Huckleberry Finn Symbolism Analysis

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change,”–Dr. Wayne Dyer. Symbolism helps create meaning and emotion in a story. It is used in literature when one thing is meant to represent something else. In this story of Huck’s adventures, he and a runaway slave, Jim, escape their captive lives in Missouri, and travel together down the Mississippi River on a raft. On their way, they meet lots of new people, and encounter trouble wherever they go. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the author uses symbols like the raft, the river, and the land. Each of these symbols means something to the protagonists in the story, Huck and Jim. One symbol used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the raft. The raft

For Huck and Jim, the river represents freedom. The river takes them to freedom. 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.” For Jim, the river takes him away from his slave life, and for Huck; it takes him away from his cruel father. Despite their freedom, the river brings along some challenges like floods, contact with criminals, shipwrecks, and stolen goods. Usually, one bad situation happens after another. As Huck and Jim’s journey continues, the river becomes an escape route that makes Huck and Jim work together, and fight for their freedom. The land is also a symbol in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The land represents the bond and brutality of American society. To Jim, the land means confinement and slavery. To Huck, it’s the thought of being held by Miss Watson, the Widow Douglas and his father. The land connects danger and with Huck and Jim. Animals, people, boats, and the idea of being caught on the land, all threaten their pleasant life on the river. Symbolism plays a big role in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain uses the raft, the river, and the land as symbols to portray an idea or thought that means something else. Using symbolism in a story gives it depth and meaning to the reader. Huck and Jim experience freedom from the river, a bond from the raft, and cruelty and drive from the