“The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time…” (5).
At the very beginning of the novel, Huckleberry Finn speaks about his desire for freedom. As a young boy, all he cares to do is live life his own way and be free of control, which seems natural. While living with the Widow Douglas, he cannot do this and instead must compromise and become a civilized being. Right from the start, he explains that he is opposed to a civilized society, which makes you wonder why. Although he is a silly boy who feels rebellious, there must be something more setting off his hatred for living in a proper and ordered manner. By returning back to society to join Tom’s band of robbers, Huck Finn is mocking the worth of civilization and revealing that the only value it has is this childish game. In a way, it characterizes Huck Finn as not only a rebellious boy but also an observant one who has realized that a civilized society is indeed not civilized. This sets up Huck Finn’s character for the rest of the novel, as it makes you wonder what he has gone through to come to his realizations.
“The river looked miles and miles across. The moon was so bright I could a counted the drift logs that went a slipping along, black and still, hundreds of yards out from shore…” (34).
Deciding to travel across the Mississippi River to Jackson’s Island, Huck Finn finally escapes his abusive father. The Mississippi River ultimately symbolizes freedom for Huck Finn, as it is his route to independence. The river undulates freely and simply flows wherever it wants, exactly what Huck Finn wants to do. Just like the river, he desires to do whatever he pleases and go wherever he wants. Furthermore, this scene, where Huck Finn is slowly floating off to Jackson’s Island, has examples of vivid imagery which enhance the story. The author’s choice of words, such as miles and miles, slipping along, black and still, and dead quiet are powerful and add an aspect of detail which really helps the reader to imagine the scene. Being able to see the scene this way allows a connection to develop between the reader and Huck Finn, as it puts you in his place and makes you realize that at one point you probably wanted the same. Whether it was to escape from a big problem or a small issue, at one point one’s anger probably made them wish they could leave, just like Huck Finn. Because of the setup created by the author’s diction, I could relate to Huck’s emotions and understand why he needed to spend some quiet time alone.
“We didn’t touch an oar, and we didn’t speak nor whisper, nor hardly even breathe. We went gliding swift along, dead silent, past the tip of the paddle-box, and past the stern; then in a second or two more we was a hundred yards below the wreck, and the darkness soaked her up, every last sign of her, and we was safe, and knowed it” (67).
After just witnessing two men planning a murder, Huck and Jim manage to find their boat and quietly leave. However, they leave in shock, as they do not even move or speak while in the boat, they just float along. The words used in this passage create such a strong tone, as they make you feel very much like they felt. By saying that they “didn’t touch an oar” and that they were hardly even breathing, there is a distinct feeling of shock and it is evident that both Huck and Jim are frightened by what they just saw and do not want to speak about it. This creates a sense of fear and even guilt, as when they drift away they know they are safe, but they see the wreck sink into the darkness. Even though the men left on the wreck were murderers, it was unfortunate for them to be in a situation like that. By saying that the darkness soaked them up, the author is creating a vivid image, which sticks in your mind and shows how seeing something like that could cause guilt. Huck knows they had to escape or they could have been seen and later hurt, but he still feels sorry for the men. Similarly, in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss is put in a position where she must kill everyone else during the games. She knows others will kill her, but she still looks back on the empty area and feels as if it is her fault, creating survivor’s guilt.
“What’s the use you learn to do right, when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?” (85).
Throughout the novel is there a debate of right versus wrong, forming a motif around morals and behavior. Multiple times Huck defies the rules of society and does as he pleases because as this quote says, the outcome of doing either is similar, so it does not matter what he does. Huck can lie, which is easier, or he can tell the truth, which could lead him to trouble anyways and get the same punishment. This is still relatable today, as many people find themselves in dilemmas where the outcomes are similar, so they might as well take the easier way out, even if it is wrong. Someone may lie on a resume to get a job instead of admitting they are not qualified and get the job anyways. If they admit they are not qualified but show interest, they might still get the job, but that takes more work and passion. This also ties into the irony of the civilized society, as this society owns slaves and treats them poorly, yet they claim they are humanized. Huck has to debate what to do about Jim since he is a runaway slave and is being searched for. Society tells him that he has to turn him in; however, his morals allow Huck to hide Jim and take him away with him. Huck realizes doing wrong is a lot easier, but he also sees that sometimes what is wrong in society is not necessarily wrong. For instance, helping Jim escape slavery is not really wrong since he is doing good by Jim.
“He told them he was a pirate–been a pirate for thirty years, out in the Indian Ocean, and his crew was thinned out considerable, last spring, in a fight, and he was home now…” (121).
In numerous areas of the novel, there are lies being told, forming a motif around them. Huck lies saying Jim is his father and has smallpox so the two men would not come close to their raft. Huck also lies to Sophia saying he did not read the note and could not even read it. Furthermore, the king and duke proclaim themselves as royalty, even though they are commoners. Now, the king is lying to the people, preaching that he is a reformed pirate, who is going to travel back to the Indian Ocean and convert others to Christianity. He uses this as the basis of his story and manages to selfishly make money. Although he says his purpose is “religious” his true values show through and his desire for money and materials is made clear. However, the people are easily fooled and continue to give him their money, failing to realize he is a fraud. Huck, on the other hand, realizes that people are not as trustworthy as they may seem. This is a step Huck takes as he grows up and sees that society is not perfect and lies and cons are constantly circulating. This once again proves to Huck that society is not as orderly as it claims it is. This realization is not only unique to Huck; however, as in many other cases, characters realize that their idea of the real world may be slightly off. In the tv show, Gilmore Girls, Rory, a young adult starting off Yale, is given an internship at a newspaper company. She is confident in her abilities and thinks she is doing great until she is sat down and told she is fired and not good enough. She realizes that becoming a writer is not going to be as easy as she thought when she was ten years old. Just like Huck, she sees that society is full of people lying to get their way and hiding things to protect themselves.
“He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder… and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It don’t seem natural, but I reckon it’s so” (142).
At this time in the South, there is a ton of racism and slavery portrayed as being normal. Throughout the novel, black people are described as inferior and more like animals than humans. Huck and the king and duke come up with a way to travel during the daytime that involves tying Jim up, and pretending they are turning him in. Black people are simply showcased as being less. At first, Huck follows these racist ideas and feels guilty for not turning in Jim, since he is a runaway slave and should be turned in. But later, Huck grows as a character and realizes that society’s ideas are skewed. He realizes that Jim is a human just like him, and is just as capable of having feelings. He sees that black people can love and hurt too, and are just like white people. He sees that it does not matter that Jim is black because he has proved to be a great friend.
“I studied a while, and see my chance, then I says: ‘Well, I see the nixxers go in there several times.’ Both of them give a little jump…” (165-166).
Prior to this, Huck witnesses the king selfishly separate a black family for the sake of money. Huck is reminded of how Jim was separated from his family and grows to be upset. He once again naturally sees that black people have emotions. But, just as Huck starts to accept blacks, he once again compromises to societal standards and lies saying that he saw black people go into the king and duke’s room. Whether he is being racist or if he is just taking advantage of the king and duke’s racism, it shows that he has somehow been influenced to portray that he thinks blacks are just naturally inclined to commit crimes. Had Jim lied and said that whites went into their room, he would have automatically been beat and told that he was lying. But since it was Huck blaming blacks, it is seen as totally acceptable. Which proves that this Christian society values something which is actually immoral. However, lying does not concern Huck, as all he thinks about is concealing the fact that he was the thief without really hurting anyone, as the blacks are already sold and nothing can be done. This is just like when Huck pretends to be a girl to gain the information he needs without revealing anything about himself or Jim. He similarly lies to hide the truth while getting what he wants.
“I took it up, and held it in my hand… ‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’–and tore it up” (194-195).
At this exact moment, Huck’s immense character development is made clear. He has moved past his own racism and realized that he much rather help Jim than hurt him. His morals grow strong and he decides that he must follow his own heart rather than what society tells him what to do. He realizes that he does not care that society tells him he should treat black people as less. Although Huck believes that helping a slave get to freedom will send him to hell. He much rather go to hell than betray someone who has been a great friend. Not only has Jim protected him and helped him out, but he has stayed loyal to Huck. The strength that Huck and Jim’s friendship is evident and has reached a peak at this point. It has grown through the novel until this point, which makes Huck realize that hell is not worse than abandoning Jim. However, the fact that Huck thinks that helping a slave will send him to hell shows how twisted Christian beliefs are in the South. Christian beliefs are supposed to be moral, but this contradicts that, as it promotes treating blacks unequally.
“Oh, it’s de dad-blame’ witches, sah, en I wisht I was dead, I do. Dey’s awluz at it, sah, en dey do mos’ kill me, dey sk’yers me so. Please to don’t tell nobody ‘bout it sah, er ole Mars Silas he’ll scole me; ‘kase he say dey ain’t no witches” (215).
The novel creates a motif around superstitions, as in the beginning, Jim talks to Huck about his religion and beliefs. When birds fly by Jim says it is going to rain, he lists things that cause bad luck like shaking a tablecloth after sundown or counting what you are going to eat. He says touching the rattlesnake skin will bring bad luck, which he continues to blame on their journey. He blames the snakeskin for having their raft run over and the disappearance of their canoe. Now, the superstitious idea of witches is mentioned by Nat. He claims to be tortured by the witches and Huck and Tom uses this to their advantage and exploit his beliefs. They make him believe the witches are making him hear things and then help save Jim. Not only does this involve the motif of superstitions, but it also goes along with the motif of lies and cons, as they trick Nat into believing something that did not happen the way they said it did. Similarly, in The Crucible, Abigail is able to convince the judges in the court that she felt a cold wind and saw a yellow bird, which she claims was because of Mary Warren. However, none of it actually happened and she was lying, just as how Huck and Tom lie. She makes them believe that it was because Mary Warren was a witch, which is not the case.
“Dah, now, Huck, what I tell you?–what I tell you up dah on Jackson islan’? I tole you I got a hairy breas’, en what’s de sign un it; en I tole you I been rich wunst, en gwineter to be rich agin…” (262).
Once again, the motif of superstition occurs in the novel. Jim mentions for the second time in the novel that being hairy means you will be rich. Primarily, he says it for the first time on Jackson’s island, where he recalls how he once was rich and will be rich again. Now, he is free and rich again, which he attributes to his hairy chest. This is one of Jim’s own beliefs from his religion, which he conveys to Huck. Furthermore, he phrases his statement in questions, which gives a sense of excitement and importance. This shows that Jim is a firm believer in his religion and is very happy that something he believes in has happened. It makes him joyful that his faith has brought him prosperity and good luck. It is as of his dedication to his beliefs has paid off. Seeing Jim free and happy after the whole adventure is just heart-warming and it makes you feel good that he and Huck have managed to go through all of this together and learn from it.
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