The Shallow Waters of Freedom
The relationship between the natural world and civilized society is a common topic of discussion in intellectual circles, political debate, and scientific theory. From talk of climate change to colonization, humans have been bringing up the “nature vs. civilization” theme for hundreds of years. In nineteenth-century America, for instance, author Mark Twain evidently took interest in this discussion, as the parallels between nature and civilized society are thematic elements in his work. Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of a teen boy’s escape from civility and journey across the unregulated, free-spirited waters of the Mississippi River. In Huckleberry Finn, the symbol of the river is used to portray the freedom and personal immunities associated with nature, and the land off the shores of the river portrays the nonsensical and ironic makeup of civilization.
The time that Huck Finn spends travelling down the Mississippi River is filled with leisure, liberty, and moral apprehension that is typically rejected by Southern society, as it is meant to depict the freedom and escape from civilization that the natural world provides. While describing his time on the raft with Jim, the runaway slave who had served his adoptive guardian, Huck tells, “we… let [the raft] float …show more content…
Mark Twain uses these contrasting symbols to make a point about pre-Civil War Southern society, which he seems to have disdain for on account of its brutal racism and irrational standards. Huckleberry Finn is just one example of the “nature versus civilization” theme; the conversation about the boundaries of society and the natural world has been prominent throughout America’s history and still is to this
The relationship between the natural world and civilized society is a common topic of discussion in intellectual circles, political debate, and scientific theory. From talk of climate change to colonization, humans have been bringing up the “nature vs. civilization” theme for hundreds of years. In nineteenth-century America, for instance, author Mark Twain evidently took interest in this discussion, as the parallels between nature and civilized society are thematic elements in his work. Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of a teen boy’s escape from civility and journey across the unregulated, free-spirited waters of the Mississippi River. In Huckleberry Finn, the symbol of the river is used to portray the freedom and personal immunities associated with nature, and the land off the shores of the river portrays the nonsensical and ironic makeup of civilization.
The time that Huck Finn spends travelling down the Mississippi River is filled with leisure, liberty, and moral apprehension that is typically rejected by Southern society, as it is meant to depict the freedom and escape from civilization that the natural world provides. While describing his time on the raft with Jim, the runaway slave who had served his adoptive guardian, Huck tells, “we… let [the raft] float …show more content…
Mark Twain uses these contrasting symbols to make a point about pre-Civil War Southern society, which he seems to have disdain for on account of its brutal racism and irrational standards. Huckleberry Finn is just one example of the “nature versus civilization” theme; the conversation about the boundaries of society and the natural world has been prominent throughout America’s history and still is to this