“Civilization
is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities” was once said by a
man by the name of Samuel L. Clemens, who was better known by his pen name,
Mark Twain. In his most praised literary work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the struggle between
“sivilization” and freedom is apparent as Twain recaptures the reality of the
Pre-Civil War Southern society surrounding a young boy.
Opening
in the Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri and following the
events that occurred in The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, along with his best friend Tom Sawyer, own a large
amount of money which is being held by the trusted Judge Thatcher. Adopted by
the wealthy sisters, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, Huck is forced into a life
of civilization, which involves schooling, manners, and church. When his
drunken father, Pap, appear and kidnaps Huck for his money, Huck manages to
escape and hide on Jackson’s Island. There, he encounters Miss Watson’s slave
Jim, who has run away fearing separation from his wife and children and tormenting
oppression from talk about his master selling him down the river to a
plantation. Huck questions himself over the proper view in which he should
consider helping a runaway slave. Nevertheless, he agrees to not turn Jim in.
Over the course of the next episodes of the book, Jim and Huck experience a
variety of adventures in which they learn lessons on morals, slavery and
domination, friendship, and loyalty. When Jim and Huck at one point are sold
back to their respective slaveries – Jim as a slave and Huck to the civilized
society offered by Tom’s aunt and uncle – they try to escape, which results in
Tom being shot in the leg. Jim sacrifices his freedom in order to save Tom, but
then they receive news the Miss Watson had died two months earlier and had
declared Jim to be free in her will. Huck finds out that his father is dead,
which enables him to pursue a life without the “sivilizing”.
In
understanding the historical context of The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is essential to consider the factors
that influenced Twain’s writing. Twain, born into an economically disadvantaged
family in Missouri in 1835, never received an education: instead, he educated
himself by writing articles for his brother’s paper and spending as much time
as he could in the library reading books. In 1859, Twain received a license to
pilot steamboats, where he gathered most of his experiences concerning the
Mississippi River. When the civil war came about, Twain briefly served under
the Confederate army before moving out west where he commenced his writing
career. Twain was very popular during his life time as he was the first person
to include the vernacular dialects of the South and realistic styles in
American literature.
Twain
emphasizes the hypocrisy in society through the reoccurring theme of
civilization versus that of freedom in The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In
the beginning, Huck shows his disgust with the confinements of a “sivilized” life
living with Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas. He seems annoyed as the fact
that he “couldn’t go right to eating” when at the table and he “had to wait for
the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though
there warn’t really anything the matter with them” (1). In addition, Huck feels
that he is in captivity by his drunken father. This theme can also be applied
to Jim, as he is trying to escape slavery. Together, the two escape the
bondages of civilization whilst traveling along the river. To further point out
the hypocrisy in civilizations, every time Huck meets with civilization, he
encounters misfortunes, whether that be the involvement with the Grangerford
and Shepherdsons feud, the fraud King and Duke, or being caught on the run.
Twain shows the irony in civilization with such situations as the Grangerfords
and Shepherdsons that demonstrate barbarism with their ongoing feud which has
resulted in the unnecessary deaths of several family members. In the end, Huck
proves to remain unchanged from the beginning of the novel. Not being able to
“stand” Aunt Sally because “she’s going to adopt [Huck] and sivilize [him]”
results in Huck’s move “out for the Territory ahead of the rest” (232). This
characteristic of the plot is influenced by Twain’s generation, in which the
American West was a testing ground for American individualism and freedom.
Throughout
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
Twain exhibits several dialects ranging from the region of the Mississippi
River. The use of such words as “injun” and “warn’t” make the text particularly
difficult to comprehend, seeing as the use of this dialect is not as common today.
Despite the challenge of understanding the novel, I found this book to be a
“page turner” due to the amount of action that was packed in each period of the
story plot.
No comments:
Post a Comment