Huck Finn Superstition Essay

Superstitious Acts

As Joseph Lewis once said “Superstition is the poison of the mind”. There is much of this in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this quote means that superstition is a belief that is unjustified but has unexplained consequences. Superstition is often associated with black cats and walking under ladders, these beliefs affect the way some people view bad luck. As noted in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the consequences resulting in bad luck are a burnt spider, spilled salt, and snake skin.

The first superstitious act to occur is the burnt spider. Huckleberry immediately assumes it will cause misfortune in his life stating, “I didn’t need anybody to tell me that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me bad luck.” (pg. 3). Here it states that there will be bad luck in the future. As to try and defeat the bad luck, he crosses his chest three times and ties a lock of hair with a thread. Superstition runs through Huckleberry, his acts to rid of the death of a spider is to make sure witches will stay away. Many people, in the 21st century, think the superstitious boy is full of uneducated nonsense. However, looking at the time and age that Huckleberry went on his adventure, it is easier to tell where the thoughts stem from. The death of the burned

When he is being a little too hasty, he accidentally spills the salt and before he could rid of his bad luck Miss Watson comes in and stops him. To put ease on Huckleberry, Miss Watson says a small prayer. Instantly, however, he thinks, “....but that weren’t going to keep off the bad luck, I knowed that well enough.” (pg. 15). All day he seems jittery, like something real bad was going to happen. Once he returns home, after giving his money to Judge Thatcher, he sees his pap. For Huckleberry, this is a terrible misfortune. With spilling the salt, he has an encounter with his drunk