Examples Of Romanticism In Huckleberry Finn

When reading a novel, many people do not interpret it the way the author intended. This is certainly the case for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a novel written by Mark Twain. During the last quarter of the novel, Huck Finn, Jim, and Tom Sawyer participate in many fanciful activities while trying to free Jim from the Phelps’s plantation. Many readers feel that these adventures are whimsical to the point of being ridiculous, and therefore they describe this portion of the novel as an example of literary burlesque. Although many critics favor this idea, the last quarter of the book is actually in line with Twain’s theme of romanticism versus realism. The difference between Tom and Huck’s opinions contributes to the theme of romanticism versus realism. While Tom is a romantic who is always coming up with farfetched ideas for rescuing Jim, Huck is a realist who refutes Tom’s ideas. If Twain had wanted to write a meaningless, absurd ending, he would not have included Huck’s practical responses, which he uses to condemn impractical behavior in general. One example of this is when Tom is trying to decide whether or not to cut Jim’s leg off in order to remove his restraints. Surprised, Huck says, “Good land… why, there ain’t no necessity for it” (214). The readers would have had a similar …show more content…
The notice informs the reader that, “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be persecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” Although it sounds like he was trying to convince his readers not to overthink the story, he really meant the opposite. He wanted his readers to find themes and parallels in his writing. Therefore, it would not make very much sense for him to write the last part of the book without any deeper