Progression Of Huck And Jim's Adventure example essay topic

River of Life and Realism in Huck Finn In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the river to symbolize life and the adventures of Huck to show the realism in the novel. These two elements are shown throughout the book in many different ways. Sometimes one would have to really sit down and think about all the symbolism in this classic novel. T.S. Eliot stated, 'We come to understand the River by seeing it through the eyes of the Boy; but the Boy is also the spirit of the River'; (333). Throughout Huck's adventure, as he and Jim are traveling down the river on a raft to Cairo, we see the admiration Huck has for the river. He sets it up to be respected as he would a very dangerous but sincere person. He knows everything of which the river is capable.

The river has only to desire something to happen and it will. The different currents and movements are the various personalities of the river. No one can predict the next mood that it might take on. For this reason, Huck chooses to admire the powerful and dangerous body and respect it for its personality (338-46). The only mode of transportation that Huck and Jim have to flow down the mighty Mississippi is a raft. The river controls the voyage of Huck and Jim.

It will not let them land at Cairo, where Jim could have been free. It then separates them and leaves Huck at the Grangerford house for a while. Finally, it reunites the two friends and presses upon them the company of the king and duke (Eliot 332). It is their means of escape. '... 'stead of taking to the woods when I run off, I'd go down the river about fifty mile and camp in one place for good... ' ; (31).

Huck can always depend on the river to take him anywhere he wants to go. Every move Huck makes seems to get him into some kind of trouble. No matter what the problem, he always goes to that monstrous body of water to solve the mess that he is in. The two friends use the river to slide away from trouble. '... Jim goes again to the raft and lets her go a-sliding down the river'; (Angell 131).

An example of how Huck uses the river as a safeguard is when he tells Pap he fell in the river in order to escape a great amount of abuse (31). Also, the river represents a home for both Jim and Huck. It is where both of them feel safe and believe they belong. 'Almost without noticing, they discover that the great sliding river itself is the only constant, their one fixed home (Angell 131). The story of Huck Finn and his friend Jim would not have taken place were it not for the great and mighty Mississippi.

The flowing and changing of the river symbolizes the progression of Huck and Jim's adventure. It also symbolizes Huck's growth and his realization of his mistakes and how he can turn them into better situations. In the end, both of the runaways' dreams come true. Jim gained freedom for himself and his family and Huck gained knowledge, and freedom from his Pap forever. In Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the living river protected Huck and Jim and transported them to their dreams (Budd 102-12). There is a great deal of realism in the novel which is shown in many different ways.

As Dean Howells once said, 'Let fiction cease to lie about life. ' ; (quoted in Budd 36). The realism of pride and revenge is shown in the Grangerford episode. The Grangerfords were a family caught up in a feud with the Sherpherdson family. No one really knows why they are feuding but each of them know that if they see one of the enemies that they are supposed to shoot and that shows the pride of family. This episode also shows the reality of revenge. After Buck's dad and brothers are shot Buck and his brothers will stop at nothing to get revenge on the Shepherd sons, and end up losing their lives trying to get it (Blair 199-203).

The next time realism is shown in the book is when The King and The Duke are pretending to put on plays for the people. This shows that society in general is so gullible that they will practically fall for anything and do fall for everything that The King and The Duke throw at them. Also when The King and The Duke pretend to be the Wilks Brothers. This is just another example of how gullible and stupid society is. Realism is also shown through the way that society treats Jim just because he is a stereotypical, uneducated slave.

He is shown throughout the whole book as talking like he is uneducated. Such as in chapter XV of the novel when Jim says to Huck, 'Dad fetch it, how is gwyn e to dream all dat in ten minutes?' ; (82). It is also shown throughout the whole book when Jim is taking orders from a twelve year old white boy. Huck is always in control and that shows the reality of it (Blair 42). Another way the the novel is very realistic is shown through the cruelty in society. Such as the Grangerford, Shepherpson feud they are just killing people because of the name that they have and they don't even know why they are supposed to hate them.

The cruelty of society is also shown towards the end of the book when they prove that The King and The Duke aren't really the Wilks Brothers they tar and feather them at once without even talk of a trail or anything like that (Blair 74-9). One last way that realism is shown in the book the love be between two friends. The love that Huck and Jim share is beyond words. Like when Jim would stay up and take Huck's turn on the raft and like when Huck wouldn't leave Jim in jail and went to break him out.

This love is very realistic in the real world it just isn't shown you have to look for it (47-9). The novel Huck Finn is a great American classic. the novel shows in many ways the realism that was in the world when Twain wrote the book and that same realism is still around today. Even though some times people want to deny it for fear of reality.

Bibliography

Angell, Roger. 'Huck, Continued. ' ; The New Yorker. New York: June 26, 1995: 131.
Blair, Walter. 'The Grangerfords. ' ; Mark Twain and Huck Finn. London: Union Press, 1962: 199-203.
Blair, Walter. 'So noble and so beautiful a book. London, England: Union Press, 1962: 42, 74-9.
Budd, Louis T. 'Realism in Huck Finn. ' ; New essays on Adventures of Huck Finn. Cambridge University Press, 1985: 36, 102112.
Eliot, T.S. 'An Introduction to Huckleberry Finn. ' ; Form and Symbol: The River and the Shore. New York: Chanticleer Press, 1950: 332-33.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam Books, 1993.