Category: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain shows Hucks maturity by his journey with Jim, he builds emotions and grows up. Huck is a teenage boy that is followed throughout the book maturing with his adventure with Jim down the Mississippi River, he has an unrealistic imagination that is ongoing, meeting Jim and running away from reality, and lying to multiple people along his journey.

In the beginning of the book Huck and Tom Sawyer came up with the idea of making a gang, They had a lot of ideas in their heads that were unrealistic. In this gang, they would kidnap ladies and put them in a cave, and they would rob wagons and steal money from the town. Huck and Tom had a very big imagination, they came up with so many ideas, but not one of them was ever going to happen. ““Now we’ll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer’s Gang. Everybody that wants to join has to take an oath, and write his name in blood.”” (Page 5) This was when the idea of their gang came up and it wasn’t going to happen because it was a group of young teenage boys trying to destroy the town with this gang. Huck started out in the book with a childish imagination to then making the decision to hop on a raft to get away from his father.

Huck floated down the river to a big island where he met Jim, little did he know that this journey was going to impact the rest of his life. Huck got on a raft and floated to an island where he would stay hidden for the next couple nights. ““Why, how long you been on the island, Jim?” “I come heah de night arter you’s killed.”” (Page 30) Huck found Jim on the island and he thought that if a young boy could run away then a grown man could as well, so he did to go and find him. This shows Huck maturing by going from thinking he is going to create a group of robbers, to running away from his father that is scares him. Huck decides that the only way he can solve these problems is to run away from it. Along the way he couldn’t tell anyone the truth about Jim because he is technically a runaway slave, and his point of running away is to not get caught.

On their journey, they stopped and Huck had to talk to people to get information about when Jim can be seen. Huck was a very good liar and whenever he got caught, he would always come up with something that would make sense. ““Honey, I thought you said it was Sarah when you first come in?” “Oh, yes’m, I did. Sarah Mary Williams. Sarah’s my first name. Some calls me Sarah, some calls me Mary.”” (Page 44) Huck went to an old lady’s house and pretended to be a girl, as he was caught in the act of lying, of course, he came up with something that made sense, Sarah Mary Williams. Huck goes to multiple townspeople’s houses to gather information to where he needs to take Jim, but later on he almost gets turned in by the Duke and the King for money. Huck had to figure out how to escape them as well, while hiding Jim. Huck does whatever he can to help Jim out, even when he sees how much money he could get for turning him in, he would never do that to his friend.

Overall, the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows the maturity throughout the book with the character Huck Finn. In the end, this taught Huck that he can’t give up on a true friend. He helped Jim escape after he was captured by Tom Sawyer’s family, even though there was a mob of angry farmers that didn’t make Huck stop what he wanted to accomplish. Huck was a teenage boy that is followed throughout the book maturing with his adventure with Jim down the Mississippi River, he has an unrealistic imagination that he keeps throughout the book, to meeting Jim and running away from reality, then lying to multiple people along his journey.

Friendship, freedom, and adventure—The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is about the journey of a boy named Huck through the Mississippi River as he frees himself from his abusive father by faking his own death and as he helps free his new-found friend Jim who is a slave escaping from his master. Together, the mischievous Huck and the kind-hearted yet enslaved Jim set sail towards the freedom and adventure they both aspire as they discover a long-lasting friendship with one another.

Background of the Author

November 30, 1835—John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens’ sixth child named Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born at a small village in Missouri, Florida and unbelievably, later on, he was known to be the world-renowned writer who fabricated the words and stories to formulate some of the greatest literary pieces the world has ever seen; Mark Twain.

Almost all throughout his childhood, Twain and his family lived near the Mississippi. When his father, John, died when he was 12 years old due to pneumonia, they experienced a financial crisis. When he turned 13, he left school to end their crisis and this is when he became a printer’s apprentice, and then, a printer and editorial assistant which signified the remarkable start of his love for writing. Four years later, he went to St. Louis for a printer’s job but he became a river pilot’s apprentice instead. He was 21 years old when he learned to pilot a steamboat in the Mississippi and became licensed two years later. He loved this career dearly but he was stopped due to the Civil War and this pushed him to change his path and retreat back to his career in writing when he moved to Western America which was when he started to use the phenomenal pen name that the world knows. It was inspired from his previous beloved career; twain means two and when combined with mark, it is a riverboat-slang which pertains to the ‘two fathoms or 12 feet which is indicated by a line with a second mark that signifies the deepness that is safe for boats’. This pen name also mirrored his life at that time since he was experiencing financial problems which signified the dangerous waters of the Mississippi River and his newly-found career being the safe haven on his life.

Literary pieces like ‘Life on Mississippi’ and ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ made by Mark Twain reflected his life, just like ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, as most of his work is inspired of his real-life experiences. ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ is the sequel of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and it focuses more on the life of Tom Sawyer’s best friend, Huck. The settings of the story are mostly along the Mississippi River as the characters continuously traveled from town to town through a canoe and a raft. This reflected Twain’s beloved career as a riverboat pilot in the Mississippi River. Also, at the end of the story, it was revealed that Huck’s father died; another aspect that can be associated to his living as he grew up without a father image due to his father’s death before he entered his teenage years. The life of the main character in the novel also experienced various hardships, especially in financial aspect as he was not born rich and the only money he had was the money he and Tom found which happened on the first book. This reflected Twain’s financial struggle throughout his life.

Therefore, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, is one of the world’s greatest author who faced various challenges and hardships that reality thrown in front of him and he turned all of those into the inspiration and motivation he needed to achieve success.

Characters

This part presents the main characters of the novel, some of their lines, and their significance in the story.

Huckleberry Finn

‘I rose up, and there was Jackson’s Island, about two mile and a half downstream…’—playful, compassionate, and mischievous are the words that can sum up the characteristics of Huck who is the protagonist of the novel which story is about his life. He is a 13-year-old boy who has brown hair and white skin. He is an adventurous boy and one of his adventures is faking his death in order to escape from his abusive Pap, his father. Being a risk-taker is what he is as he was influenced by his whimsical friend Tom Sawyer. The quote above shows the significance of Huck’s role since that scene was the moment he escaped from his father which signified the start of his journey. Also, it depicts the freedom he gained, not needing a father, and the adventures coming his way.

Jim

‘…I hear old missus tell de widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn’ want to, but she could git eight hund’d dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’. De widder she try to git her to say she wouldn’ do it, but I never waited to hear de res’. I lit out mighty quick, I tell you.’—brave, timid, caring and kind-hearted are the words to describe the new-found friend by Huck. Jim is a black 30-year-old slave of Miss Watson, the sister of the widow who adopted Huck when his father was gone. As stated in the quote above, he escaped when his owner tried to sell him which was the significance of Jim’s role since without him running, they will not have such adventure; Huck hiding from his father and helping Jim escape and become a free slave.

Tom Sawyer

‘I’ll help you steal him!’—adventurous, stubborn, also mischievous, and completely impractical are the words to define the best friend of Huck, Tom Sawyer, who is taller and older than him. Tom is a young boy who has blond hair and white skin, and the protagonist of the first book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The quote stated above depicts the moment when Tom agreed to free Jim when Huck asked him. This shows the significance of his role since it was because of him they had such final adventure. He already knew that Miss Watson set Jim free in her will when she died but he wanted an adventure which is why he did not say anything about it to Huck and Jim. Huck looks up to Tom because for him, Tom has an amazing way of resolving and doing things; this has an impact on Huck’s decision-making and actions throughout the novel.

Pap Finn

‘So he watched out for me one day in the spring, and catched me, and took me up the river about three mile in a skiff, and crossed over to the Illinois shore where it was woody and there warn’t no houses but an old log hut in a place where the timber was so thick you couldn’t find it if you didn’t know where it was.’—cruel, selfish, and troublesome are what Huck’s Pap is. A 40-year-old drunk and abusive father who has pale white skin, and a long greasy and tangled black hair. The line stated was the moment when Pap kidnapped Huck because he wanted to get his money from Judge Thatcher which his son earned as a reward due to the events in the first book. Due to him, Huckleberry was able to start his own adventure.

Setting

Mississippi River is the main setting and the focal point of the novel as it is where Huck and Jim’s journey and adventures happened as they traverse its endless radiant and glistening water in search of freedom riding their raft and canoe. The refreshing air, the touch of cold water, the aroma of the fragrant flowers planted at the riverbank, and the chirping of the birds inhabiting the trees surrounding the river are what accompanied them all throughout their adventures but with this, dark and dim clouds, and swish of massive waves also faced and tested them. The river symbolizes their way to freedom since through it, they were able to travel and escape from the people holding them back. Also, it symbolizes their friendship; calm and tranquil but sometimes, a storm occurs like conflicts such as when Huck is conflicted of being an abolitionist if he helps a slave like Jim escape. However, like the river, the friendship they formed is infinite and for-life.

The story started with Huck living at Widow Douglas’s house in St. Petersburg, Missouri which seems ‘perfect’, as Huck described, and as large as a mansion. The house symbolizes a civilized life wherein everything is in a normal state and there is a stable comfortable position in life. St. Petersburg is a big fictional town whose citizens are civilized and have good manners. This is a place full of love and has quality education which is why almost all citizens are well-educated. It seems like this town is bright and radiant symbolizing hope. This is where Huck experienced a glimpse of a perfect life.

The cabin in the woods is where his father brought him and kept him. It is a small house made by tough woods situated in the middle of the forest surrounded by birds chirping and near the continuously rushing water of the river. This cabin was dark and filled with acrid and terrible moments of Huck being abused by his Pap. Despite all the violence he experienced in this place due to his father, he preferred it more compared to the house of Widow Douglas’ but later on, Huck could not take the way his father treats him anymore so he decided to escape, through faking his death by killing a squealing pig and put the sticky blood over the cabin, which is where his adventure officially started.

Cairo, Illinois is a small, quiet, and peaceful town with a few houses which is wide and connected to the free-flowing and glistening water of Mississippi and Ohio River. This is Huck and Jim’s goal destination for it is a free-state that will give Jim the freedom he aspires. They were looking forward to inhaling the fresh air of Cairo but instead a dark foggy night only the lights of houses bringing clarity to the path greeted them. Unfortunately, they were unable to arrive at their destination.

The final adventure of freeing Jim happened at Phelps’ Farm which is a small cotton plantation with silky and smooth grass, and bulky old trees enclosed by a fence. Many slaves that serve as farmers harvesting abundant grains, and cultivating fertile plants and trees were also present at the place. A big double log-house and three little cabins are also located within the estate; the former for the Silas Phelps and his family, and the latter for the slaves serving them—one of the cabins was where Jim was imprisoned. When Jim was captured by the Phelps, Huck tried to help him escape by posing as Tom Sawyer unintentionally; he was not aware that they were relatives of Tom. When Tom arrived, they tricked his family and more conflicts arise as they free Jim through Tom’s complicated ways which were amusing for Huck. Later on, the story was concluded in this setting; Jim was revealed to be a free slave already, and Huck’s Pap was already dead.

Conflict

The four classifications of conflicts were observed in the novel. First, the Man versus Man which was depicted when Huck was kidnapped by his own father. He was continuously abused by him when his Pap was drunk. Due to this, he escaped from him where he also witnessed conflicts along the way such as the Duke and Dauphin fighting one another and the tragic feud between the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons. Next, the Man versus Nature since a storm and thick fog came while Huck and Jim were riding the canoe and raft traveling through the river. This event separated them, each of them fearing that the other died. Throughout their journey, the weather and the state of the river continuously challenged their adventure. The remaining two are the most important conflicts in the story. The Man versus Society follows as Pap pursued to get the money Huck had through court trials since it was in the custody of the judge. Also, throughout the story, Huck is hiding Jim and helping him escape from Miss Watson for him not to be sold to other people since he is a slave which makes this action an obstruction of justice. With this, every once in a while, in the novel, Huck is bothered by the thought of whether to be an abolitionist and oppose the law or keep his friend Jim safe, away from Miss Watson, and achieve his dream of being free; such thoughts are battling in his mind, thus, the Man versus Himself.

Plot

Slavery and Freedom

These matters can be seen right from the start of the story when Miss Watson introduced Jim to Huck. If you are black, you are expected to be a slave and that is why there is a discrepancy between people. We are born differently but we have the same rights and goals in our life. There is a dramatic scene that might make readers consider and be persuaded to respect every person’s rights as an individual. The moment when Jim said to Huck that he wanted to be a free and rich man for him to buy his family and live peacefully; this emphasized that white or black, every person’s dream is to be with their loved ones and live a calm and serene life. Thus, all throughout the story, Jim and Huck are trying so hard to reach the freedom they both deserve; freedom from being a slave and being sold to other people by Miss Watson, and freedom from being abused by a violent father, respectively. Both of them are starving to achieve freedom, physically and spiritually. The Mississippi River serves as the symbol for the two characters’ way for having the pinch of freedom. Even though they have difficulty in their journey in being free men, they were able to achieve genuine happiness and freedom they are waiting for.

Racial and Social Classification

White people are the most dominant characters in the story and yet the black people are just in the background in the whole novel. They are just asked to do chores and not to save someone or be fully noticed as the superhero in the novel. This segregation makes the reader see that everyone should be treated equally regardless of diversity. Aside from having issues with races, being rich and poor is tackled in the novel. Grangerfords symbolizes people who are extremely rich which puts them on top of the pyramid, makes them superior, and be the ones to control the power and the existence of slavery.

Violence

This issue is vividly evident to Huck Finn, especially to what he is experiencing to his Pap. The whiskey symbolizes the violence since every time that his father will get drunk, he will always beat and hurt him. Also, Huck experienced the tragic and brutal feud among the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons. Between these families are the guns and chaos that separates them in being good ones. It is like the remake of the modern Romeo and Juliet specifically the war among Capulets and Montagues. He clearly saw the death of every member of the Grangerfords especially his friend, Buck. The author emphasizes that whether the person is educated or not, there will be nonsensical conflicts that can cause to a person’s fall.

Superstition

In the opening chapters of the novel, various things are being believed by people that causes to Huck’s bad lucks. When Huck spilled the salt, he was told by Miss Watson not to lay the salt on his shoulder because it will cause him bad luck. Another one is the spider he let burnt to a lighted candle believing him to have bad luck. Also, the snakeskin he brought to Jim ’caused’ them bad luck where Huck made the incident of hiding the dead snake under Jim’s bed that made Jim bitten by another snake that came near and surrounded the dead snake. For the author to show foreshadowing that Huck’s Pap will come to see him, Huck asked Jim on what his Pap plans are by Jim letting the hairball come from an ox’ stomach down on the ground to predict what will happen next.

Famous Quotations

‘It’s a dead man. Yes, indeedy; naked, too. He’s ben shot in de back. I reck’n he’s ben dead two er three days. Come in, Huck, but doan’ look at his face—it’s too gashly.’—such quote has grave importance for the story since it took part a significant role for the ending of the novel; the death of Huck’s Pap as Jim revealed at the end that the man they saw dead was Huck’s father. This line of Jim also represented the friendship they have since he did not want for Huck to see his father dead for him to not hurt and feel down.

‘Then I thought a minute, and says to myself, hold on; s’pose you’d a done right and give Jim up, would you felt better than what you do now? No, says I, I’d feel bad—I’d feel just the same way I do now. Well, then, says I, what’s the use you learning to do right when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? I was stuck. I couldn’t answer that. So I reckoned I wouldn’t bother no more about it, but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time’—this was the contemplation of Huck as he continued to help in freeing Jim. At first, he thought that helping him escape is going against the law and the society which is why he must go to authorities and tell them about Jim but due to the friendship they formed, he chose to help him and be a good friend. This also symbolizes the strength of the friendship they built because he chose to do what is moral instead of what is right for others and the society.

Sources

1. https://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/biography/
2. https://www.biography.com/people/mark-twain-9512564
3. https://contentserver.adobe.com/store/books/HuckFinn.pdf
4. https://huckleberryfinnprojectveritas2013.blogspot.com/p/escape-from-phelps-farm.html?m=1
5. https://www.librarything.com/topic/133975
6. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/
7. http://huckfinngeography.weebly.com/st-petersburg.html

While industrialization and urbanization increased, realism emerged in post-bellum America. Contrasting the focus on emotions and utopian communities of Romanticism, Realism depicted events based on direct observations of reality and modern struggles; this movement also addressed new themes and issues, including race and slavery. As a Realist, Mark Twain ingrained elements of Realism into The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, portraying how Huck’s actions dissent those of society. Twain satirizes the pillars of society of the 1830s, demonstrating the hypocrisy of Romanticism. In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain ridicules Romanticism as foolish due to its unrealistic concepts; he demonstrates his condemnation of Romantic ideals through the satirical techniques of parody and exaggeration.

Twain utilizes a parody of bleak Romantic poems and poets to demonstrate the ridiculous nature of Romanticism. While Huck admires the Grangerfords’ house, he comes across Emmeline Grangerford’s, the deceased daughter of the Grangerfords, old drawings and poetry. Emmeline’s artwork, which consisted of black dresses and emotional women, makes Huck uneasy. Huck then reads Emmeline’s ode to Stephen Dowling Bots:

And did young Stephen sicken,

And did young Stephen die?

And did the sad hearts thicken

And did the mourners cry?…

They got him out and emptied him;

Alas it was too late;

His spirit was gone for to sport aloft

In the realms of the good and great. (Twain 113–114).

Twain comically emulates Emmeline’s poetry to that of Romantic melancholy poems. Huck recalls, “Buck said she could rattle off poetry like nothing. She didn’t ever have to stop to think. He said she would slap down a line, and if she couldn’t find anything to rhyme with it would just scratch it out and slap down another one, and go ahead” (Twain 114). Twain targets gothic and sentimental poetry and pokes fun at Emmeline’s foolish focus on rhyming rather than focusing on other elements of her awful poem. Furthermore, Huck goes more in-depth with Emmeline’s obsession with death; “Every time a man died…she would be on hand with her “tribute” before he was cold…The neighbors said it was the doctor first, then Emmeline, then the undertaker—the undertaker never got in ahead of Emmeline but once, and then she hung fire on a rhyme for the dead person’s name, which was Whistler. She warn’t the ever the same after that; she never complained, but she kinder pined away and did not live long” (Twain 114). Emmeline writes her tributes and receives the news of death even before the undertaker but once, conveying her extensive obsession with death. Twain pokes fun at Emmeline’s mawkish obsession, which resembles Romantics’ obsession with gothic literature. Because she is “hung fire on a rhyme” while writing a tribute for Whistler, she pines away and dies soon after; her failure to write a tribute leads her to die, an absurd demise that would be seen as unrealistic and fatuous to Realists like Twain.

Twain simultaneously utilizes exaggeration to suggest the impractical nature of Romanticism, specifically associating Romantic ideals with the character of Tom Sawyer. Tom recites his oath in front of the Tom Sawyer’s Gang, a newly formed gang dedicated to robbery and murder. Huck mentions, “Everybody said it was a real beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said some of it, but the rest was out of pirate books and robber books, and every gang that was high-toned had it” (Twain 18). Tom chooses Romantic, unrealistic “pirate books and robber books” to serve as a model for his gang’s adventures. The gang proceeds to disband, as they only experience subpar adventures. Tom tells his gang that a parcel of Spanish merchants and rich A-rabs are going to camp in Cave Hallow. Though Huck is skeptical, he and the rest of the gang head to Cave Hallow. They are disappointed once they encounter only a Sunday-school picnic. Huck recalls, “But there warn’t no Spaniards and A-rabs, and there warn’t no camels nor no elephants. It warn’t anything but a Sunday-school picnic, and only a primer class at that.. I didn’t see no di’monds, and I told Tom Sawyer so. He said if I warn’t so ignorant, but had read a book called Don Quixote, I would know without asking” (Twain 23). Tom’s persistence of mirroring fictional Romantic novels continues, in this case the adventures of Don Quixote. Tom ironically mentions that Huck is “ignorant” although in Twain’s eyes, Tom is the character who lacks common knowledge due to his obsession with make-believe ideas. Tom’s absurd means of adventure continue when Huck and Tom devise plans to save Jim from the Phelps’ farm. Huck suggests a practical method of rescuing Jim, but Tom harshly criticizes Huck and reveals his own plan; “Well, if that ain’t just like you, Huck Finn. You can get up the infant-schooliest ways of going at a thing. Why, hain’t you ever read any books at all?—Baron Trenck, nor Casanova…nor none of them heroes?..No; the way all the best authorities does is to saw the bed-leg in two, and leave it just so, and swallow the sawdust” (Twain 250). Rather than choosing a practical method of saving Jim, Tom bases his strenuous plan of saving Jim on the adventures of his “authorities”—the heroes of Romantic novels. Through Tom’s meaningless schemes, Twain conveys that a Realist, practical approach is heavily beneficial compared to a Romantic, moronic mindset.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain ridicules Romanticism as foolish due to its idealistic concepts. Although disliked by 19th century Realists, 21st century idols embrace Romantic ideals; many artists and musicians express and glorify individualism in their works. Though social media influencers promote for people to be more individualistic, social media inadvertently leads to conformity. People scared of judgment on social media often cover their uniqueness in attempt to display themselves in the best light possible, representing themselves inaccurately. Consequently, pressure to conform appears more and more on social media platforms, contrasting the advocated individualistic ideals.

‘All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn’ (Coveney, 2003, p.12).

Transatlantic writer Samuel Clemens (1835-1910) gave the world The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1844. Growing up in Antebellum southern American society, with the backdrop of the Mississippi river in his boyhood provoked the settings for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and later sequel Huckleberry Finn (1884). The intention of this essay is to explore the themes of liberty and freedom within Huckleberry Finn, paying particular attention to personal, social and racial struggles, presented by Twain through the eyes of protagonists Huck and Jim, dealing with their oppressions and struggles with what liberty or freedom truly means to them. Twain writes of his novel, ‘A book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat’ (Levy, 1964, p.383). Twain uses Jim to voice the term ‘Sound heart’ for the most part, and the reader is privy to Huck’s own struggle with both a ‘Sound heart’ and a ‘Deformed conscience’.

Personal Liberty

The battle of personal freedom for Jim and Huck is apparent throughout the novel, Huck appears to be fighting against the constraints of society and civilisation from his initial setting whereby he is isolated inside the widow’s house, he feels strangled by the widow and her ‘Dismal, regular and decent ways’ (Twain, 1966, p.49). Huck’s only way of feeling free is to remove them new clothes that made him ‘Sweat and sweat and feel all crampled up’ (p.49). The antagonism in this sees his battle to understand what it truly means to be free or to be held captive, in this statement Huck is struggling with what he feels to be the suffocation of civilization. Twain presents to the reader the way in which Huck frees himself from his apparent situation, is to climb out of the window and to be at one with nature, Emerson’s influence on Twain is felt here with Huck truly needing to be out of the house and away from any maternal constraints to be free, this is displayed in Emerson’s essay ‘Nature’ (1836) in which he argues that freedom can only truly be found as a child, he displays sentiment regarding how grown adults lack the capacity to embrace nature and therefore, can never truly be free; ‘To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. […] the sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child (Emerson Central, 2019). Out of context, this quote vindicates Huck’s desires to be free from the widow as she simply cannot acknowledge the struggle that Huck faces. Additionally, the reader is exposed to influences from Thomas Paine (1737-1809), Paine believed that no generation should legislate the next, Twain uses a conversation between the widow and Huck to disclose this;

‘Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn’t […] and she took snuff too; of course, that was all right, because she done it herself’ (p.50). The display of hypocrisy here on Twain’s part is a key reason why he made his predominant protagonist a child and are key indicators of his respect for his predecessors Emerson and Paine.

Social Liberty

Twain’s influences for writing stem from many factors such as his boyhood in Hannibal, the abolition of slavery in America and the American civil war, however, what can be also be considered an influence in Twain’s work is the Transcendental philosophical movement, developed in the late 1820’s led by key thinkers such as Emerson and Thoreau. This can be seen in Huckleberry Finn and the underlying transcendentalist views of romantic relationships with freedom. Jim and Huck’s sole purpose in life is to flirt with the idea of freedom, yet neither will ever truly be free. After discovering Jim on the island the pair gives birth to the eternal friendship and trust between them, Jim discloses his escape details, which contextually for the epoch means a serious crime has been committed and the reader should see Huck lack compassion for Jim’s freedom and dutifully turn in the escaped slave. Essences of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience (1848) are seen in Huck’s decision to revolt against the conscience dictate of the law in his wrestle with what society expects of him ‘People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum – but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t going to tell, and I ain’t going back there anyways’ (p.96).

Twain’s use of irony here is that whilst the term abolitionist is loathed in southern states as southerners believe in their right to hold slaves, that Huck is, in fact, acting as an abolitionist to ensure his role in aiding Jim’s freedom is not compromised. Moreover, herein are two characters who are not considered to be equal to one another. Further into the conversation,

Huck makes a display of empathy when Jim becomes hysterical at the prospect of discovering Cairo, for Jim is desperate to ensure he remains free: ‘Jim said it made him all over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom […] it began to make me feel all trembly and feverish, too, […] I begun to get it through my head that he was most free -and who was to blame for it? Why me’ (p.145).

What is seen in chapter sixteen at this point is Huck’s internal battle with what society expects of white men, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 passed by Congress guarantees rights for a slaveholder to recover an escaped slave or ‘fugitive’ as referred to in the act. Although still only a child, Huck is socially and morally aware of what is expected of him at this point and his wrestle with his conscience is clear; ‘I tried to make out to myself that I warn’t to blame, because I didn’t run Jim off from his rightful owner; but it warn’t no use, conscience up and says, every time, But you knowed he was running for his freedom, and you could have paddled ashore and told somebody’ (p.145).

The theme of ‘manifest destiny’ can be seen throughout Huckleberry Finn, with his desire to ‘light out for the territory’ (p.369) Huck’s active appetite for independence records him as a symbol of American individualism. The ideals of a ‘manifest destiny’ justified westward expansion and therefore, Huck never stops, although only a young boy he appears to continue to move forward towards a greater life, in addition to this the fear is apparent that bad things will occur should the pair stop at any point on their journey. From chapter seven of the novel, the reader is exposed to Huck’s most powerful vessel of escape – the Mississippi river. The river in Huckleberry Finn is symbolic of freedom for both Huck and Jim, for Huck in this chapter the river is a means of escape from the entrapment/torture of his father ‘pap’. Having been taken to the cabin in this chapter, the cabin represents both a place of escape for Huck and a place to escape the grip of his father’s control by escaping from it.

Racial Liberty

Throughout the novel the reader is presented with Huck’s difficulties in dealing with his struggle for liberty in many forms, however, for Jim’s character, the struggle for liberty is also met with the struggle to escape the shackles of racial oppression. The American civil war of 1861-1865 saw the northern and southern states fight over the abolition of slavery, the civil wars lasting effects would see the thirteenth amendment take place, entailing the abolition of slavery in America. However, it is the opinion of this essay that whilst Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation ended slavery in the southern states, that Twain’s portrayal of Jim is an expose for the underlying truth that slavery was far from abolished and that the black people were not truly liberated. Despite the Declaration of Independence stating in 1776 that ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal […] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ (USHistory.org, 1995), introduced to the reader in chapter two of the novel is Jim who displays spirituality, tenderness and non-violence, in contrast with Huck’s father ‘pap’ who uses Huck merely as a cash-cow and means for control, and the widow who Huck assumes wants to control him with her ‘Sivilized’ yet ‘regular’ and ‘decent ways’ (p.49). Jim truly sees Huck as a friend and confidant despite the two protagonists having different skin colours and Huck being only a child, this does not matter to Jim, ‘I’s a free man, en I couldn’t ever ben free ef it hadn’ ben for Huck, You’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had’ (p.92). Out of context, Twain is attempting to break down racial barriers here and show the world that the importance here is not the colour of the man’s skin and the liberation of freedom for Jim far overshadows this.

Jim’s influence on Huck is pivotal to Huck’s mission for freedom. Meeting on the River island away from these models of adulthood, comes the revelation from Jim that he has fled due to discovering the widow’s sister’s plan to sell him down the river and ultimately away from his family: ‘I hear ole missus tell do widder she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans […] I lit out mighty quick, I tell you’ (p. 96). At this vital turning point in the novel, the reader is aware that morally Huck is obliged to whistleblow on Jim, however, Huck views Jim almost as a surrogate father and therefore, allows his heart to rule his head in not revealing Jim’s location as a runaway slave. Moreover, herein we witness Huck’s own internal battle with his conscientious decision to not return the runaway to the rightful owner, Huck wrestles the morality of his actions in contrast with the way the widow tried to take care of him and here we see Twain’s ‘Sound heart’ and ‘Deformed conscience’ in full throttle. ‘What did that poor old woman do to you that you could treat her so mean? […] she tried to learn you your book […] That’s what she done’ (p.91). The irony in this statement from Huck is that in the same wrestle he is blaming himself as his conscience reminds him: ‘But you knowed he was running for his freedom’ (p.91).

Throughout the novel, Jim’s desire to reach a free state and to be able to ‘Buy his wife […] and work to buy the two children’ (p.91) is conclusively apparent. None more so than in chapter sixteen, Jim associates reaching Cairo with reaching freedom and in doing so would become ‘A free man the minute he seen it’ (p.90).

However, both of the protagonists are socially aware at this point what it would mean for them should their mission be a failure, but none more so than for Jim whereby ‘He’d be in a slave country again and no more show for freedom’ (p.91). For Rampersad cited in Fultz (1993) Twain’s ‘Gesture at historicizing Huck’s adventures with Jim places the issue of black character and culture squarely in the context of the search for freedom’, furthermore, Rampersad praises Twain for his portrayal of a ‘Good, deeply human man’ in Jim, but notes that Jim has been portrayed as too ‘Anxious’ for freedom.

Right to the very end of his journey Huck consistently re-affirms his desire to remain free from what he deems to be constraints: ‘But I reckon I got to light out for territory, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before’ (P.369). One has to assume that due to the dismay which occurs wherever the pair become motionless that the freedom that they so desire by reaching Cairo is misconstrued and ill-informed. Therefore, reaching Cairo does not represent freedom but ‘Merely other forms in society in which Huck and Jim would be oppressed’ (Burg, 1974, p.300). For Eliot, the river in Huckleberry Finn represents both power and freedom for the pair, Eliot argues that it ‘Controls the voyage of Huck and Jim’ (Eliot, 1950, p.1). The river does equal freedom to the pair but in different ways, for Huck, the river symbolises an ongoing journey of escape and continuation, for Jim the river is more a path to freedom, a path to escape the chains of society forevermore.

The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain was written during the late 19th century, but he set the books date decades earlier when slavery was still a legal thing. During this time the Civil War was happening and truly showing the souths true colors. Slavery in the south was a terrible time for black people, the white owners treated them horribly physically and psychologically. The book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is searching for freedom from his drunk abusive father and strict guardian, while Jim searches for freedom from slavery and oppression because of his race. Mark Twain setting this during the Civil War times shows tension between whites and blacks, north and south and how slavery was involved. Huck and Jim’s friendship demonstrates that an individual camaraderie passes racial bias.

Huckleberry “Huck” Finn is the son of the towns vagrant drunk; his father’s name is “Pap” Finn. Huck sleeps on doorsteps when the weather is good, in abandoned sheds during harsh storms, and basically just living off the land as a kid. Author portrays him as a vagabond that is “idle, lawless, vulgar and bad”. Huck was thrown together in rags a torn hat and his pants held up by one suspender. The kids in the town coveted how Huck behaved but their mothers disliked Huck. Huck meets Jim a runaway slave that shows the differences and similarities of how they were both raised. Jim was raised to care and treat others the same, but Huck was taught by the town that black people were only slaves. Jim does not only become Huck’s friend, but he becomes a father figure in a crucial moment of Huck’s life. Jim cooks and provides shelter for Huck and treats him like a parent should. Jim protects Huck from seeing his father’s corpse and shows empathy when he finds out about his father’s death. Huck sees Jim as a compassionate person, friend and human being unlike the others in the community where they only saw him as a slave. This shows that not all people in the south disliked African Americans, starting to show the social change during this time of the book. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way” (Twain 49). Huck is not pleased having to apologize to a black man, but he does it anyway. Although he apologized, he still is racist but not as racist as others in the south. At the end of chapter 14 Huck says to himself: “I see it warn’t no use wasting words, you can learn a n- to argue. So I quit.” (Twain 104) Huck being very frustrated with the conversation beforehand, he makes fun of a black man’s mind, his way of learning and reason, showing more of southern peoples perspective on black people.

Pap Finn is Huck’s drunken father, who treats Huck terribly, his only method of parenting is physical abuse. Pap is not only a terrible father but a passionate racist, “Thinks I, what is the country-a-coming to? It was ‘lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn’t too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they’d let that n- vote, I drawed out. I says I’ll never vote agin, they all heard me, and they country may rot for all me, I’ll never vote agin as long as I live” (Twain 31-32). Pap only thinks whites should vote, that black people are only property and should not have the same rights. Therefore, once Huck finds Jim this shows Huck that a stranger is more willing to help a stranger than his own father. Along Jim and Huck’s journey you see how close and similar they are getting; the only differences would be their skin color. Shows how human beings are the same that during that time people judged just from skin color not from character. Jim wants to run away from slavery and Huck wants to run away from his father. Huck knows that helping slaves escape during that time is the worse crime you could commit even though he is doing the right thing. His decision to help Jim escape slavery shows his thoughts and beliefs of slavery and how he knows the consequences if he was to be caught.

The realism of slavery in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was because Twain grew up in Missouri where although the state was not a part of the confederacy slavery was still legalized in the state. His parents owned slaves, but his wife’s parents were abolitionist, so he had multiple views of how the south looked at African Americans as people. “Well, I RECKON! There’s two hundred dollars reward on him. It’s like picking up money out’n the road” (Twain 202). This quote is important in the book because it shows how people saw runaway slaves as money. They looked at slaves as money and not like people, it shows the whites put a price on slaves which made them look like property. Another reason how injustice and racism is “And it was the n- I just expected it” (Twain 180). This quote was blaming black people with no evidence and punishing them for crimes they didn’t even do.

Over the course of the novel, it shows that Huck’s friendship with Jim is strong enough to surpass race. At the beginning of the novel Huck was immature and childish, but throughout the journey with Jim, it allows him to grow up and see that race does not define character.

Works Cited

1. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Sirius, 2018.

Money, the driving force behind the world, is not at all absent in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In fact, money has a much larger impact on the story than might originally be thought. During the events of the novel, money is an overwhelmingly bad thing for Huck to encounter, and rarely does it come without significant trouble.

The first instance of money causing problems for Huck is right at the beginning of the book. He had acquired six thousand dollars from the profits of robber’s gold, along with his best friend Tom Sawyer. This money was put into a trust for him, and Huck lives with a widow named Ms. Douglas. However, it isn’t long before he sees a tell-tale boot print, which signals that Pap, his father, has come back to town. Huck, realizing exactly what his father is there for, goes to the judge and sells him all the money for a single dollar. After Pap confronts him, he is outraged, and storms away after stealing the only dollar Huck has. His father tries to sue the judge for the money, which goes badly for him, as the judge obviously knows what’s going on. Eventually, this leads to Pap kidnapping Huck and imprisoning him in a tiny cabin in the woods. This removal from society is what starts the chain of events that make up the rest of the novel, all because of Pap’s greed. He felt he was entitled to the money and was willing to go through extreme measures to collect it.

After escaping the clutches of Pap, Huck meets Jim on the island that he hides out on. After hiding for a few days, they decide to leave once Huck learns that Jim has a bounty on his head. Once more, money is a motivator for Huck to decide, in this case. whether to leave the island or stay. On their way downriver, they meet the Duke and the King. These men are, apart from Pap, the most obvious anti-greed symbol in the text. They are two con artists who claim to be a Duke and a King, although these claims are impossible to verify. After meeting these fellows, Huck watches the lust for money in its purest form, as they rip gullible people off. They put on “Shakespeare” shows for the townspeople, which are just extremely butchered and improvised versions of the plays themselves. After a few horrible shows, the people have had enough, and run them out of town.

In the next town that the group comes to, the Duke and the King drum up a plan to steal six thousand dollars from a trio of sisters whose brother had recently passed away, leaving the money behind. The two men masquerade as the deceased man’s long-lost brothers, and successfully convince the sisters to give them the money. After they steal it, Huck is distraught about such a brazen theft from nice people and resolves to do something about it. He hides the gold in the coffin, and after this, the real long-lost brothers arrive. This causes chaos, and eventually Huck, as well as the Duke and the King, find themselves in the raft again. Yet again the presence of money leads to bad consequences for Huck due to other people’s greed. This comes to a head after Jim is sold to a farmer by the King, leading Huck again on an adventure to rescue him. Once Jim is freed, he receives forty dollars, which is the only time that money does not have bad repercussions for Huck.

Money, in Huckleberry Finn, is an intensely negative force throughout the entire novel. It drives Huck’s quest down the river through a series of uncomfortable situations and leads him astray more than once. At the turning point in the story, when Jim is declared free, is also the only time that money is seen in a positive light. However, Huck doesn’t feel this and sets off again with nothing but the clothes on his back, and nobody else’s greed to derail him.

Although Jim and Huck seem to lead two very different lives, their pairing created a significant relationship. In the beginning of the novel the diversity is obvious. They aren’t seen as equals and in that societal time they went supposed to have any type of relationship. Jim stepped in, in a way, to comfort and protect Huck after his father was found dead. This, along with challenges at home created a new dynamic. Huck and Jim began to lead similar lives, reaching for the same goal: freedom. As they adventure down the Mississippi River, they bonded as they went through many challenges and struggles. This created a father-son type dynamic. This pairing not only broke societal boundaries but it also created a dependable and strong pairing. They found themselves and freedom with eachother. Tom and Huck being friends was a big part of the novel. One major thing that they have in common is that they are both orphans. This friendship represents how like people stuck together and they understood each other. Huck greatly admired Tom and enjoyed spending time with him. Although they seem very similar they do have a few differences which I believe represent something significant. Tom took most things as face value; he believes in what society taught him and he didn’t question much. On the other hand, Huck questioned and examined everything. I think that as a pair they represent the two approaches to societal conflict.

In this novel disguises are used in a few different ways. Huck and Jim used disguises in order to not be spotted when they were on their journey to freedom. This protected them from being caught. The Duke and King used disguises to cheat and deceive. Which they successfully accomplished. Multiple identities and aliases are useful to Twain’s characters throughout the story to achieve their reasoning for using a disguise. in order to survive, in order to achieve freedom.

The accounts of thieves and dishonesty in the novel serve the purpose of showing the meaningfulness of what is being done. In the second chapter Tom reveals that there is a sense of honor that comes with robbery. One example that is prominent in the story that represents honor through robbery is the “robbery” of Jim. They “stole” Jim and brought him to freedom. Other examples that are not so much honorable would be like the shipwreck robbery. The king and Duke who stole from anyone and everyone. They were menaces in this society. This shows the times that they were living in. I also believe it represents a type of wrong ideology.

The villains of the novel are Pap Finn, the Duke and the King. Pap Finn was mostly uncaring and cruel. Pap acted out of selfishness as an alcoholic and only cared for himself. He is an abusive and neglective parent therefore opposing Finn and the exact opposite to what Jim stepped in as. The Duke and King are villains because they are immoral and manipulative. They steal and cheat everyone. They cause many issues in the novel, oppose and oppress.

The heroes of the novel are Huckleberry Finn and Jim. Huck is heroic thought out the story. His main opposition was oppression of the slaves. He did fight against societal norms and wanted freedom. A major heroic movement for Huck was helping Jim to freedom. Throughout the novel he fights for what is right. Jim is heroic in this novel because he steps in as a father figure for Huck. When his father was abusive and then turned up dead, Jim was there when his father opposed him.

My favorite quotation from the novel is found in chapter 31, Huck says “I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell”- and tore it up.” (pg. 137-138). I feel as though this is a very pivotal quote in the novel. At this specific point in the story Huck is struggling trying to figure out what the right thing is to do. Does he tell Miss Watson where Jim is, or does he remain loyal to his friend? It is essential to realize that in this society it was not okay for people to withhold or help slaves. Therefore, Huck was told if you did this you would go to hell. This quote is so essential to this pivotal moment because it shows that he is willing to go to at great lengths to protect Jim because he knows in his heart that slavery is wrong. This attributes to the overall theme of the novel because the theme points directly to the immorality of slavery and how Huck fought for what is right. Huck tearing up the note not only represents loyalty but also a fight against injustice. It shows that Huck is going against the societal norms at such a great risk in order to protect what he believes in.

Works Cited

1. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1885.

Both Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are depict an inherent struggle between childhood escapism and the desire to return home through their similar use of characterization and setting, and their different uses of rhetorical strategies. Mark Twain’s use of satire and Maurice Sendak’s use of child-like language effectively convey their themes whilst using the power of a child’s perspective. Where the Wild Things Are is a story of a child learning to accept the rules and structure of his home. Max learns that structure and order have their place. He learns that structure and order are only a part of his life, he sees that he can enjoy himself and play, but this time has to have rules. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the child escapes his “home,” because by accepting his “home,” he accepts the racist culture associated with it. The use of the child perspective is crucial to both stories, it adds an innocent maturation, which allows readers to learn through the characters’ experiences.

In both Where the Wild Things Are and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the characters and the setting work together to display an escapist aspect of childhood and evoke the idea of children as free-spirited individuals. The narrative structure in both books is focused on their respective child protagonists. This child-centered structure helps the authors convey the “innocent, wondering” child archetype, which is described as the innocence of a beginning point of life, and through their experiences they mature and form their own opinions and ideologies. The two children seek the wild and fantastical as opposed to the banality of convention. They are curious and have an urge to be freed from the pressures of society and the people around them. Max searches for freedom from his mother when she tries to suppress his “wild” nature. Max is unhappy with his structured home atmosphere, so he imagines a world where he can express his true feelings. This idea of finding himself by escaping his world shows the wondering, explorative child theme. Although Max believes himself to be wild and rebellious, when he arrives in a chaotic world, he comes to rule them with structure and tames the beasts. He usurps the parental role he tries to escape. Max’s adventure to the wild world allows him to understand his home and the necessity of order and structure. Huckleberry Finn also is a symbol of a freedom-searching childhood, this is shown through his adventures down the Mississippi river and through his interactions. His journey is an escape from his “home.” When meeting new people, Huck is quick to devise a story explaining his person and the reason for him being there. Huck is a curious, survivalist child. Most of what Huck does is to preserve himself. Max shows survivalist traits through his leadership of the “wild things.” When he arrives in “the place where the wild things are,” he quickly tames them and acts as their leader. Throughout the stories the children go on wild adventures, interacting with and affected by their surroundings. The setting in Mark Twain’s novel shows how brutal yet home-like nature and life on the river can be. When thinking about his new life on the river, Huck says “there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. you feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft” (Twain 134). Huck finds comfort in the solitude and openness of being outside.

Huck’s journey is similar to Max’s wolf suit, as it allows Huck to be someone he is not, by being free and unknown, he is able to portray himself as a completely different person. When meeting new people, Huck often tries to disguise his childlike nature, he takes on a more mature role. For example, Huck dresses up as a girl when meeting a new person. In Where the Wild Things Are Max is seen travelling in his boat to a “wild” world, however he finds short-lived comfort. Max imagines a wild scenery, similar to his animal-like nature, however he realizes that he needs the civilization and comfort of being in a civilized home. Huckleberry Finn does not like civilization, in fact he escapes it every time it is proposed. In the beginning of the novel, he escapes the Widow Douglas’s civilized world, and in the last chapter, he said “aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before” (Twain 296). Each child learned something different from their time away from civilization, Huck embraced it, Max retreated.

Twain’s satiric novel, as told through the words of a child, is meant to bring attention to the racism of the time. By using a young narrator, Twain is able to teach readers the lessons that Huck learns, as he learns them. Because Huck is so young, his thoughts and criticisms are non-threatening. As Huck grows throughout the novel, he questions morality and racism. Huck experiences the “crisis of conscience,” where he has a moral dilemma when deciding whether or not to tell Miss Watson where Jim is or to keep helping him (Twain 222-223). He decides to keep helping him, because he sees Jim as a person instead of a slave, he reminisces about their adventures together and decides he is worth helping. This moral dilemma from an older narrator would not evoke the same feelings. Readers are able to feel a sense of innocence from Huck, an adult narrator would come off more serious and critical, which would not appeal to as large of an audience.

Sendak writes with child-like language to convey the theme of home being safe and a place of belonging and love. He writes his story in an entertaining way to appeal to children. Max imagines a fantastic world away from his frustrating, structured home. In this orderless, imaginary world, Max enforces structure and rules. When he realizes that he is lonely, he goes back to his room and has a sense of belonging. Max realizes his need for structure; he escapes to savagery, whereas Huck escapes from savagery. Both of these stories describe children coming of age and maturing through their experiences. Huck tries to defy the social norms, and he finds he belongs in the wild, free world. He does not belong in the community he was born into. This is another example of Twain using satire to criticize the world of that time; society was so broken this child has to live on his own and free instead of surrounded by the corrupt population. When Max tries to run from his normal life, he tries to recreate it by enforcing the structure he tried to escape.

Mark Twain was an influential person to American Literature. I have read his most famous books. I have read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I have chosen Mark Twain because I know a little about him already. I have also chosen him because I loved Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His book was very interesting and enjoyable. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn taught me if I really want something, I will do anything for it. Huckleberry Finn faced so many challenges between his father, Jim, Miss Watson, and civilization. He just wanted to have his freedom. Along his adventures, he made a friend named, Jim, who was a slave. Huckleberry Finn knew he and Jim could get in trouble for hiding out. Huckleberry Finn did not once care about the consequences. He wanted Jim to have a chance at freedom too. He did not want to be selfish or unmannerly, even though he had not quite learned all the ways of being respectful.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens is known as Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He is the son of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. He has six siblings and second to the youngest. In 1839, Mark and his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri on the Mississippi River. Mark liked his time in Hannibal and spent it “watching steamboats, swimming, fishing, and pretending to be pirates” (Bodden 12). This town was a great place but came with many horrors such as “vipers’ nests of cruelty, poverty, drunkenness . . . Twain’s boyhood experience” (Biography.com Editors). Hannibal, Missouri influenced Twain’s writing life. Mark Twain grew up in a slave state, which did not bother him. Twain uncle, John Quarles, owned many slaves. Mark Twain use to go talk to the slaves and listen to their stories. In 1847, Twain was 11 when his father died. Twain had to drop out of school to work for the family. He and his family struggled greatly after Marshall died. Twain began working for the local newspaper. In 1850, he went to work for the Hannibal journal. At the Hannibal journal, he realized he enjoyed writing. On January 16, 1851, his first story was published in the Western Union. March 4, 1857, Mark Twain piloted his first voyage on the Mississippi River. On April 9, 1859, he got his pilot’s license. The American Civil War began in 1861, and Twain could not steamboat anymore.

Following, on September 1861, Mark Twain moved to Virginia City, Nevada. He worked as a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1863, his name became Mark Twain because of his steam boating days. He wanted to have a different name on his writings. In May 1864, Twain moved to San Francisco, California. He became a reporter for the Daily Morning Call, wrote for the Golden Era, and Californian journals. Twain wrote Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog and it was published on November 18, 1865. He did not go to California to write but “searched for silver in the West” (Tieck 15). He wanted to help his family out of struggling. While Twain was in the West, he wrote Roughing It. This book was about the Native American Tribes he came across there. Later, Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876. Mark Twain wrote this book based on his life on the Mississippi River. Then in 1885, he published Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book was a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is appreciated “for its language and . . . issues of race” (Bodden 30). These books are Mark Twain’s biggest literary accomplishments in history.

Furthermore, Mark Twain met a man named Charley Langdon. Langdon introduced Twain to Olivia Livy. Olivia and Charley were siblings. Olivia Livy was the daughter of a very wealthy man. Mark Twain and Olivia Livy got married on February 2, 1870. They moved to Buffalo, New York and had a son on November 7, 1870. Then on October 1871, they moved to Hartford, Connecticut. March 19, 1872, Olivia Livy had a daughter named Olivia Susan. Langdon died later that year of Diphtheria. In 1874, Twain and his family moved in a three-story house in Hartford. The house is now one of the famous Mark Twain museums. Also, in 1874, Twain and Livy had a daughter named Clara. In 1880, Livy had another daughter named Jean. Twain and his family traveled to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Paris, and England. On August 19, 1896, Olivia Susan died of Spinal Meningitis. June 5, 1904, Olivia died of heart failure. In 1909, Jean died of Epilepsy. Then on April 21, 1910, Mark Twain died of a Heart attack. Clara was the only one to out live her family. She became a writer like Mark Twain. Clara lived until 1962 when she died of a heart attack.

In conclusion, Mark Twain left behind a wonderful legacy. Mark Twain was an influential person to American Literature. He inspired many writers even after his death. Twain was just trying to support his family and became famous along the way. He slowly progressed in his writings and became rich. His whole writings were based on his life and what he had seen. He reached people greatly through his writings. He went through great happiness, pain, and tragedy. Even though he was well rich after some writings, he wanted to write more just for more money.

Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is important to read because he uses Paradox and Euphemism to show his purpose that blacks and whites can work together to find their freedom. His purpose was that a child, Huck Finn helps Jim, a runaway slave , to escape along the Mississippi River to have freedom.

It is important to read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because Huck a young child who doesn’t really know anything about slavery and what it’s like being a slave. Huck is struggling to believe what people had said about slaves and having to follow the rules. But once he’s on the Mississippi river, it opened his eyes and what he was facing in reality because he got to experience what it’s like with Jim, a runaway slave. After being on the Mississippi river it had open Huck’s eyes and how his hometown is completely different from the Mississippi river. Huck is a smart boy but I think Twain pick a child for this role because children have less experience and don’t know much since they always have to obey and listen to adults. The Mississippi not only represents freedom for Jim but for Huck as well because he escaped from his abusive and drunk dad, but also society his hometown.

A reason why students should read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because Huck says “ So, in two seconds, away we went, a sliding down the river, and it did seem so good to be free again and all by ourselves on the big river and nobody to bother us”(Twain 207). This is important because the meaning is that the Mississippi river represents life beyond the rules of society and Huck enjoys this more than his hometown. Another reason why Huck Finn is important to read is because Huck says “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a N-word but Ii done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn’t do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn’t done that one if I’d a knowed it would make him feel that way”(Twain 89). Huck is miserable having to apologize to a slave but he does it anyway because he felt guilty and knows that slaves are human beings too. Huck is still racist but he is just less than everyone else.

Twain wants us to do better about racism and is trying to make a point to us how everyone is human beings and have feelings too. They shouldn’t be treated differently because of the color of their skin. But if students read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because it opens your eyes on how society before was like and how they faced reality but it also teaches people a young child who is separated from society at an early age with no learning or experince about slavery.