The Themes of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? by Mark Twain is, on the surface, a rather childlike book. It explains the adventures of a young man; all the things he does, all the ?dangerous? situations he is in, all the things he sees. The book is not usually taken for more than an adventure novel. Not many people, especially teenagers, take the time to really understand the meaning behind the book. Mark Twain not only entertained the reader, but he also emphasized some key points in a boy?s life. Those key points, or themes, are what will be discussed throughout the course of this paper.The main theme in ?The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? is the theme of passage. At a certain point in every boy?s life, he goes through a rite of passage into adulthood. In this novel, Huck went through a rite of passage. Widow Douglass tried her best to ?sivilize? Huck. She was unsuccessful and couldn?t figure what to do. The boy just would not listen. The problem was that Huck was not quite finished being a child yet. A child will often do the opposite of what his guardian tells him to do. Widow Douglass told Huck to go to school, and tried to teach him manners. Huck defied. Huck wasn?t going to become an adult until he was good and read
Now, as you can tell, you really shouldn?t judge a book by its cover. While ?The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? will still remain just another adventure novel to most, I will see it for the importance of the themes it presents and the exciting way they are presented. Meanwhile, Huck finds out that the duke and the king have been tarred and feathered. Once again, Huck finds something very wrong with society and shouts, ?human beings can be awful cruel to one another.? y, and by the end of the novel, he is still not quite ready, however, he is a few steps closer. Next stop on his journey involves the Wilks family. The king and the duke decide to pretend to be the brothers of the deceased Peter Wilks for the purposes of collecting his fortune. Huck sees that it is wrong, and wants to do something about it. Huck is definitely maturing. He acts out against injustice. He hides the inheritance the king and duke wrongfully collected, and tells Mary Jane (one of Peter Wilkes real sisters) where the money is hidden. He also makes sure that Mary Jane will be safe by sending her to a friend?s house. Huck begins to mature the day his father returned to town. He asked the judge to hold his money for him, and he began going to school all the time. That the first sign that he is growing up. After his Pap kidnaps him, he resorts back to his childish ways for a little while, but realizes soon enough that he is in an unsafe environment and that he must escape. Huck?s rite of passage really begins when his journey down the river begins. The river symbolizes his journey very clearly, showing that becoming an adult is not always easy, but nonetheless, an essential part in a boy?s life. The water is especially symbolic of his ?rebirth? as h
Some common words found in the essay are:
Widow Douglass, Tom Huck, Huck Jim, Mark Twain, Jim Huck, Shepardsons Huck, Huckleberry Finn, Peter Wilks, Jim Phelps, King Duke, rite passage, adventures huckleberry finn, king duke, boys life, adventures huckleberry, huckleberry finn, journey jim, phelps family, huck begins, tom sawyer, mary jane,
Approximate Word count = 1183
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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