The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Themes

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Themes

• "All modern American literature comes from one
  book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn"
• Ernest Hemingway

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Racism Slavery

• written after Emancipation Proclamation abolished
  slavery, but time period of story set during
  slavery
• during Reconstruction, a less institutionalized
  form of slavery existed in the South (Jim Crow
  laws)
• allegorical portrayal of conditions of Blacks
  in U.S. after end of slavery

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Hypocrisy of Civilized Society

• Societys laws (Miss Watson and Widow Douglas)
  vs. higher moral values (Huck and Jim)
• Rules and precepts that reflect faulty logic
• Civilized vs. Natural
• A just society that condones slavery
• Unsteady justice is blinded by cowardice,
  prejudice, and a lack of common sense
• Seemingly good and characters are slave-owners
• Hypocrisy of civilized society which values
  morality, but condones slavery

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Freedom

• importance of individual thinking and ideas
• escaping an illogical and oppressive society
• Mississippi River as a safe haven
• slavery vs. liberty
• outcasts labeled by citizens (mob mentality) are
  arguably the only truly free characters

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Food

• Food plays a prominent role in the novel.
• In Huck's childhood, he often fights pigs for
  food, and eats out of "a barrel of odds and
  ends."
• Thus, providing Huck with food becomes a symbol
  of people caring for and protecting him.
• For example, in the first chapter, the Widow
  Douglas feeds Huck, and later on Jim becomes his
  symbolic caretaker, feeding and watching over him
  on Jackson's Island.

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Mockery of Religion

• A theme Twain focuses on quite heavily on in this
  novel is the mockery of religion.
• Throughout his life, Twain was known for his
  attacks on organized religion.
• Huck Finn's sarcastic character perfectly
  situates him to deride religion, representing
  Twain's personal views.
• In the first chapter, Huck indicates that hell
  sounds far more fun than heaven.

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Superstition

• Superstition appears throughout the novel.
• Generally, both Huck and Jim are very rational
  characters, yet when they encounter anything
  slightly superstitious, irrationality takes over.
  
• The power superstition holds over the two
  demonstrates that Huck and Jim are child-like
  despite their apparent maturity.
• In addition, superstition foreshadows the plot at
  several key junctions.
• For instance, when Huck spills salt, Pap returns,
  and when Huck touches a snakeskin with his bare
  hands, a rattlesnake bites Jim.

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Maturation and Development

• Bildungsroman
• A moral coming of age story.
• being open-minded is a quality that Huck
  represents, as a child, which allows for his
  development and maturation
• Hucks relationship with Jim assists his
  progression throughout the novel
• Hucks experiences and apprehension about society
  help lead to his maturity

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Symbols

• The Mississippi River
• a source of freedom a safe haven
• Life
• confluence of all currents of American life in
  the first half of the nineteenth century
• The Land
• Real vs. Ideal (the river)
• Raft
• tool for escape
• safe place
• Money
• separates the civilized from the outcasts

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Terms to know

• hypocrisy
• satire
• irony
• dialect
• parody

• Emancipation Proclamation
• Reconstruction
• Jim Crow Laws
• allegory
• superstition
• precept
• mob mentality
• Bildungsroman