Prompt 2: Freedom in Huckleberry Finn
In Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, the theme of freedom is the basis of the entire novel. As the novel tells its story about young Huck and his companion Jim, different ideas of freedom are expressed for each character. Huck’s initial view of freedom comes from being constricted by the ideals of what a proper boy should be in the eyes of society. Jim, on the other hand, views freedom in a more literal sense. His goal throughout the novel is to escape the bondage of slavery and live a free life with his wife and children. However, there are times both of their ideas of freedom are not so dissimilar. Throughout the novel, Jim’s idea of freedom never changes, but Huck changes his perception of freedom …show more content…
However, Tom Sawyer tell Huck that he can only join the “band of robbers” if Huck stays with the widow and keeps up a respectable performance (Twain 131). Huck describes his life with the widow with a very negative connotation, which gives the reader the idea that Huck feels more comfortable in a more unrestricted lifestyle. This idea comes from the connotation the reader gets while reading about how Huck describes life at the widow’s home. He points out that while wearing “them new clothes”, he “couldn’t do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up” (Twain 131). A common example used to describe Huck’s preferred way of living comes from a quote in the middle of chapter one: “Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad, then, but I didn’t mean no harm. All I wanted was to go somewhere; all I wanted was a change, I warn’t particular” (Twain 132). This quote says quite a lot about Huck, not only from the quote itself, but also from its position in the novel. The quote describes just how much Huck desires to get away from everything the widow is making him do, and how much he hates everything she is making him do. Prior, Huck had to practice spelling with Miss Watson and quickly says he “couldn’t stand it much longer” (Twain 132). Also, because this happens so early in the novel, it can be implied that Huck has not been with the …show more content…
Towards the end of chapter six, Huck’s father hallucinates about snakes, followed by devils, and ending with, how Huck describes it, “calling me an Angel of Death and saying he would kill me and then I couldn’t come for him no more” (Twain 148). Fortunately, Huck’s father got tired out and fell asleep before doing anything drastic. After all this happened, Huck realized he needed to get away. This is the first time Huck changes what he believes to be his idea of freedom, which in this case, is to escape the dangers of his father. This is when Huck first changes his idea of freedom from that of escaping civilization, to escaping the confines of his father. Although Jim describes his idea of freedom in chapter 16 as “the first thing he would do when he got to a free State he would go to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would buy his wife… and then they would both work to buy the two children” (Twain 184). His idea of escaping slavery is still similar to Huck’s new view of freedom, to escape the bondage of his father. Because they both had the idea that they needed to escape bondage, they became close and were able to live together on Jackson’s Island for quite some time. They are able to bond over their escape, as well as their continued attempt at remaining hidden. However, after a while,
In Mark Twain’s novel, Huckleberry Finn, the theme of freedom is the basis of the entire novel. As the novel tells its story about young Huck and his companion Jim, different ideas of freedom are expressed for each character. Huck’s initial view of freedom comes from being constricted by the ideals of what a proper boy should be in the eyes of society. Jim, on the other hand, views freedom in a more literal sense. His goal throughout the novel is to escape the bondage of slavery and live a free life with his wife and children. However, there are times both of their ideas of freedom are not so dissimilar. Throughout the novel, Jim’s idea of freedom never changes, but Huck changes his perception of freedom …show more content…
However, Tom Sawyer tell Huck that he can only join the “band of robbers” if Huck stays with the widow and keeps up a respectable performance (Twain 131). Huck describes his life with the widow with a very negative connotation, which gives the reader the idea that Huck feels more comfortable in a more unrestricted lifestyle. This idea comes from the connotation the reader gets while reading about how Huck describes life at the widow’s home. He points out that while wearing “them new clothes”, he “couldn’t do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up” (Twain 131). A common example used to describe Huck’s preferred way of living comes from a quote in the middle of chapter one: “Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad, then, but I didn’t mean no harm. All I wanted was to go somewhere; all I wanted was a change, I warn’t particular” (Twain 132). This quote says quite a lot about Huck, not only from the quote itself, but also from its position in the novel. The quote describes just how much Huck desires to get away from everything the widow is making him do, and how much he hates everything she is making him do. Prior, Huck had to practice spelling with Miss Watson and quickly says he “couldn’t stand it much longer” (Twain 132). Also, because this happens so early in the novel, it can be implied that Huck has not been with the …show more content…
Towards the end of chapter six, Huck’s father hallucinates about snakes, followed by devils, and ending with, how Huck describes it, “calling me an Angel of Death and saying he would kill me and then I couldn’t come for him no more” (Twain 148). Fortunately, Huck’s father got tired out and fell asleep before doing anything drastic. After all this happened, Huck realized he needed to get away. This is the first time Huck changes what he believes to be his idea of freedom, which in this case, is to escape the dangers of his father. This is when Huck first changes his idea of freedom from that of escaping civilization, to escaping the confines of his father. Although Jim describes his idea of freedom in chapter 16 as “the first thing he would do when he got to a free State he would go to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would buy his wife… and then they would both work to buy the two children” (Twain 184). His idea of escaping slavery is still similar to Huck’s new view of freedom, to escape the bondage of his father. Because they both had the idea that they needed to escape bondage, they became close and were able to live together on Jackson’s Island for quite some time. They are able to bond over their escape, as well as their continued attempt at remaining hidden. However, after a while,