Literary Techniques In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn employs the use of various literary techniques specifically, characterization, the motif of superstition, and colloquial language from a youthful narration. By implementing these literary tools, Twain hopes to achieve and to teach his audience that society judges and creates division, and on our own, we are less susceptible to the malicious behavior that is racism and discrimination. While considering this concept, Twain highlights the issues with how black people were being treated in order to prompt society to re-think their actions against their colored counterparts.
In the text, Twain’s uses the strategic repetition of superstitions and often transcends the conservative fallacies that characters seem to hold as truth. Notably, Huck Finn’s father rants about how the government should not allow a black man to have a better life than he (Twain 28) and later on, Jim shares his unfounded beliefs and concludes that, “it was a sign it was going to rain...when young chickens flew that way”. Jim even continues to talk about how he learned about bad luck from his father (45). Through the presentation of these recurring, old-fashioned ideas, the audience gets the sense that the characters are out of touch and incorrect. This characterization

The colloquial language in the story does just that. For example, “You fellows; taint and ‘taint fair… otha folks has dey rights as well as you” (145). When reading this slang, the audience is able to relate and better comprehend Twain’s central idea about racism because it is spoken in a dialogue that is common to them. It is through language, motifs, and characterization that Twain is able to reach his audience and teach them that although tradition is valuable it is important to be able to have an open mind to new aspects and