prove that a simple friendship can break the pattern of the hypocritical ways of society. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the protagonist to symbolize self

The Mississippi river, the transportation for Huck and Jim, also represents freedom. Before escaping pap's terror, Huck felt uncomfortable by society and also

Furthermore, the novel illustrates the unrestricted freedom the river provides through the connection with nature, independence from slavery, and the pair’s relationship. After escaping the clutches of the restrictive lifestyle of Miss Watson and the violent relationship with his father, Huck seeks refuge in the waters surrounding himself with nature, considering it as his home as he proclaims, “...there warn’t no home like the raft…Other places feel so cramped and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (Twain 117). As Jim escapes from civilization towards life on the raft where open friendship and freedom that the river provides overcome prejudice against racism and slavery, he grows as an individual as he declares risking his life and freedom for Huck, “my heart wuz mos’' broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn' k'yer no mo'

Jean-Paul Satre once said that “Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.” Freedom is an idea that is expressed in multiple ways. In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn freedom is a theme that fluxuates between characters. Mark Twain wrote Huck Finn as an American realism story. The novel was based around the pre civil war period where slavery was a big factor of life. Slavery was a key basis of whether a man was free or not during this time period. Freedom is something that has a different meaning to everybody or to any situation it is applied to.

Life on the river for Huck and Jim is very peaceful. Jim built a snug wigwam to keep their belongings dry, they could just lay looking up at the sky, and they good weather. Huck says, “We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness” (Twain, 64). The river provided Huck and Jim many things, not only food, but also a way to escape. For Huck, the river provided him an escape from his life with his father and the Widow. For Jim, the river provided an escape from being a slave. On the river they were both free from their past lives. Mark Twain, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, shows us how nature can offer an escape from society’s restrictions and evils. Even though nature has changed immensely since this book was written, it still provides an escape from society. In today’s world, nature can be utilized as a thinking place or as a place to recover from pain. There are many more themes that we can see in today’s society. Several themes of Huck Finn are still relevant today, including “Nature offers an escape from society’s restrictions and evils,” “People tend to act cruelly or irrationally in groups,” and “Discrimination causes pain and suffering for many people”.

Freedom is what defines an individual, it bestows upon someone the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. Therefore, enslavement may be defined as anything that impedes one’s ability to express their freedoms. However, complete uncompromised freedom is virtually impossible to achieve within a society due to the contrasting views of people. Within Mark Twain’s 1885 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, numerous controversies are prevalent throughout the novel, primarily over the issue of racism and the general topic of enslavement. The characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn along with their development take an unmistakable, resilient stand against racism and by doing such in direct relation

With Huck and Jim running away from slavery towards freedom they have to learn how to travel and survive without being caught. While they both are working together to find freedom they learn that they should stay on the raft where no one can see them but learn that there are still some challenges. While being on the raft the need to get some food so they would have to go to shore but learned to only go at night as people could get suspicious but learn that it is even more dangerous on shore. As Huck and Jim learn, the is raft is much safer and has more freedom that the shore but the raft brings them to the danger of no freedom showing how Twain tried to escape the slavery society he did not believe in which brought him to more trouble.