Theme Of Supernatural Elements In Huckleberry Finn

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain provided social commentary on southern society and beliefs. Twain addressed a number of significant issues throughout the novel, including religion and slavery. There are a number of instances where Huck, the 14 year-old protagonist, pushes back against the idea of organized religion. Similarly, Huck encounters a personal and moral dilemma when it comes to the practice of slavery. This idea of rebellion against society is a major concept explored in the book. Small instances of Huck’s rebellion culminate with him eventually freeing a runaway slave. The main examples include Huck’s refusal to learn the Bible, Huck’s decision against not to turn Jim in, and Tom and Huck’s choice to set Jim free at the end of the story. Huck’s refusal to conform to and demonstrate the social norms of the South illustrate the theme of rebellion against society.

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim, a runaway slave, faces many obstacles in his journey to freedom. Huck Finn, a teenage boy and friend of JIm, is also facing difficulty with whether or not he should be helping Jim escape slavery. Many characters throughout the novel struggle to deal with conflicts. A conflict that people in today’s world are struggling to deal with, is the controversy over whether Huckleberry Finn is a racist novel or not. All-in-all, Huckleberry Finn is profoundly antislavery. Twain creates Him as a man who is brave and heroic. Twain also demonstrates that the blacks and whites relationship is not the only concern over racism, and reveals the voice of a slave attempting to survive in a white slave culture.

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

Anyone living in the time period Huckleberry Finn was alive for would be taught that black people should seen as slaves, not people. They were treated like objects and property instead of humans with feelings. Very few people were able see black people for who they really were. Huck eventually met Jim and got to know him as a person, instead of a slave. Huck was able to view Jim as a friend, a father figure, and a slave.

In the appropriately titled novel, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", by author, Mark Twain, a young boy, named, Huckleberry Finn's life is completely changed. The story is basically that, Huck is sent to live with his strict relatives that try to conform him into someone he isn't, but, sequentially ends up traveling down the Mississippi River, with an escaped slave, Jim. As the novel progresses, Jim and Huck develop an extremely close friendship, which makes him change his views on slavery. Despite numerous chances, Huck never turns Jim in, because of his new outlook on slavery. Although slavery is a main theme in the book, it is not the only one. Because, author, Mark Twain creates a social critique by juxtaposing the

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, gives an eye opening view of the South during this time period through the eyes of Huck and Jim. Huck and Jim are very unlikely friends but become friends never the less and share many experiences on the river together. The two influence each other in more ways than one and may not even realize they do. They both have their own opinions and views although society heavily impacts them. Society’s view on racism is Huck’s view on racism because that is what he was brought up to be. The society has a powerful effect to smother problems such as slavery and racism. Huck being brought up in a society that ingrains racism in to you as a child is struggling to decide what is morally right and wrong to do and who will hopefully realize Jim's humanity at the end of the novel (Culture Shock).While talking to Huck, Aunt Sally projects "It warn't the grounding -- that didn't keep us back but a little. We blowed out a cylinder-head." "Good gracious! anybody hurt?" "No'm. Killed a nigger." "Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people

Jim, as a slave, is always in fear. He was afraid of Miss Watson's treatment when he lived with her, afraid of being sent to be a plantation worker, and now terrified of being caught as a runaway (Twain 43). This alone is enough to ruin his humanity, not to mention his physical beatings as well. The only thing he has to hold on to are his various superstitions like, “You musn't count the things you are going to cook for dinner, because that would bring bad luck” (Twain 45), and all of the signs and other things he points out. Huckleberry, even though he is very fond of Jim, constantly refers to him as “Miss Watson's Jim” (Twain), reminding the reader that Huck's society was taught that slaves were just property and nothing more. Because of slavery, the southern society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a lapse in morals by almost all of the whites, actually supports the devastatingly inhumane psychological and physiological treatment of humans, and contains seriously horrible false perceptions and prejudices.

Huckleberry Finn is a young a boy who comes from the lowest levels of white society. Huckleberry Finn lost so many close things. For instance, he did not have a mother around to take care of him and love him. His father was known for being drunk all the time throughout this novel. Huck Finn, went on adventures, but he always went to church. Mark Twain, used biblical reference, since religion was a big part in the south; he used mythological references, and some references to the book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is considered one of the most influential works in American literature. During the novel, two characters, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, run away from civilization to pursue adventure. Both characters come from humble roots; Huck Finn is a juvenile delinquent, and Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout their journey, Jim serves as a mentor and a friend to Huck. Together, the two brave the lawless environment of the early 19th-century South. As the story progresses, Huck matures from a delinquent child into a young man with a set of morals. In the essay “The Role of Jim in Huckleberry Finn,” Frances Brownell asserts that Jim is the key to Huck’s character development and moral growth. Brownell’s argument

Superstition, excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings. Throughout this novel, the beliefs and superstitions of both black and white characters are showcased. How Mark Twain portrayal of both cultures contributes to the overall meaning of work is by using superstitions in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to present that violent beliefs people have, such as the color of a human beings skin, defines who they truly are, this prevents people from leaving their own comfort zones and growing up as a person.

The character most inclined to use superstition is Jim, and his actions are often laughable. The author even provides a list of some of the ludicrous things he believes: “And Jim said you mustn’t count the things you are going to cook for dinner, because that would bring bad luck. The same if you shook the tablecloth after sundown. And he said if a man owned a beehive and that man died, the bees must be told about it before sun-up next morning, or else the bees would all weaken down and quit work and die” (Twain 40). Twain is mocking humanity and showing how absurd superstitions sound, especially when all of one’s actions are based on them. Jim appears less intelligent as a result of his use of them, and Twain is proposing the same for society. Jim is also seen as childish for his belief in ghosts: “Doan’ hurt me—don’t! I hain’t ever done no harm to a ghos’. I alwuz liked dead people, en done all I could for ‘em. You go en git in de river ag’in, whah you b’longs, en doan’ do nuffin to Ole Jim, ‘at ‘uz ‘awuz yo’ fren’” (Twain 37). Jim had heard that Huck was murdered, and being the superstitious person he is, his first assumption when he sees Huck alive is that he is a ghost. A logical person would certainly have been in disbelief, but would not have jumped to the conclusion that Huck had come back from the dead. By showing how foolish his fictional characters look by relying on

In the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Huck runs away and makes everyone think that he is dead. During his adventure, Huck encounters Jim, where he promises to free him. At the end, Jim is a freeman and Huck decides to go west, so he would not get civilized. In the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s moral development changes during his adventure when he looks for Jim after he is sold and when he decides to go west to avoid getting civilized. While critics, like Jane Smiley and Toni Morrison, debate whether the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be read in schools or not, I argue that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be read in schools because the last twelve chapters are useless and it whitewashes the issue of slavery.

A major theme in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is slavery and our evolvement towards the institution. “In fact, Twain’s novel is often taught as the text that epitomizes this tradition, with Huck held up as its exemplar: a boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society. . .” (Bollinger, 32 – Say It Jim) In the beginning of Huckleberry Finn’s relationship with Jim, he has little respect for him and as their journey progresses he

In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain presents the problem of slavery in America in the 19th Century. Twain poses this problem in the form of a character named Huckleberry Finn, a white boy raised in the antebellum South. Huck starts to question his view regarding slavery when he acquaints himself more intimately with a runaway slave while he himself tries to run away. Huck’s development as a character is affected by society’s influence on his experiences while growing up in the South, running away with Jim, and trying to save Jim. Although Huck decides to free Jim, Huck’s deformed conscience convinces him that he is doing the wrong thing.

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.