Some environments are so powerful and impactful that they can alter the behaviour and personality of a person forever. One such environment is presented in Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in which the Mississippi River uses its power to change the life, destiny and mindset of a young boy named Huck Finn. In the age old argument of nature versus nurture, nurture emerges triumphant in Twain’s book, as Huck is forced to change his character and consequently his way of thinking, as a result of travelling down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave. In “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, the author uses the Mississippi River as a symbol of freedom and connected quests to contribute to the development of Huck’s character.
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The title of the book describes this as a series of adventures. An adventure is an exciting activity without a destination. However, the characters went on a quest instead; they had a specific goal and idea of what they wanted to achieve. Huck attempted to gain freedom by escaping those trying to “sivilize” him and his abusive father. Meanwhile, Jim also went on a quest, in which he tried to get to the North, where he could achieve freedom from enslavement. Not only are both characters going on quests, searching for freedom, but the Mississippi River also has a purpose and goal. It continuously travels towards the South until it empties out into the Gulf of Mexico. The river, consequently shares the same path as both characters. The river and characters are all travelling together, southwards to the conclusion of the book through dramatic scenes and other interesting characters. In “Why Huckleberry Finn Is a Great World Novel”, by Lauriat Lane, the author writes, “If we are to find any meaning in Huck’s journey beyond the literal level, we must seek it first in the medium through which Huck journeys, in the great river down which he drifts during much of the story… Implicit in this pattern is the suggestion that the river journey can have a distinctly metaphysical quality, that it can be, in fact, a journey of the soul as well as of the body.” In this quote, the author emphasizes the importance of the river’s
The title of the book describes this as a series of adventures. An adventure is an exciting activity without a destination. However, the characters went on a quest instead; they had a specific goal and idea of what they wanted to achieve. Huck attempted to gain freedom by escaping those trying to “sivilize” him and his abusive father. Meanwhile, Jim also went on a quest, in which he tried to get to the North, where he could achieve freedom from enslavement. Not only are both characters going on quests, searching for freedom, but the Mississippi River also has a purpose and goal. It continuously travels towards the South until it empties out into the Gulf of Mexico. The river, consequently shares the same path as both characters. The river and characters are all travelling together, southwards to the conclusion of the book through dramatic scenes and other interesting characters. In “Why Huckleberry Finn Is a Great World Novel”, by Lauriat Lane, the author writes, “If we are to find any meaning in Huck’s journey beyond the literal level, we must seek it first in the medium through which Huck journeys, in the great river down which he drifts during much of the story… Implicit in this pattern is the suggestion that the river journey can have a distinctly metaphysical quality, that it can be, in fact, a journey of the soul as well as of the body.” In this quote, the author emphasizes the importance of the river’s