The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - Book Report/Review Example

Huck realizes that Jim is just as human as he is, a loving father who misses his children, a warm, sensitive, generous, compassionate individual. Huck has had to make a decision whether or not to rescue Jim when he is captured and held for return to slavery, as he faces the question of whether he should obey the law and turn in Jim. The slave loves Huck and he has been a true friend and been through many tough situations. Through his friendship with Jim, Huck learns to love the black man who is devoted and willing to do anything for Huck.

The themes that could be found in the book are the following: adventure, maturity, growth and rebirth, friendship, legality versus morality, love, racism, freedom, and the wrongness of society. The river, separate from the surrounding areas and from civilization, is a haven from society and a source for adventure. As Huck travels down the river, he starts a different life. Huck matures as he is forced to take care of himself because he has no parents, and as a young boy, he is forced to deal with problems.

After each adventure, Huck learns something new and becomes a new person. Huck never really had any true friend before Jim. As the novel is set in the South, Blacks are employed in the novel. They are slaves with no legal rights and are faced with high degrees of discrimination. Their status is lower than that of a white person, and Huck grows up debating that reality. It is a barrier at first between himself and Jim, which they eventually realize and overcome. In his life in the river with Jim, Huck learns and does many things that would be contrary to the beliefs of society such as helping the slave escape.

He also learns the idea that black people are people, too, despite the teachings of society. In sum, what reverberated throughout the novel is the value of the individual versus the influence of society and the hope and opportunity of freedom versus the comfort and security of civilization.The book has shocking language, but Twain was simply being honest and faithful to the dialect, language, and social sensibility of the times. It would be unfair to apply present-day sensibilities and standards of political correctness to this book.

The book is not racist. It is not easy to appreciate it for those who cannot value the themes tackled.