Theme Of Reality In Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain’s 1884 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, uses vivid descriptions and dialect to capture the story of Huckleberry Finn, a 14-year old country boy. The novel follows Huck and a runaway slave, Jim, as they travel down the Mississippi River seeking adventure and freedom. Along the way, they meet various characters and challenges from which something can be gained. In the chapters 21-23, their river raft brings them, along with two conmen, the duke and the dauphin, to Bricksville, Arkansas. There, Huck witnesses the murder of a drunk man, the intensity of an angry lynch mob, and the results of a large con scheme. Through Huck’s description of these events readers can see how Huck’s first impressions–as conveyed to the reader–clearly contradict a deeper reality later revealed. Huck’s initial thoughts are impressed upon the reader given the first-person format of the novel. In these three chapters, this formation of appearance and reveal of reality can be seen in the case of the man who killed Boggs, Colonel Sherburn, and the “victims” of the conmen’s scheme. The initial depiction of Colonel Sherburn does not convey much of the depth and insight of his full character. When Huck arrives in Bricksville, Arkansas, he quickly notices the slow pace of this rugged town. “All …show more content…
In chapter 23, the townspeople of Bricksville are tricked into buying tickets for a play put on by the two con men. This play is, of course, illegitimate and a hoax. Because of their title of conmen, character roles are already set and expected to be filled. It is automatically implied that whoever the two scheme against are the victim(s) of the situation. The reaction of the first night’s audience of townspeople argues against this. Instead of solidifying these roles, their reaction reveals their true nature in relation to the duke and the