Mark Twain Symbolism In Huck Finn

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Recommended: Analyze the adventures of huckleberry finn

Growing up kids always hear about The Adventures Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and all they really knew about was that their grandparents or parents loved the book and that for some reason it was controversial. When they got older they learned about how the racial standpoints in book made it so controversial but also what made it such a great book and that the theme of racism is still as relevant in our current time as it was when Twain wrote the book. Then after reading How To Read Literature Like A Professor By Thomas C. Foster many more things jump out at them while reading the novel. The use of setting and symbolism in the novel also helps make it such a fantastic piece of literature. Huck Finn is an iconic book that deserves to be as …show more content…

The river symbolizes multiple things in the novel. It symbolizes the journey that Huck and Jim are on and how the further south they get the harder it becomes. That particular symbolization is mentioned by Foster specifically; “It matters when they reach Cairo and the Ohio empties into the big river; it matters when they reach the Deep South, because Jim is running away in the worst possible direction. The great threat to a slave was that he might be sold down the river, where things got progressively worse south you went, and he’s floating straight into the teeth of the monster. (173)” The further south they traveled down the river the worse their luck gets, so worse that Jim ends up getting put back into slavery. Another thing the River symbolizes is an area of peace for Huck and Jim, they are both finally in place where they both can free and don’t need to worry about anyone for once in their lives. “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. (186)” The use of the symbolism in the novel is truly a reason why this is such a great piece of literature. Twain's use of the River to multitask many different symbols makes it the standard for River symbolism and he uses it to paint an even stronger setting that is truly connect to the plot of the story. Mark Twain's use of symbolism is a reason a that Huck Finn a great piece of

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