The Idea and Theme of Huckleberry Finn - Term Paper Example

Huckleberry Finn This novel, also called “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn”, is a clear description of people, focusing on their attitudes, notably the element of racism. The novel opens at St. Petersburg, Missouri, which is near the shores of Mississippi River, where two young boys, Tom and Huckleberry are living under a guardianship, with the guardians trying to civilize them, an aspect that the boys do not appreciate, since they find the attempt to civilize them as a form of confinement (Twain, 15). While the book particularly handles the theme of racism, it has handled this subject in a more controversial manner, owing to the use of coarse language and application of extreme racial stereotypes. The theme of racism is advanced by Miss Watson, who is particularly cruel to her Slave Jim, who is a black boy, as opposed to how he was treating Huckleberry because he was a white boy (Twain, 23). While she was after civilizing Huckleberry simply because he was white and she wanted him to obtain the civilization of the residents living in this region, he had no positive will for Jim, whom he sought to sell at some point at a price of $800, down the Mississippi river, where conditions for slaves and cruelty was even worse (Twain, 34). Thus, out of the perceived restriction and confinement, the two boys organize a deal, where Tom helps Huckleberry to run away from his guardians and join his gang of robbers, with whom they perpetrate crime and robbery against the residents. The escape did not prove any fruitful; because the gang did not manage to steal more valuables, only stealing hymn books from a church, which they are forced to return (Twain, 42). Huckleberry’s father re-appears and takes his custody, confining him in a cabin, where he has no freedom at all. This forces Huckleberry to seek for ways through which he could escape and go back to Mississippi. The theme of irresponsibility is presented here, considering that Huckleberry’s father is a perpetual drunkard, who does not take care of his family as would be expected (Twain, 39). Escapism is the only option for Huckleberry, who does not find any place as keeping, since wherever he goes, there is an issue that crops up, making him dissatisfied than he was in his previous region. The theme of freedom is extensively explored in this story. Every character is in search of freedom, which does not appear to occur to them. First, Huckleberry escapes from his guardian, Miss Watson, after observing that living under her care was nothing short of confinement. When he rejoins his gang of robbery, there is no freedom either and he ends up in the hands of his father, who is even more of a confiner (Twain, 84). He decides it is better to go back to Mississippi, where there was at least some freedom, only that being civilized got him pissed off. The same happens for Jim, who is Miss Watson’s slave. After living under the authority of Miss Watson for long, Jim decides to escape, following some information that Miss Watson wanted to sell him off down river, where it was eminent that conditions for the slaves were more harsh (47). Search for freedom is the ultimate goal for these two characters, where Jim wants to free to Ohio, in an attempt to buy his family the much desired freedom. Freedom is not anywhere near for the two characters. Due to the fact that they cannot get the news of the recent developments, Huckleberry has to dress up like a girl to be able to go back to the village and gather new developments without being noticed, since in their village, they are fugitives on the run (Twain, 27). When he gets back to the village, he manages to gather the recent developments, where he realized that they are in the wanted list and there is a price that has been placed on their capture, having been associated with the murder of his father. This forces him to get back to Jackson’s island, where he had left his alleged accomplice, Jim. Owing to the danger that they are in, they have to escape through a raft and head down the Mississippi (Twain, 95). Ethics and morality also features as another theme in this novel, where Huckleberry is torn between setting up Jim, who is escaping from his master, or siding with him and thus facilitating his escape. Realizing the hardships that Jim was undergoing as a slave, the only option was to assist him to escape, since he would be better off away from Miss Watson, than allowing him to be sold down the river, where he could endure more harsh conditions. With such considerations in place, moral choice informs Huckleberry’s support for Jim, whom he assists and supports throughout the journey (Twain, 76). However, the moral choices did not easily come by, since there were more compromising situations requiring the character to make hard choices. While considering that he was better off away from Mississippi, Huckleberry opts to return there once again, after it is apparent that he would suffer more under his father’s custody. He is also confronted by a situation requiring moral decision-making, when he finally escapes and comes across the Grangerfords and Shepherdson’s families (Twain, 165). The conflict between these two families caught Huckleberry amidst, where there is the use of guns to kill some members of the Grangerfords family. He opts to play it neutral, although at some point he is forced to side with the Grangerfords. The novel portrays Huckleberry as a confused character, who believes in one thing and then turns around to believe in the other, all the time torn between the social perspective and his individual perspective. However, the story portrays one consistent and moral character that remains committed to his course throughout the story (Twain, 58). Jim is in constant such of freedom, trying to seize any opportunity that comes his way, which seems to promise him some freedom from racial discrimination and slavery. Lies and deceit is yet another theme that clearly features in this novel. There are many instances in the novel, where different people are telling lies, either deliberately to harm others or to save them from harm. Huckleberry is one of the characters involved in telling perpetual lies, although most of his lies do not seem to cause major harm. He pretended to be a girl, so that he could travel back to the village unnoticed. This trick played well for him and Jim, since they managed to obtain information regarding their being on the wanted list (Twain, 188). Thus, though Huckleberry engaged in deceit, he did it so that they would not be caught. The strange woman that Huckleberry met in Mississippi when he travelled back from Jackson’s island to gather the new developments discovered that he was lying, but did not disclose it either (Twain, 133). On the other hand, the king (Duke) is another character who was involved in lying and deceit that caused suffering to the others. The nature of deceit and lies in the novel ranges from superficial to very hurtful lies, which eventually cause a great conflict amongst the people. Nevertheless, the novel has differentiated these forms of lies, where those who tell hurtful lies end up being punished in the novel, while the individuals who engage in lies that are superficial and less hurtful do not suffer at the end (Twain, 255) . It is on the basis of this separation that Twain has been able to highlight the moral vagueness that is presented by the novel, “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn”. Works Cited Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2003. Print. Read More