The topic of freedom
is seen woven through out the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain. This is exercised when Huck Finn is able to find his
freedom on the Mississippi River while escaping the connections that
were binding him to St. Petersburg, Missouri. Widow Douglas and
Miss. Watson took Huck in and paved him the pathway to a brand new
life full of promising opportunities along the way. Unfortunately,
that was not the road for Huck. He was trapped in school instead of
wandering the streets wondering who he will meet next. Huck was
caught up in a world where he did not belong. So he makes the
decision to build his own life, with no Pap, Widow Douglas, Miss.
Watson, or Tom Sawyer.
Because of the time
period in which this novel takes place, around the 1840s, the plague
of slavery has devoured the country. Jim's freedom and enslavement
is very clear cut; his own independence ironically is dependent upon
him reaching the North. Luckily for Huck, because of Jim's basic
level of enslavement and there only being one solution to it Jim
feels the need to help Finn achieve his personal freedom. Their
adventures that I have read so far revolve around finding this
elusive freedom. In Chapter 11, Huck leaves Jim on Jackson Island to
go into town. When Huck finds out that search parties have reason to
believe that Huck's whereabouts focus in on Jackson Island he becomes
frantic. This reaction is not only for his own safety, but Jim's as
well. They share the threat of being captured and losing on their
quest to find freedom.
2 comments:
Basically as we can see it's all about freedom in this time period. Whether the person was a slave or not. People felt like running away solved all issues. Which around the time it did no matter what the situation was. Huck like you said was giving guidance but can only really understand so much being as he isn't really educated so all he is taught just comes out to be nonsense. Huck just wants to be his own person. Also, I see we found the connection that Huck knows that he doesn't belong. So with Huck faking his death and Jim escaping his enslavement from what we read so far and how far they are into this journey there's no turning back now. Around the time period Jim knows if caught he could face the worse consequences. That applies to Huck as well with being stuck back with Pap. Since they both like you said "share the threat of being captured and losing on their quest to find freedom" build up a strong bond to make it through.
I looked at Jim's enslavement through a historical lens, too. I think that that is the easiest way to look at it. Huck's enslavement can be seen in many different ways. In one aspect he is enslaved by the Widow Douglas and miss. Watson. On the other hand, he is a prisoner of his own father's decisions. It almost seems as if huck was born into a life of enslavement, much like the slaves in that time period. So, looking at it that way, huck's life and Jim's life are very similar.
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