In class, I mentioned I would like to discuss the importance of the Mississippi River in Huck Finn, so here it goes.
In Huckleberry Finn, the Mississippi symbolizes the difficult search for freedom and escape. Huck and Jim float alone down their river in pursuit of their goals. Huck hopes to escape being “sivilized” by Widow Douglas and the abuse of his father. Jim seeks freedom from slavery. However, we see that the pursuit of freedom is not an easy journey. At first, the trip appears to run smoothly, like the river, as Huck learns to tolerate Jim and his character. Life on the river is easy. They “feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.” Later, though, the two learn they are not completely free from nature and the evils and influences of the towns on the river’s banks. The real world hinders their voyage. During their trip, the river floods, bringing Huck and Jim into contact with criminals like the Duke and the Dauphin, wrecks, and stolen goods which all hamper their trip. Then, a thick fog causes them to miss the mouth of the Ohio River - their route to freedom. This actually ends the search because Jim temporarily becomes a slave. Thus, freedom does not come easily; it is an arduous journey in which many do not succeed. Huck and Jim’s journey actually parallels what southern black’s search for freedom might have been like before slavery abolished.
1 comment:
I definitely agree with your idea that the Mississippi River plays a large role in the novel. However, in addition to symbolizing the difficulties in Huck's search for freedom and escape, I also believe it is used to show to vast differences between the civilized life (on land) that Huck is so desperately trying to escape and the lack of rules on the river. At one point in the story, Huck narrorates, "We laid there all day and watched the rafts and steamboats spin down the shore..." Such activities, or lack there of, it exactly what we see him trying to escape. He hated doing chores, going to church, wearing "proper" clothing and reforming to any other standards of the time. On the river, however, Huck wears what he wants, speaks & acts as he wants, and he pretty much dictates when and where everything is going to occur. For Huck, as well as Tom and Jim, the Mississippi is their own little "paradise" that they are in control of. They were all able to use it as an escape of sorts from the demands of civilization.
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