Huckleberry Finn Literary Analysis

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

Twain 's use of satire is one of the many things that makes this book a classic. By pointing out human weakness Twain helps show flaws in society and how society can be wrong. This book serves as a lesson about forming your own opinions and in Huck’s cause it is about breaking from society’s morals and deciding that slavery isn’t wrong. Huck 's experiences with Jim, helping him escape slavery illustrate this. Huck sees how people can be cruel even when they claim to be civilized. “”Twain 's satirical attack on slavery, hypocrisy, and prejudice in antebellum America compels readers to look not only at slavery and racism, but also at the whole tradition of American democracy””(PBS). Twain satirises the people Jim and Huck meet and the society they are in. Huck and Jim must oppose the “respectable” people they meet along the Mississippi, Miss Watson, Pap, the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, and the Duke and King(Nichols 13) because they don’t agree there ideas and they would take Jim back into slavery. How Miss Watson can be a

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been banned from many schools and public libraries due to the use of racial slurs. Although these slurs are frowned upon now, they were a normal part of the society shaped Huckleberry (Huck) Finns life. The world Huck Finn grew up in is before the abolition of slavery. This is when the states is begun to separate, but the civil war is not yet stirring. Huckleberry’s life was influenced by his small town of St. Petersburg, the time period he lived in, and certain people.

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.

Living on a raft sailing down the Mississippi River trying to free a slave seems like an ambitious task to take on. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim take on this laborious endeavor. Throughout their life on the raft, they encounter numerous obstacles, mostly chaotic, such as robbers and trying to keep Jim out of the public eye. In a passage rich with imagery Twain through Huck describes peaceful life on the raft with Jim to depict the serenity of their life apart from uncivilized society. Juxtaposing society and the raft, society subsist corruption and Huck and Jim do not want to be associated with the crooked society. Throughout the day Huck and Jim have to stop and hide from the racist society because if the 'civilized people' see a runaway slave they will return him

He realized that Jim is just as much as a person as he is, and that he cared for him more than he could ever try to care. This is what Twain’s goal was, he wished that the eyes of those ignorant enough to believe what they were taught should find out for themselves firsthand and challenge it. Caring contributed very much to the creation of the strong relationship between Huck and Jim. Jim becomes a friend, not just some slave to be bought and sold. With the impact of a good friendship, Huck's life is changed forever, and the reader takes on a new perspective of racial equality. After a difficult and timely struggle, both Jim and Huck achieve a good yet certain degree of freedom. Not just freedom from slavery for Jim or freedom from civilization for Huck, but freedom from the hard-headed and rigid mentality of the South and all of the immoral teachings it had to

Twain uses deliberate syntactical patterns in order to create an ironic disparity between Huck’s strong moral conscience and his inability to convey his judgments in a grammatically correct way. For example, Huck feels guilty about the plans of his acquaintances to con money from a mourning woman and “felt so ornery and low down and mean” that he decided to “hive that money for them or bust” (175). Twain uses the juxtaposition of Huck’s decision that stealing money from the woman was immoral and his plans to steal the money back from the conmen in his syntactical pattern to emphasize Huck’s ironic method of redeeming a crime with an action similar to the crime. Twain contrasts Additionally, when Huck encounters criminals while traveling down the river with Jim, he plans to hide the boat “in a place

“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.

Finding it hard to prostrate himself to a black person, Huck displays societal ideas of white supremacy. At the same time, however, Huck continues by stating, “I wouldn’t done that one if I’d knowed it would make him feel that way (Twain 105). This reveals his changing attitude towards Jim, and reflects his ability to respect Jim’s emotions as a fellow human. This compassion for Jim continues to evolve during their journey, however, muddied by Huck’s racism.

it got tiresome and lonesome. . . . I felt so lonesome I most wished I

Setting: The setting of this story changes throughout because Huckleberry Finn is moving around and exploring. In the beginning he is in a town called St. Petersburg that sits next to the mississippi river in the state of missouri. Which is across from Illinois. At this part he is living with a widow named Miss. Watson. Who owns a slave named Jim. The house is 2 stories with a shed on the outside in front of his bedroom window. Then on behind that there is Miss Watson’s garden and some woods. The mood here is jolly because they are all getting along and are friends. Then Huck’s dad comes to town to take back his son.He sleeps in a pen with hogs. The mood here is tense because they are fighting over who should

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (published in 1885), considered a classic of American-literature, and to some the zenith of American realism in literature and the apex of satirical writing in history, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has proven itself as a milestone in the history of literature and a turning point in American literature. The garnering of such acclaim, and accolades were due to The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn possibly being the most poignant and successful critique on society every put into writing. Twain does not waste any time with sophomoric cant in his meditation, but instead critiques the inherent cant present in society and the people entertaining this cant throughout that time; showing