Freedom Seen in Mark Twain’s:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By: Amit Etiel, Chandler Craft, and Kaden Peterson
Huck’s Dismay with Society
“The Widow Douglass, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out.” pg 13 chp 1
Huck doesn’t enjoy this civilized world he is forced to live in so much and he really just wants to make decisions on his own with his own choices and consequences. Huck doesn’t like that he is forced to behave in such a way that society says is right and that he wants to act on his known and learn from experience.
Huck Rejects Society
“We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy comfortable on a raft.” ch 18 pg 116
Huck realizes he’s happiest and the most free when he is not in a town or anywhere where the institution of Southern society (or any type of society) can hold him back. Huck and Jim become such great friends because they are on the raft. The raft lets them ignore society and enables them to live a life in nature where they can be free.
Huck’s need for a companion
“But by-and-by pap got too handy with his hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it. I was all over welts. He got to going away so much, too, and locking me in. Once he locked me in and was gone three days. It was dreadful lonesome.”
Pg 37, Ch 6
Twain is trying to show that even in nature, freedom can impeded by the presence of the corrupted souls of society. Pap representing the soul who locks Huck in a cabin impeding his freedom for no reason other than that he can.Pap is an obstacle to Huck’s freedom and limits Huck’s freedom by isolation and fear through abuse. Huck doesn’t want to be free in nature unless he is with someone who can truly appreciate the freedom with him.
Huck’s Escape from Society
“But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” pg 296 Ch the last
Huck need an escape from society after being subjected to its cruelness for so long. He refused to be part of the entrapment that society wants him in and to control his thoughts with what they think is right.He wants to go back to nature where he knows that it doesn’t discriminate. This passage is important because it shows that has learned from all his experiences in society and has come to the conclusion that he hates and can’t handle it.
Huck is seen as evil by society
“People will call me a low down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum—but that don’t make no difference. I ain’t agoing to tell, and I ain’t agoing back there anyways.” Ch8 pg 55
Twain used this to show society’s view on Huck or anyone else during this time that would try to provide freedom to someone. Society would see anyone trying to provide freedom to slaves as evil. This is hypocritical because they are the ones that are evil in terms of not allowing freedom.
The Use of the N-word
Huck the Frontiersman
Freedom against oppression
staying with their current oppressive
government
than security
BACK TO BACK WORLD WAR CHAMPS!!!!