Huck Finn Analysis

The book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary

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.

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn satirizes gratuitous violence, excessive greed, and racism. First, Twain illustrates the satire in the gratuitous violence with the backwater families and the rural country people starting with the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. Huck first meets the Grangerfords when Huck and Jim’s raft breaks apart and Huck ends up on a shore. Huck meets Buck Grangerford who asks if Huck is a part of the Shepherdson family, in which Huck responds that he is not. Buck explains to him that the Grangerfords and the Shepherdson’s have been in a feud with each other for as long as the families can remember, however, no one knows or can even remember how or why these two families are fighting. Twain goes on to explain that the two families even go to church with their rifles while the priest preaches about love and peace. Twain also uses Boggs and Sherburn to further satirize these nonsensical violent habits. Boggs, who is very drunk, keeps causing a ruckus and speaking ill of Sherburn. Sherburn tells him to stop, but Boggs does not listen, so Sherburn shoots and kills Boggs. Soon after a mob forms declaring that they must kill Sherburn in retaliation. Sherburn tells the mob that they do not have the prowess to go through with their plan to kill him. He says that “Because you’re brave enough to tar and feather poor friendless cast-out women that come along here, did that make you think you had grit enough to lay your hands on a man? Why, a man’s safe in the hands of

Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is said to be one of the greatest American novels to ever be written and is what all other pieces of American literature are based off of. The novel has been debated for over an entire century and will continue to be debated for much longer. Never the less, Huckleberry Finn teaches young students and adults the important life lessons. ”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain should remain required reading in American Literature classes because it enlightens students about the horrors of racism and slavery, familiarizes students with the South during time period, and properly portrays the powers of conformity.

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 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a book of social criticism, in fact,

Mark Twain's greatly acclaimed novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, invites a reader to climb aboard with Huck and Jim as they travel down the Mississippi River. Although the friendship formed between Huck, a young white teenager, and Jim, a runaway African American slave, is certainly unusual for the Pre-Civil War Era, also important is their use of superstition for interpreting the world and their need for finding freedom and happiness. Having found commonality in their enslavement before their journey, now both Huck and Jim desire freedom from their different oppressions, civilization and slavery, respectively. These combined circumstances drive them to plan their escape from captivity and travel away together. With hopes of happiness, this journey of growth down the Mississippi River provides not only an escape from their enslavements, but also widens their worldly experiences, seen through the usage of superstitious beliefs, bringing Huck and Jim newfound freedoms, which affect choices that ultimately decide their futures.

Jim is introduced and seen later in the story. Jim is a slave owned by Miss Watson, who

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a literary masterpiece penned by American author Mark Twain. This novel is extraordinary in the sense that it explores the role of race in 19th century America while also describing the lives of average civilians of the time. This central idea is illustrated through the relationship between Twain’s protagonist Huckleberry Finn, a young white boy, and Jim, a runaway black slave who both originate from the Mississippi River Valley. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Mark Twain portrays African Americans and women in a way that embraces the fact that they are insignificant and peripheral; even though they are the driving forces behind Huckleberry Finn’s growth and development. Despite Twain’s choosing

In the classic tale by Mark Twain,The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, introduces a young lower class white boy living in St. Petersburg, Missouri around the 1840’s who was brought up by a drunk deadbeat father. Huck, our protagonist undergoes through many transformations by questioning the morals of society which contradict the humanity he acknowledges in Jim, his negro friend. Twain uses a child's lack of authority to contrast a slaves rights on their expedition down the Mississippi River; symbolizing freedom in the society they are unwillingly trapped in, isolated from and mistreated .The themes that lie within Twain’s coming of age novel are; the hypocrisy of the ‘’civilized society’’ ,slavery and freedom, and morality.

Mark Twain, notable for his works in the late 19th century, grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, and worked as a riverboat pilot along the Mississippi River. Missouri was a slave state; it was there that Twain became familiar with the institution of slavery, as well as the ideas and practices of racism and inequality that dominated American life during that period. Although freedom was the basis of America’s foundation, the novel is written during a time that freedom is often in question, but rarely permitted. It is this culture that provides the background for his great work, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” In the novel, Twain uses the character of Huckleberry Finn, the symbolism of the river, and the irony of Huck’s relationship with Jim to promote the theme of freedom as the ultimate goal of mankind.

During the latter nineteenth century, the famous author Mark Twain, less commonly known as Samuel Clemens, produced The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A few years prior to the publishing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain released possibly his most famous book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which is very much an adventure novel. In the early chapters of Twain’s sequel, it appears that¬¬¬¬ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is another adventure novel, and that it is just following a different character from Twain’s earlier world of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. However, it is quickly realized that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is in fact not an adventure book for the youth, but a much more mature story with a large amount of symbolism and satire. This novel by Mark Twain follows the life of a young boy, Huckleberry Finn, as he rides down the mighty Mississippi River on a makeshift raft. Along the way, the boy runs into many various challenges, or episodes, which seem to hinder his progress down the Mississippi. Deep satirical and symbolical meaning can be found in each of these episodes, as Mark Twain was known to love satire and to enjoy making fun of all aspects of life and society. Many have praised The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a “great American novel” due to many conventional themes that they try to find in Huck’s ‘adventures’. The Adventures of Huckleberry

On the same token, the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons have shown hypocrisy through humor by bringing their guns to church in which the “men kept… between their knees or stood them handy against the wall” (121). This is ironic since the church is a place of holiness and “all about brotherly love.” (121). Twain makes fun of the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords feud by making Huck ask Buck about the feud. Buck, unable to recall why this whole thing started or why so many people are being killed for it, is insane and idiotic. The two families don’t even know what they are fighting for yet, they take it so seriously and put themselves on the line for it. Thus, the families destroyed themselves because of foolish pride and their idiotic actions. This only shows how society is foolish and people fight over the simplest of things.

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.

The following paper will briefly show arguments, and conclusions within the writings of Mark Twain’s story Huckleberry Finn. I will discuss the various themes that Mark Twain is bringing to light within his story. This paper will show how Mark Twain uses those themes within the story, and how they are specifically used. I will also briefly discuss the life of Samuel Clemons, the author known as Mark Twain, and give the reasoning behind choosing the name of Mark Twain when writing his novels. Themes of escapism will be discussed.