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Symbolism In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

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Mark Twain’s Use of Symbolism in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes a critical look inside society . Though this novel has been on the top ten list of banned books for quite some time due to its language and subject matter, it is recognized as a masterpiece. As Twain’s masterpiece is riddled with symbolism from the setting to the characters to even the character’s speech – all of which still holds true today. It is all of these numerous symbols that are intended to allow the reader to assimilate the story in a more profound way. The Grangerfords, who take Huck into their home, and their rivals the Shepherdsons are symbols of both sides that fought in the Civil War. Richard Wakefield tells us that “the Civil War destroyed the world that was the setting for much of Twain’s work”. The Grangerfords represent the South, as they are an old-fashioned noble family residing in the South before the Civil War. The …show more content…

As the duo continually find ill-fortune on land, the raft becomes their safe haven —a place for them to retreat and escape from that ‘sivilised’ world. “We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.”(Book) Because the typical rules and norms of society don’t apply on their raft, it develops into a place for Huck and Jim to become acquainted, as equals rather than master and slave. “We let her float wherever the current wanted her to; then we lit the pipes, and dangled our legs in the water, and talked about all kinds of things—we was always naked, day and night, whenever the mosquitoes would let us"(BOOK). It is on this raft that the first reference of the Bard’s great literature

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