Huck Finn: The Pursuit of American Freedom

1240 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The american dream from the perspective of the romantics

The Pursuit of American Freedom
The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a bildungsroman that follows the life of a young boy who just tries to make do with his life as he is pressured from society and his peers on how he should be living his life. Twain emphasizes the powerful influence of society and peers in shaping a person’s beliefs, whether for the better or for the worse. Huck’s defiant attitude and resistance to the pressures of his surroundings, enables him to find his own happiness and independence. Twain’s story takes place in the south before the civil war, the same time period Twain himself grew up in, tackling the touchy subject of slavery. Mark Twain’s proletarian point of view combined with his deft use of irony creates a powerful story of the classic American dream and search to find one’s freedom.
As Huck grows up, he is under constant pressure from authority figures in his life, shaping how he acts even when he is all alone with only Jim. For example, he constantly references the widow’s Christian morals she tried imprinting on him. When Huck tries to save the band of robbers he remarks, “I judged [the widow] would be proud of me for helping these rapscallions, because rapscallions and dead beats is the kind the widow and good people takes the most interest in” (Twain, 95). Although Huck is nowhere near the direct influence of the widow, her constant pestering of good Christian values when he lived with her has made an impact on him as a figurative presence. Another example is when Huck references his father, saying “If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way.” (154). By recalling a lesson from his fath...

... middle of paper ...

....
Twain’s honest outlook of an individual’s search for freedom serves as a metaphor for the struggle readers face on a daily basis to find their own freedom. By acknowledging societies’ faults and poor but inherent influences on individuals, he has created a timeless story that forever has become a classic in American literature.

Works Cited
Cantor, Paul A. "Aristocracy in America." Claremont Review of Books Spring 2013: 44+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
James, Pearl. "An overview of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in, an essay for Exploring Novels, Gale." (1998). Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Peck, Daniel H. "Vassar College Libraries." Mark Twain & Huckleberry Finn. Vasser College, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn. Milwaukee: Raintree, 1980. Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Immature Huck Finn in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ke."  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Criticism.  Ed. Sculley Bradley, et al.  2nd ed.  New York:  Norton, 1977.  421-22.

    Read More

  • The Integrity and Strength of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Huck has been raised in a high-class society where rules and morals are taught and enforced. He lives a very strict and proper life where honesty and adequacy is imposed. Huck being young minded and immature, often goes against these standards set for him, but are still very much a part of his decision-making ability and conscience. When faced to make a decision, Hucks head constantly runs through the morals he was taught. One of the major decisions Huck is faced with is keeping his word to Jim and accepting that Jim is a runaway. The society part of Hucks head automatically looks down upon it. Because Huck is shocked and surprised that Jim is a runaway and he is in his presence, reveals Hucks prejudice attitude that society has imposed on him. Huck is worried about what people will think of him and how society would react if they heard that Huck helped save a runaway slave. The unspoken rules th...

    Read More

  • Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the greatest American novels ever written. The story is about Huck, a young boy who is coming of age and is escaping from his drunken father. Along the way he stumbles across Miss Watson's slave, Jim, who has run away because he overhead that he would be sold. Throughout the story, Huck is faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to turn Jim in. Mark Twain has purposely placed these two polar opposites together in order to make a satire of the society's institution of slavery. Along the journey, Twain implies his values through Huck on slavery, the two-facedness of society, and represents ideas with the Mississippi River.

    Read More

  • Alienation of Huckleberry Finn in the Advertures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain is about the great adventures that Huck finn has with his slave Jim on the Missouri River. The story tells not only about the adventures Huck has, but more of a deeper understanding of the society he lives in. Twain had Huck born into a low class society of white people; his father was a drunken bum and his mother was dead. He was adopted by the widow Douglas who tried to teach him morals, ethics, and manners that she thought fit in a civilized society. Huck never cared for these values and ran away to be free of them. During Huck’s adventure with Jim he unknowingly realized that he didn't agree with society’s values and could have his own assumptions and moral values. Twain uses this realization to show how the civilized and morally correct social values that was introduced to Huck was now the civilized and morally contradicting values.

    Read More

  • charhf Changes in Huck Finn's Character

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a novel about a young man's search for identity. Huckleberry Finn goes through some changes and learns some life lessons throughout his journey. Huck changes from being just an immature boy at the beginning of the novel to being a more mature man who looks at things in a different perspective now.

    Read More

  • Moral Inadequacies in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    The book I am doing my book report on is called “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain. This book revolves around a poor fourteen year old boy named Huck who runs away from his drunk father and finds friendship within a former slave, Jim, trying to escape to the free states. They adventure along the Mississippi River and end up stopping at various places throughout the novel and meet people who are all morally inadequate. “Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style, and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would, and maybe get us all killed besides. So I was satisfied, and said we would waltz in on it.” This quotes illustrates the dangers that come to Huck and Jim in this novel, but how Huck chooses to go with the plan anyhow, since it causes a sense of ‘adventure.’ The setting of this novel takes place before the Civil War in different towns along the Mississippi River in Missouri. I will talk about how Huck meets Jim, how he and Jim have to escape from their present issues, how they form a friendship and come across evil in their journey, and how they both end up free with a little help from Tom Sawyer.

    Read More

  • Huck's Conflicted Nature in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994. 236-419.

    Read More

  • Abolitionist Mark Twain

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is considered a classic novel from the realism period of American Literature that accurately depicts social conventions from pre-civil war times. Despite this reputation as a historical lens of life on the Mississippi River, elements of blatant racism overshadow the regionalist and realist depictions. Huck Finn does not promote racism because all derogatory or racist remarks are presented as a window to life during the 1850s, in a satirical context, or to show Mark Twain's moral views on racism.

    Read More

  • Huck Finn And The Gilded Age

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    Twain’s novel was greatly influenced by the times and criticizes the imperfections in society. These errors in society were subjective to the current events during the Gilded Age. The following show the effects of the current times that influenced the context of the novel. One of America’s leading historians of America in the west, Patricia N. Limerick well elaborates on what happened in the Gilded Age. The following quote fro...

    Read More

  • Twains Huck Finn Compared To The Movie

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a classic novel about a young boy who struggles to save and free himself from captivity, responsibility, and social injustice. Along his river to freedom, he aids and befriends a runaway slave named Jim. The two travel down the Mississippi, hoping to reach Cairo successfully. However, along the way they run into many obstacles that interrupt their journey. By solving these difficult tasks, they learn life lessons important to survival.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Realism and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an immensely realistic novel, revealing how a child's morals and actions clash with those of the society around him. Twain shows realism in almost every aspect of his writing; the description of the setting, that of the characters, and even the way characters speak. Twain also satirizes many of the foundations of that society. Showing the hypocrisy of people involved in education, religion, and romanticism through absurd, yet very real examples. Most importantly, Twain shows the way Huckleberry's moral beliefs form amidst a time of uncertainty in his life.

    Read More

  • Parental Influence on Huck Finn

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Mark Twain's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the adults in Huck's life play an important role in the development of the plot. Pap, Huck's father, constantly abuses the boy, never allowing him to become an intelligent or decent human being. He beats and attacks Huck whenever they meet up, and tries to destroy Huck's chances of having a normal life. This situation is balanced by several good role models and parent figures for Huck. Jim, the runaway slave, embraces Huck like a son, and shares his wide ranging knowledge with him. He also protects Huck on the journey down the river. Widow Douglas is another good role model for Huck. She tries to civilize him and make him respectable to society, while also being caring and compassionate. There is a stark contrast in the ways Huck is treated by adults, and all have an affect on him.

    Read More

  • The True Father of Huck Finn

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    Twain, Mark, and Cynthia Johnson. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Slavery in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, written by Samuel Clemens, a young boy by the name of Huck gets into various situations while trying to discover himself and just have fun. To keep the novel unified the author uses the recurrent motifs of slavery, violence, and caring.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    2203 Words  | 5 Pages

    Freedom is what defines an individual, it bestows upon someone the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. Therefore, enslavement may be defined as anything that impedes one’s ability to express their freedoms. However, complete uncompromised freedom is virtually impossible to achieve within a society due to the contrasting views of people. Within Mark Twain’s 1885 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, numerous controversies are prevalent throughout the novel, primarily over the issue of racism and the general topic of enslavement. The characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn along with their development take an unmistakable, resilient stand against racism and by doing such in direct relation against the naturalized views of society. Twain’s characters, Jim and Huck are at the focal point of this controversy; they together are enslaved in two particularly different forms, nevertheless they both pursue their freedoms from their enslavements. The development of these characters and the growth of their interdependent relationship generate the structure of the anti-racism message within this novel. Twain’s introductory warning cautions the dangers of finding motives, morals, or plots in his novel, ironically proving the existence of each and encourages the reader to discover them. One of the undisputable major themes that extensively peculated my mind as I read the text regarded the subject of freedom and enslavement. Through Twain’s constant contrasting of freedom and enslavement such as its portrayal of slavery in the form of life on land compared to the freedom on the raft on the Mississippi Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, suggests that people are subject to various ensl...

    Read More

More about Huck Finn: The Pursuit of American Freedom

Open Document