Huckleberry Finn Themes Essay Example

it is central to Huck's adventures, particularly when he resolves to steal Jim and free him from slavery. Food also plays a prominent symbolic role in the novel. During Huck's childhood, he often fights pigs for food and eats from "a barrel of odds and ends." Therefore, providing Huck with food symbolizes people caring for and protecting him. The Widow Douglas feeds Huck in the first chapter, and later on, Jim becomes his symbolic caretaker, feeding and watching over him on Jackson's Island.

Food is again a significant topic when Huck stays with the Grangerford's and the Wilks's. The theme of slavery is widely known in this novel and has sparked intense debates regarding Twain's perspective on slavery and ideas around racism. Twain was strongly against slavery both in his personal and public life. With this knowledge, it becomes clear that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn serves as an allegory to illustrate the wrongness of slavery. Twain utilizes Jim, a prominent character and a slave, to showcase the humanity of enslaved individuals.

Jim portrays complex human emotions and struggles with his life's path. He flees from Miss Watson, his owner, to avoid being sold and separated from his family. Jim endeavors to gain freedom to purchase his family's liberation. Throughout their journey on the river, Jim looks after and safeguards Huck as a friend rather than a servant. Twain's intention is to evoke sympathy and empathy towards Jim while displaying outrage at the society that has enslaved and endangered him. Despite using Jim's character to criticize slavery, Twain never explicitly tackles the issue.

In the novel, Huck and Jim do not discuss

slavery, and the other slaves mentioned are not major characters. It is only in the final section of the story that Twain focuses on the main conflict regarding slavery: whether Huck should free Jim and face condemnation to hell. This decision is significant for Huck as it compels him to reject everything he has learned from "civilization." Instead, Huck decides to release Jim based on his own personal experiences rather than societal norms. This choice demonstrates Huck's favoring of the morality of the "natural life" over that of civilization. The majority of the events occur either on the river or alongside it.

The river symbolizes freedom for Huck and Jim, as they feel completely independent and in charge of their own decisions while on the raft. Jim eagerly looks forward to reaching the free states, while Huck anticipates escaping his abusive alcoholic father and the stifling society of Miss Watson. However, the towns along the river begin to exert their influence on them, leading to encounters with criminals, shipwrecks, dishonesty, and grave peril. Ultimately, they are unfortunate to miss the town of Cairo due to a fog, where they had planned to take a steamboat up the Ohio River towards the free states.