The Symbolism of Mark Twain in His Literary Works

            The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain contains symbolism associated with superstition. This is demonstrated by both the actions and beliefs of the characters and the events which occur in the story. The way in which friendship supersedes superstition and popular beliefs plays a major role throughout. Huck in particular is forced to mature and forget superstition when he is faced with the internal dilemma of his best friend, Jim, being a runaway slave. In Chapter one, Huck sees a spider crawling up his shoulder, so he flicks it into the flame of a candle, where it shrivles up before he could retrieve it. Huck realizes that it is a bad omen, which will bring bad luck. He becomes scared and shakes off his clothes, then proceeds to turn in his tracks three times. He then ties a lock of his hair with a thread to keep the witches away. "You do that when you've lost a horseshoe that you've found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadn't ever heard anybody say i!.

             t was any way to keep of bad luck when you'd killed a spider."(Twain 5). In chapter four, Huck sees Pap's footprints in the snow. He then goes to Jim to ask him why Pap is here. Jim goes and gets a fist sized hairball, which was taken from an ox's stomach. Jim asks the hairball, "Why is Pap here?" But the hairball won't answer. Jim says it needs money, so Huck gives Jim a counterfeit quarter that Huck had been bragging about earlier in the novel. Jim puts the quarter under the hairball. The hairball talks to Jim and Jim tells Huck that it says: "Yo"ole father doan" know yit what he"s a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he"ll go 'way, en den ag"in he spec he"ll stay. De bes" way is tores" easy en let de ole man take his own way. Dey"s two angles hoverin" roun" 'bout him. One uv"em is white en shiny, en t"other one is black. De white one gits him to go right a little while, den de black one sil in en gust it all up.

Related Essays: