Literary Analysis: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” (Twain, ix) Mark Twain opens his book with a personal notice, abstract from the storyline, to discourage the reader from looking for depth in his words. This severe yet humorous personal caution is written as such almost to dissuade his readers from having any high expectations. The language in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is completely “American” beyond the need for perfect grammar. “Mark Twain’s novel, of course, is widely considered to be a definitively American literary text.” (Robert Jackson, 48-Regional Theory) Mark Twain deliberately flaunts the use of improper American language and with this novel asks the question “Are you required to speak perfect English in order to be considered a hero?” This notice is most likely written as his response to his own fears that this radically new style of language and writing would undoubtedly be rejected and unacceptable for society. In reality this book has become an infamous and classic story, very contrary to Mr. Twain’s personal opinion.

“Twain, on the basis of this notice, seems to enlist in the Romantic camp.” (Fertel, 158 – Free and Easy) In his total disregard for traditional and predictable European literature, Twain writes in a manner that can be construed as part of the Romantic Movement. It could also be the first real step toward the Naturalist Movement when looking at the realistic American accent and language, which Mark Twain explains in his Explanatory. “In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dia...

... middle of paper ...

...o symbolic in how that is the very place Huckleberry Finn makes the decision to grow up and do the right thing.

Works Cited

Bollinger, Laurel. "Say It, Jim: The Morality of Connection in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." College Literature; Winter2002, Vol. 29 Issue 1, P32, 21p. 29.1 (2002): 32+. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

Fertel, R. J. ""Free and Easy? Spontaneity and The Quest For Maturity in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn2." Modern Language Quarterly 44.2 (1983): 157-77. Print.

Jackson, Robert. "The Emergence of Mark Twain's Missouri: Regional Theory and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The Southern Literary Journal 35.1 (2002): 47-69. Print.

Valkeakari, Tuire. "Huck, Twain, and the Freedman’s Shackles: Struggling with Huckleberry Finn Today." Atlantis (0210-6124) 28.2 (2006): 29-43. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

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